・One-owner example

・Only 8,736 miles from new

・Full service history

・Lots of desirable factory options

Ferrari’s F140 engine is something really special. A sonorous and vivacious 65-degree DOHC V12, you find this motor in some of the most desirable and aspirational machines ever to bear the cavallino rampante shields. When it debuted in the Enzo back in 2002, it set a new record for being the most powerful naturally-aspirated engine in a road car. This genesis-spec V12 was labelled F140B, packing a displacement of 5,998cc; the extremely similar F140C (which had a whole extra 1cc) is the engine found in the popular and revered 599 models, the grand-tourer GTB and the brutal GTO. In 2011, the engine was opened up to 6,262cc for the FF, then the LaFerrari and GTC4Lusso, before evolving again into the 6.5-litre F140 GA found in the 812 Superfast.

It’s a strong roll call of models, all of which wrap an entirely different character around the F140 engine. And perhaps the most accessible today is the magnificent and widely revered 599 GTB Fiorano. Styled by Pininfarina and engineered to have some frankly astonishing race-honed aerodynamics, this is a car that could hit 62mph in 3.2-seconds and top out at 205mph… and yet the driveline ballistics weren’t the biggest story. No, while this car was tuned for spaceship-like thrust and superior agility on track, it’s actually a luxurious grand tourer in the traditional style: comfortable, cosseting, opulently trimmed and lavishly appointed. You can tear across Europe in one frenzied hit, and emerge on Casino Square unruffled and carefree. The perfect automobile? It’s got to be on the shortlist, for sure…

You’ll probably have spotted that this 599 is both UK-registered and left-hand-drive, and there’s a very interesting reason behind that. When the car was first ordered from the specialist Clive Sutton, the buyer requested that it be a UK-spec car officially registered in Britain, but delivered to their house in St. Tropez – having the steering wheel on the left making it more usable in its first native land. The car was fully loaded with desirable options, all of which are detailed below, and has evidently lived an easy and pampered life. With just 14,060km on the clock (that’s 8,736 miles), it still has that new-car smell inside; of course it’s been regularly and properly serviced despite this very low mileage, and it’s presented to market today as an extravagantly-specced one-owner car in utterly splendid condition.

The service book makes for interesting and reassuring reading. We can see that the car was officially imported by Ferrari Deutschland GmbH, and was serviced at 3,481 miles by Auto Palace S.A. in Mandelieu. (We can assume that the car then went into storage briefly, as the file also includes an invoice from a year later for a €1,435 service at Modena Motors Cannes on the same mileage.) The service book then shows a service at HR Owen on 6,049 miles, the next – again with HR Owen – at 8,561, and the most recent was carried out by Spiro’s in London in December 2020. This last one included a full 168-month service, a new battery, and fitting a new aftermarket stereo head unit. Also in the file we find a print-out of an email from Clive Sutton, confirming that the car was supplied by them in 2006, UK-registered and LHD.

It’s worth noting that, while the car was UK-registered from new, the duplicate-document V5 lists it as being first registered in April 2006 but first UK-registered in January 2008 – the reason is simply that this is when the car was re-patriated, because it had briefly worn French plates for a while when it was in St. Tropez.

The Ferrari comes with its two original keys.

The original owner specced this car extremely well. The most noticeable interior upgrade is the extensive carbon fibre, the Interior 1 pack adding carbon doorcards and Interior 2 complementing it with a carbon centre console, dashboard, and – the coolest part of all – the carbon steering wheel with integrated LED shift lights. The full-electric Recaro seat option is very desirable, and they’re trimmed in wonderfully soft leather along with yet more carbon fibre.

As you’d expect of a car with such extremely low mileage, the cabin is in outstanding condition with very few signs of wear. The leather trim is excellent with no scuffs, holes or marks, and no undue bolster wear. The carpets are great, and the sumptuously trimmed luggage rack behind the seats looks as if it’s never even been used. The various electric functions on the seats work correctly, as do the windows, mirrors and all the dials. The stereo has been swapped for an aftermarket Pioneer CD/radio unit with Bluetooth, although the original Ferrari stereo is in a box in the boot and could easily be refitted. Speaking of the boot, it’s all tidy, dry and correct in there; the factory toolkit is absent, but the underfloor-mounted tyre inflation kit is all present and correct.
 
Aside from a little light usage wear to a couple of the buttons on the centre console, this really is a very well presented interior indeed. And it still smells like a new car!

The 599 is fabulously presented in Nero B/B Fer. 1250, which is a tasteful non-metallic gloss black that suits the swooping aerodynamic lines beautifully. The car is fitted with the optional 20” ‘Monolithic’ alloy wheels, which are all unmarked with no kerbing whatsoever to the rims; they wear Pirelli P-Zero tyres (245/35 front; 305/35 rear) with good tread.
The bodywork is remarkable throughout, testament to a car that’s been seldom used and lovingly curated. There are no scuffs, scratches, dents or evidence of anything untoward, every panel is straight and tidy with even shut lines and mirror-shine paint; the only blemishes to note are a very, very small parking ding in the centre of the driver door (which you really have to be looking for to spot), and a couple of very small stone-chips on the nose.
All of the correct trim and badges are in place, and this 599 wears the optional Scuderia shields on the wings (an option costing over £1,000). All of the window glass and light lenses are in excellent condition. The front number plate has been removed for that show-car chic, but is in the boot and easily reattached. The under-bonnet area is extremely clean. This is absolutely one of the tidiest 599s we’ve ever seen – which is hardly surprising, given the tiny mileage and obvious care it’s always received.

We started this listing speaking about the F140 engine, and it really is a masterpiece. The sound of that 5,999cc V12 on start-up is enough to make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck, and that’s nothing compared to the noise it makes when it’s properly warmed up and exploring the full extent of the rev range. The genius of this package is that the F140 is not only a tamed race motor, but that it’s smooth and civilised and well-behaved too – if you’re cruising around town it’s an absolute pussycat, idling smoothly and keeping itself cool. The F1 SuperFast transmission is an excellent accompaniment, providing ease-of-use as well as whip-crack shifts on demand. All of this is in very fine fettle here, with the car having been meticulously serviced. There are no mechanical issues to be concerned with, this is a sweet little runner that’s ready to play.
The 599 came as standard with magnetorheological semi-active dampers, and it’s also worth noting that this one is equipped with the optional carbon-ceramic brakes, with the calipers finished in yellow.

The 599 GTB Fiorano has already gone down in motoring history as one of the all-time great Ferraris. Sold between 2006-2012, just 3,500 of these cars were built, and the one we have here today makes a very strong case for itself indeed: being a debut-year car, it represents the genesis of the model, and it’s essentially been trapped in amber ever since. 8,700 miles is an extraordinarily low figure for a 2006 car to wear, and the condition bears it out: this is a beautifully-specced 599 that’s always been maintained with a no-expense-spared approach, the mechanicals kept tip-top and the interior and exterior thoughtfully looked after. Obviously it’s no longer possible to buy a new 599 GTB Fiorano, but this example is arguably as close as it might be possible to get – it certainly still smells new, and everything is just as it should be. Truly as wonderful to drive as it is to behold, it’d be tough to track down another 599 as intriguing as this.