Ferrari F600 for 2007

[pitviper]

DSC reports that Ferrari looks to be creating a GT1 car out of the successor to the Maranello to hit FIAGT and LM in 2007. this goes along with Maserati also announcing that they will be doing a GranSport GT1 in 2007... looks to be an interesting next few years in our sport to say the least!

pit

[SALEEN S7R]

Indeed, I too noticed this story on DSC earlier today. GT1 is looking to be very competitve over the next few years with at least 3 types of new generation GT1 cars being around by 2007. Those being the DBR9, the C6R and the F600 and maybe the Murciealgo will still be around then too. As much as certain indaviduals would like to beleive the GT1 class isnt going to die and it probably isnt even going to decrease in popularity either.

I wonder what other new cars we may see in GT1 by 2007....

[JAG]

Originally Posted by SALEEN S7R

Indeed, I too noticed this story on DSC earlier today. GT1 is looking to be very competitve over the next few years with at least 3 types of new generation GT1 cars being around by 2007. Those being the DBR9, the C6R and the F600 and maybe the Murciealgo will still be around then too. As much as certain indaviduals would like to beleive the GT1 class isnt going to die and it probably isnt even going to decrease in popularity either.

I wonder what other new cars we may see in GT1 by 2007....

The 575 was a great success, they'll be queing round the block!

Whats all this 'new generation' lark?

By the nature of the regs any reasonable supercar should be competitive, it all comes down to finances.

GM can outspend everyone, Prodrive do wonders on a smaller budget, the rest are never have beens.

Sorry to be downbeat about the class, but I've just about had my fill of processional GT1 'races'. The results are always determined by the quality of the co-driver, which leaves a handful of competitive line-ups.

The only time we see a decent GT1 battle is at Le Mans and in the ALMS.

[SALEEN S7R]

Originally Posted by JAG

The 575 was a great success, they'll be queing round the block!

Whats all this 'new generation' lark?

Well isnt it rather obvious? Within the next 2 years I am personally expecting to see the 550s, 575's, S7R's and C5R's die out, 2006 they may be competitve but in 2007 I would imagine it will be the last year of International competition for almost all of them. The cars are at the end of their development, any developments that will come through are likely to be minor.

The new breed of cars such as the DBR9, C6R and Ferrari F600 will likely be as competitve as the "old breed" right from the start of their competitve lives, IMO. And will undoubtedly receive engine and areodynamic upgrades throughout their life spans therefore making them even quicker.

A good example of what I mean is the Viper, in its GTS/GT1/GT form it was competitve from what, 1999 through until 2002, then along came the Saleen S7R, the 550 started to get more and more competitve and eventually it overtook the Vipers on pace and left them behind.

Sorry to be downbeat about the class, but I've just about had my fill of processional GT1 'races'. The results are always determined by the quality of the co-driver, which leaves a handful of competitive line-ups.

The only time we see a decent GT1 battle is at Le Mans and in the ALMS.

Im not sure which series you have been watching JAG but if you watched the FIA GT championship at all what you describe was defintely not the case. A number of differnt cars won throughout the season, I beleive we had 7 differnt winners throughout the course of the season in GT1 with 4 differnt types of car.

Round after round the FIA GT races are IMO closely fought and normally produce some very good racing.

[pitviper]

i would love to think that ORECA is working with dodge to bring the Viper back, but it may be too much to ask... we can only hope. i do think that with the rules the way they are this coming year in the ALMS, the saleen would be a mighty quick choice indeed...

pit

[cmk]

Originally Posted by pitviper

i do think that with the rules the way they are this coming year in the ALMS, the saleen would be a mighty quick choice indeed...

pit

All we need is someone to run one then.

If this Ferrari pans out, I can only hope they pull out all the stops in a way that they really haven't since they created Corse Clienti. Customer support and continuing development, espsecially of the engine, really needs some work.

[JAG]

FIA GT is fake racing, I have no interest in contrived (to the extent FIA GT is) racing.

Take away the penatlies and we'd have seen the same cars winning race after race, not only because of the cars, but the all pro driver line-ups.

My point about next gen cars is why should we have great hopes for the F600 when the 575GTC has been a flop, not because the base car wasn't upto the job, but because Ferrari were not commited to the project.

The C5-R would still be competitive today if run by the factory, hell, the C6.R is basically a C5-R under the skin.

The latest Viper road car is only a slight development of the old machine.

If Chrylser had kept a factory team the old GTS-R would still be a front runner.

Carsport did wonders to keep an old, but well sorted, car near the pace of the Corvettes.

How many 'great hopes' has GT1 seen in recent years, Saleen, Pagani Zonda, 575GTC, Lamborghini, MC12, any more?

Only the Prodrive's cars have proven to be upto the job, unfortunately Prodrive do not have manufacturer dollars behind them to fund a factory program.

Its not new metal the GT1 class needs, it's a manufactuer with the comitment of GM.

[ger80]

A new car helps only if you develop the streetcar into the right direction for racing. But thats not possible if you want to sell many cars i think. If you want more manufactuers for GT1, make rules like SuperGT or you have to hope that the companies build special editions like the Z06 from GM to build a good race cars. I dont like that "managet racing" too.

[Asa]

Isn't BMW going to develop the M6 for GT1 for 2007?

[Dauer 962]

Originally Posted by Asa

Isn't BMW going to develop the M6 for GT1 for 2007?

This rumour appears from time to time, but until today BMW always denied the development of this car, tough FIA homologated it for GT1 earlier this year.

[ss_collins]

this makes sense - scuderia ecosse hinted at LM that they werewanting to go this way, as it looks like a class thats going to be there for the taking in '07 too ferrrari will stroll up and beat the astons (by then 3 years old)

[JAG]

Is the Z06 so special?

Isn't it basically GM's equivalent of the 911 GT3 road car?

I'm sure most supercars could be competitive if enough funding is put behind the project.

[ger80]

for example:

The total body structure weighs only 278 lbs., 136 lbs. less than the Corvette coupe

Why a coupe and a Z06? Isnt the C6 Coupe the equivalent of the 911 GT3 road car?

[pitviper]

no, the zo6 would be much closer related to either the 911 Carrera or the 911 GT3... the standard C6 coupe isn't in the same ballpark as the GT3...

pit

[ger80]

read the article from the C6 in "racecar engineering", they racecar crew from the C5R gave infos about how to build the C6 to makr it possible build a good C6R.

[pitviper]

a very good article that was... and a good example of how manufacturers can "do it right"... i'm not a corvette fan at all, but have tons of respect for the effort they put forth in our sport...

pit

[ger80]

ok, thats the right way for you. But where do you want to make the cut? Someone could say "well, the Enzo is the C5R and the MC12 is the C6(R)". I dont like the MC12 too, but it is very hard to say this is right and that not. I would love to see an new subclass from LMP1 called LMGT700 (in accordiance to GT300/GT500 from SuperGT) with GT500 cars with a little more power so that can fight against LMP1 in LeMans.
Spectators have no problem with this cars, they love SuperGT, they love DTM, they love Nascar, ...

[JAG]

Why not just build a closed P1 or P2 in the same vein as the CLR or 911 GT1?

[panoz.lmp1]

You can build a closed LMP1 car. Then you have your GT700. Why create a new class?

[ger80]

If you build a closed LMP1 with for example a SuperGT bodywork, you will lose perfomance against the other (open/closed) LMP cars. So the regs could give you a little for power if you use a GT like bodywork.

[panoz.lmp1]

Why should someone build a car with a SuperGT bodywork than a closed LMP or a GT (whatever the manufacturer prefers)

[JAG]

Super GT's a bit of a dead end, it only attracts the Japanease manufactuers with a domestic agenda.

If they're racing in Europe thye'll either compete with a GT2 against Porsche, Ferrari, Panoz etc., or build a P1 to compete against Audi and Peugeot.