FACE-OFF: Ferrari 599 GTO videos

If you’ve been following the latest videos on SkiddPlayer then you’ll already have watched the ‘four’ videos published thus far from the 599 GTO’s international press launch at Mugello circuit in Italy. You might also have viewed the ‘two’ Ferrari 599XX videos released just a fortnight ago, showing Raffaele De Simone setting a record lap of the Nordschliefe.

It’s a ‘599-fest’ and like most indulgences, they’re even better when consumed in large quantities. So we’re going to introduce you to the current selection and see if we can convince you to set aside 30 mins on Saturday morning for some quality time in front of your computer (Hmm, somehow, that sounds so wrong…)

The stage

First, Mugello. If you’ve never been to the circuit then you’d be surprised just how remote and isolated it is – situated in the North-East corner of Tuscany 14 miles from the historic city of Florence, and just off the original route taken by the Mille Miglia, you literally encounter the circuit unannounced between a couple of run-down, sleepy farms – very Italian. The circuit is shaped in a bowl, great for spectators and with plenty of smooth flowing curves for a driver to enjoy.

When you’re invited by Ferrari to test out its latest flagship, there are two things you need to bear in mind. Firstly the Ferrari-minders nervously instruct visiting journalists ‘not’ to switch off the traction and stability controls – they’ve witnessed too many wannabe-heroes out to prove they’re the next Schumi and they don’t have a line-up of spare cars should you crash.

Secondly each magazine has a ‘very’ limited amount of time with the car, so hardly enough time to mount cameras, fix microphones and get to know the limit of the car’s handling before being called back in for the next driver’s turn. If unfortunately you drop it whilst pushing your’s or the car’s limits, the Ferrari minders are likely be rather upset (bad) which will probably result in you not being invited back for a future launch (very bad), then of course some of the remaining drivers patiently waiting for their turn may not get to drive the car at all (maybe, that’s a bonus?) but they also probably know where you live (bad).

So overall whilst being the first person to write-off a 599 GTO may make a great viral video, it might also put a bit of a dampner on said-journalist’s career, so bear that in mind when comparing the laps of Ben Barry and F1 test-driver Marc Gene..

The contestants

#1 – CAR Magazine

The magazine puts together a straightforward video of Ben Barry driving just over a lap and a half of the Mugello circuit. You can see that Ben’s gaining a good feel for how the 599 GTO performs and since the predominant attitude of the car is to understeer, it looks like he’s kept the stability systems switched on although you’ll have to read Ben’s article to discover which of the Manettino settings he actually used.

#2 – Autocar Magazine

Autocar use their time with the 599 GTO to take it on the road and use their video to convey two things; the sheer speed of Ferrari’s fastest ever road car but more importantly the aural-sensations available to whoever controls the ‘loud’ pedal. Steve Sutcliffe is behind the wheel and describes it thus, “I’ve found a brand new musical instrument – it’s called a Ferrari 599 GTO”. You’ll get the chance to listen to the GTO in a tunnel and then driven around Mugello, so take a look and then judge for yourself whether Autocar’s video rocks your boat.

#3 – MotorTrend

MotorTrend take a completely different approach to the others in using the services of Ferrari F1 test and reserve driver Marc Gene. The video starts straight off with Gene setting an imaginary qualifying lap for the Italian GP, no idle chatting, just a demon effort to extract the maximum lap time for the camera. The Manettino setting is very definitely set to RACE mode. Gene is obviously enjoying himself.. What a nice bloke too.

#4 – Ferrari

Finally, we take a look at Ferrari’s ‘official’ video of the 599 GTO as driven by their legendary (road cars) test driver Dario Benuzzi. The video is split into two parts, firstly an exterior view of 599 GTO at Mugello and then an on-board view of Benuzzi at the wheel. You may feel a little cheated whilst watching Ferrari’s own video after viewing the more exuberant videos above. If we were being generous we’d describe it as a good demonstration of how fast the GTO can travel with so little effort, but Benuzzi is clearly very familiar with his surroundings.

What do you think?

So you can see that each of the above videos have taken a different approach to help us appreciate the speed, dynamics, and sound of the 599 GTO, but which achieved this best?

To make it as straightforward as possible we’ve created a poll, so head over and cast your vote, then tell us why in the comments.