LaFerrari XX to pack 1,050 hp

Wed, 12 Nov 2014

With 949 horsepower on tap, it would be hard to imagine Ferrari getting much more juice out of the 6.3-liter V12 hybrid powering its LaFerrari. But apparently, it's possible, as reports suggest that the forthcoming LaFerrari XX will pack somewhere closer to 1,050 hp.

This according to Top Gear, which reports that the successor to the Enzo-based FXX and the subsequent 599XX will be revealed next month in Abu Dhabi at the company's year-end Finale Mondiali extravaganza – the same event where, in years past, Ferrari has presented such extreme machines as the 458 Challenge Evoluzione, the aforementioned 599XX and the FXX Evoluzione.

When the subject of a LaFerrari XX first came up several months ago, Antonello Coletta – head of the department responsible for the XX program – said he couldn't picture the track version of the company's flagship hybrid hypercar being much faster or more powerful than the existing version. But where there's a will, there's a way. TG reports that the extra hundred horses have been corralled in the V12 and not in the electric motor, which will reportedly carry over essentially unchanged from the road-going model.

Of course, the power boost won't be the only distinguishing factor to enhance the latest XX model. You can also expect it to pack more extreme aero, racing slicks fitted to center-lock alloys and an even more stripped out cockpit with racing buckets and harnesses and not much else. It's similar to the treatment which arch-rival McLaren is applying to its P1 GTR, but since both vehicles will be confined to carefully catered (and separate) track programs, the prospect of seeing these two natural rivals take on one another is as unlikely as the notion of any of us "qualifying" to take part in the program.

By Noah Joseph