www.QV500.com - Ferrari 550 Part 4: 550 GT 'Italtecnica'

This is an especially important factor when considering 550 racers as they have never been homologated, prepared or supported by Ferrari SpA. Instead, the majority of development work has been carried out by two seperate companies, Italtecnica and Prodrive having campaigned cars in the FIA GT Championship, the American Le Mans Series and at the Le Mans 24 Hours. Italtecnica's 550 GT, sometimes referred to as the ‘Millennio’, tipped the scales at just 1100kg. There was an F1 style braking system, 20mm ride height and some of the biggest underbody diffusers this side of Grand Prix racing. Displacement was increased to 5998cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 88 x 82mm respectively, the latter having been raised by 7mm. Compression was upped to 12.0:1 and with new high compression pistons, an extra 100bhp was found, early examples pumping out 585bhp at 6250rpm. FIA regulations permitted non-standard gearboxes and Italtecnica consequently chose six-speed sequential Hewland items, however, the ACO's GTS regs required a manual shift so a traditional six-speeder was also developed. Externally there were side exiting exhausts and extensive bodywork changes, the most noticeable having been the entirely re-profiled front end with its gaping grille and deep spoiler. Composite panels reduced weight and increased strength, wider wings having been necessary to accommodate huge OZ Racing wheels. Three cars were initially built followed by another in 2003, the last car having been ordered by JMB Racing as a stop-gap until their factory built 575 GTC arrived.