NO ONE has yet drawn up a list of qualifications to determine whether a car can be called a supercar or not, but if you take a brief look back at a few examples that carried the tag, it’s not hard to figure out.
Drop-dead good looks are a given, as is a mighty engine delivering outrageous numbers. A top speed in excess of 200mph also seems to be a qualifier, as does no more than two seats. There’s also the question of engine location: does it have to be mid-engined to qualify?
That would omit this particular machine: Ferrari’s 599 GTB Fiorano, currently the range-crowning car and one that unashamedly locates its powerplant in the front.
But there’s a bit more to it than that, as the epic 12-cylinder powerplant is termed “front-mid engined”: rather than being ahead or over the front axle, most of it is located behind the front wheels, putting the weight between the wheels.
That brings handling and balance advantages – much better than having weight at either end – but also has less interesting benefits, such as giving the 599 a half-decent boot.
You might scoff at such concessions to practicality, but when some of its rivals haven’t got room for a book of stamps, it’s nice to know someone has a rational approach.
But rationality is not something you often get with a supercar. When the price tag sails comfortably past £150,000, you expect a lot more for your money – romance, drama, presence that’s measured by the ton and the ability to turn passers-by into slack-jawed gawpers in an instant.
The Ferrari has that, too. It’s an unusual shape, simple in its basic outline but more complex the closer you get.
The briefest of front overhangs flows into a long bonnet stretched tightly over the engine, with the cabin slung out towards the rear. Yet there are flying buttresses at the rear, helping the aerodynamics as well as the looks. It has drama and function in equal measure.
Then there’s the important matter of the oily bits. The mighty six-litre V12 naturally aspirated engine is derived from the unit that powered the Enzo, so big numbers come as standard.
Try a monstrous 620bhp and 448lb/ft of torque powering a car that checks in under 1,700kg – about the same as a Ford Galaxy – and all going through the rear wheels alone. That might sound like a recipe for eternal wheel spin, except that the 599 gets a full complement of F1-inspired technology.
There’s aluminium in the chassis and body, adjustable electronic dampers and the manettino switch which tweaks the traction and stability control and throttle response to suit the conditions and your mood.
It also speeds up the gearshifts if you go for the F1 Superfast transmission which, it has to be said, is worth the £5,000 premium. For that, you get a car that does a decent job of wafting you along in auto mode. It’s important to be able to relax in this car because, unfortunately, you won’t be able to fully stretch it very often.
That’s partly to do with things like speed limits and traffic, but it also has a lot to do with just how spectacularly fast the 599 is. When you finally reach a suitable straight and call on all the available performance, it’s almost a frightening experience.
The throttle response is instantaneous, calling on the deep reserves of torque to shoot you forward. As the revs rise, the push in the back intensifies, while the deep bellow from the engine grows louder.
Past 5,000rpm the scenery starts to blur and you begin to wonder if your brain can handle any more acceleration, but the 599 isn’t done yet.
Not until almost 8,000rpm is the vast V12 out of revs, and then a lightning-fast gear change via a flick of the paddle results in it happening all over again.
The noise, the forces at work and the physics-defying ease of it all is thoroughly intoxicating.
Then a bend approaches at a terrific speed, but the standard carbon ceramic brakes haul the 599 down time and time again without protest.
Swivelling the wheel reveals its delicate balance, too: hustling the physically large car is remarkably undemanding, and you soon forget the price tag. Calling it a giant hot hatch would be a spectacular understatement, but the 599 inspires huge confidence.
Switching back the manettino to peel back layers of assistance reminds you of the forces at work, but even when pushed it is more benign than the numbers would suggest.
Inevitably, this is a car for the monied few. Even the briefest of glances at the options list will see the price break the £200,000 barrier, which seems like a lot however you look at it.
But rest assured that, while it will be the dream of many and the reality for a few lucky individuals, the 599’s ability, character and presence fully justify the adoration.
Model: Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano F1, £202,679 on the road
Engine: Six-litre petrol unit developing 620bhp and 448lb/ft of torque
Transmission: Six-speed automatic transmission as standard, driving the rear wheels
Performance: Maximum speed 205mph; 0-62mph 3.7 seconds
CO emissions: 415g/km
Economy: 15.8mpg