XX-rated: the ultimate in Ferrari ownership

It’s only the third XX model in a decade; the others were based on the 2005 Enzo and 2009 599 GTB Fiorano.

The FXX K is a 1021bhp V12 hybrid packed with Formula 1 stuff, active aerodynamics and space-age driver assist tools. It’s based on the LaFerrari and like all XX cars it can’t be raced, as it doesn’t fit in with any kind of FIA regs, or driven on the road, as it can’t be homologated.

So, why bother?

The answer is that owning an XX makes you a Ferrari development driver. Galliera explains: ‘We test on the XX cars what we can’t on road or race cars. We take an existing car and make it faster and more fun. The clients buy them, work with us and become part of the team.’

You do this by attending seven track events over two years, at circuits around the globe, during which you provide Ferrari with feedback on the car just as a professional test driver would. The technologies you’re testing will, if successful, end up on road and GT racing cars of the future.

And you’d better show up, too, because Ferrari won’t sell you an XX car if it thinks you’re going to speculate on it or lock it away in a private museum. You don’t even get to take your car home between these events – Ferrari keeps it in storage and ensures it’s in perfect shape for its next outing.

But this is all just a rich boys’ jolly club, right? Would Ferrari really put its future models’ reputation in the hands of quack development drivers whose only qualification is that they’re lavishly rich?

‘Customers like to drive, enjoy it and have fun,’ admits Galliera. ‘But some are like official drivers. They’re very fast and their comments are up to the point. They tell us if the technology is interesting, then we see if it’s suitable to develop further. We always listen.’

Active aerodynamics are a perfect example. Now part of the package on Ferrari’s road cars, these were first seen on the 599 GTO – unless you had a 599XX, in which case your opinions helped put them there.

And anyway, merely being able to afford it isn’t enough. Galliera runs Ferrari’s Corse Clienti programme – basically the inner sanctum of serious ownership. Safe to assume that if you get to buy an XX, Ferrari has already run the rule over you.

Safe also to say that when a new XX becomes available, it’ll sell out – to existing XX owners. It might not be a jolly club, but it’s still a club and an exclusive one at that. ’If a customer wants to join,’ says Galliera, ‘they call us and we put them in touch with someone who might have a 599XX to sell. That’s how you enter – if there is a car available.’