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2027 Ferrari 499P Hits the Track

Ferrari has taken another significant step toward the future of its FIA World Endurance Championship programme, completing a crucial two-day development test with the 499P at Monza ahead of the 2027 season.

The Italian manufacturer brought its Le Mans-winning Hypercar to the 5.793-kilometre Autodromo Nazionale Monza, where factory drivers Antonio Fuoco, Antonio Giovinazzi, Alessandro Pier Guidi and Miguel Molina rotated behind the wheel as Ferrari continued the next phase of the 499P’s technical evolution.

The Monza test was not a simple shakedown. Instead, it represented the opening chapter of Ferrari’s 2027 development programme, with engineers evaluating a broad range of technical and aerodynamic solutions before final homologation in the coming months.

Ferrari 499P testing at Monza focuses on 2027 development

Ferrari confirmed that the programme centred on the evaluation, testing and validation of multiple technical configurations. The team is intentionally keeping several design options open as it works toward the final specification of the 2027 Ferrari 499P.

This gradual approach allows Ferrari to compare different aerodynamic packages and technical solutions under real track conditions, ensuring that the most promising concepts can be refined before homologation is locked in.

The Monza test therefore offers an early glimpse of the future Ferrari Hypercar that will compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship from 2027 onward.

Le Mans-winning Ferrari 499P enters a new chapter

Since making its FIA WEC debut at Sebring in 2023, the Ferrari 499P has established itself as one of endurance racing’s benchmark machines.

Its achievements include:

  • Seven overall victories
  • Three consecutive wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans
  • Twenty-four podium finishes
  • Nine pole positions
  • FIA World Endurance Manufacturers’ Championship title in 2025
  • FIA World Endurance Drivers’ Championship title in 2025

Those results underline the extraordinary competitiveness of the 499P and explain why Ferrari is investing heavily in maintaining its advantage as the Hypercar category continues to evolve.

Ferrari’s world champions lead the Monza test

The second day of running featured reigning FIA WEC Drivers’ Champions Alessandro Pier Guidi and Antonio Giovinazzi, alongside Miguel Molina. The trio were instrumental in Ferrari’s 2025 Manufacturers’ Championship success and remain central figures in the factory endurance programme.

Their extensive experience with the 499P provided Ferrari engineers with valuable feedback during the assessment of new components and aerodynamic concepts.

Having championship-winning drivers involved at this stage is particularly important, as endurance racing development relies heavily on detailed driver feedback regarding balance, tyre behaviour, braking stability and aerodynamic efficiency.

Ferrari also prepares for the 2026 Monza 6 Hours

In addition to the future-focused development car, Ferrari also had its current 2026-specification 499P on track. That car completed a separate preparation programme ahead of the Monza 6 Hours, which is scheduled to conclude the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship season in November following the recent FIA calendar update.

The dual-car operation allowed Ferrari to divide its efforts between immediate race preparation and longer-term 2027 development work.

Antonello Coletta: “The Monza tests concluded positively”

Ferrari’s Global Head of Endurance and Corse Clienti, Antonello Coletta, described the test as an important milestone in the project.

“The Monza tests concluded positively and allowed us to complete the programme we had planned. The two days were extremely valuable for beginning to verify the operation of all the new elements we are testing and for starting to understand the most promising directions to pursue, with the aim of finalising the solutions for next season as soon as possible.”

Coletta’s comments suggest that Ferrari has already identified several promising technical directions, although the final 2027 specification remains under evaluation.

What the Monza test reveals about Ferrari’s 2027 Hypercar strategy

While Ferrari has not disclosed specific technical details, the emphasis on aerodynamic and technical validation points to a comprehensive evolution rather than a minor update.

Modern Hypercar development focuses heavily on:

  • aerodynamic efficiency,
  • drag reduction,
  • cooling optimisation,
  • tyre management,
  • energy deployment,
  • and race-long consistency.

Monza, with its long straights and high-speed corners, is an ideal circuit for assessing aerodynamic efficiency and stability, making it a logical venue for such an important test.

Ferrari’s next FIA WEC races in 2026

Ferrari will return to FIA World Endurance Championship competition on 6 September for the Lone Star Le Mans in Austin, followed by the 6 Hours of Fuji on 27 September.

The revised end-of-season schedule will then feature:

  • 6 Hours of Barcelona – 18 October 2026
  • 6 Hours of Monza – 8 November 2026

Both events will be contested over a six-hour distance.

Ferrari 499P Monza test signals confidence for 2027

The significance of Ferrari’s Monza test extends beyond a routine development session. It demonstrates that the Maranello manufacturer is already laying the groundwork for the next phase of its Hypercar programme while continuing to fight for success in the current FIA WEC season.

With three consecutive Le Mans victories already secured, Ferrari enters the 2027 development cycle from a position of strength. The challenge now is to ensure that the 499P’s successor remains the benchmark in endurance racing’s fiercely competitive Hypercar era.

For Ferrari fans and endurance racing enthusiasts alike, the Monza test offered a tantalising taste of the future—and an early indication that the Prancing Horse intends to remain a dominant force at Le Mans and in the FIA World Endurance Championship for years to come.

Source: Ferrari

Story

How Diego Maradona Forced Maranello to Break Its Own Rules

Some people buy cars. Others change automotive history simply by ordering one.

Diego Armando Maradona belonged firmly in the second category.

Fresh off leading Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986, Maradona was arguably the biggest athlete on the planet. His left foot had just delivered one of football’s greatest triumphs, and with fame came the desire for the ultimate reward: a Ferrari Testarossa, the undisputed poster car of the decade.

There was just one catch.

He didn’t want it in red.

Today, a black Ferrari hardly raises an eyebrow. Walk into a Ferrari dealership and you’ll find every imaginable shade on the configurator. But back in the mid-1980s, things worked differently—especially when Enzo Ferrari was still calling the shots.

To Enzo, Ferrari’s identity was inseparable from Rosso Corsa. His flagship models were supposed to leave Maranello wearing the company’s iconic racing red, not some customer-requested color. Personalization wasn’t part of Ferrari’s philosophy, particularly for the halo cars that defined the brand.

Maradona, naturally, wasn’t interested in philosophy.

He wanted his Testarossa finished in black.

The task of making the impossible happen fell to his longtime manager, Guillermo Coppola. Napoli president Corrado Ferlaino had already agreed to purchase the car as a reward for his superstar, reportedly paying an eye-watering $430,000—roughly double the Testarossa’s standard asking price at the time—but money alone wasn’t enough. Someone still had to convince Enzo Ferrari himself to approve a one-off exception.

Against all expectations, Ferrari relented.

The result was one of the rarest Testarossas ever to leave the factory, painted in the elegant Glasurit Nero Met finish. Maradona became just the third person in the world to receive an official factory-built black Testarossa, joining an exclusive club that reportedly included Sylvester Stallone and Michael Jackson.

For most collectors, that would have been the end of the story.

For Maradona, it was only the beginning.

When the car finally arrived at Naples Airport, the Argentine legend admired the dramatic black bodywork before climbing into the driver’s seat for the first time.

Then came an unexpected question.

“Guillermo, where’s the music? Where’s the tape recorder?”

Coppola explained that this wasn’t a luxury grand tourer—it was Ferrari’s vision of an uncompromising road-going supercar. Equipment that most buyers expected simply wasn’t part of the package. No radio. No air conditioning. Even interior trim was kept to a minimum in the pursuit of performance.

Maradona was unimpressed.

According to the story, he immediately opened the door, turned toward Napoli president Corrado Ferlaino, and made it abundantly clear what he thought of a Ferrari that couldn’t keep its driver cool or provide music on the drive home.

His verdict was blunt: if the car didn’t have air conditioning and a stereo, Ferrari could have it back.

Fortunately for everyone involved, cooler heads prevailed.

Ferlaino quickly promised to retrofit a state-of-the-art sound system at the club’s expense while arranging for air conditioning to be installed. With those assurances, Maradona decided to keep the car.

It would go on to become almost as famous as its owner.

The black Testarossa became a fixture of Maradona’s extraordinary years in Naples, standing apart from the sea of red Ferraris and perfectly reflecting the personality of the man who drove it. He wasn’t interested in fitting expectations—on the football pitch or in the parking lot.

The car has since passed through several owners, eventually becoming a coveted collector’s item. When it appeared at auction decades later, it commanded nearly €250,000, with its unique provenance proving every bit as valuable as its rarity.

Looking back, the story isn’t really about a paint color or missing options. It’s about two larger-than-life icons colliding at the height of their powers.

One was Enzo Ferrari, the stubborn perfectionist who believed no customer should dictate how a Ferrari ought to look.

The other was Diego Maradona, a football genius who never accepted the word “no.”

In the end, Maradona got his black Ferrari—and Ferrari proved that, every once in a while, even its own rules could be rewritten.

News

Kids Turn Ferrari 488 GTB Into a Playground Slide, Owner Sues Parents After $4,300 Damage Bill

Owning an exotic car comes with plenty of expected risks—stone chips, careless parking, and the occasional overenthusiastic admirer. Few Ferrari owners, however, expect their six-figure supercar to become neighborhood playground equipment.

That’s exactly what happened to the owner of a Ferrari 488 GTB in Kunming, China, who has now filed a civil lawsuit against the parents of four children accused of using the Italian supercar as an impromptu jungle gym.

The incident occurred in late May after four neighborhood boys, reportedly all under the age of 10, discovered the Rosso Red Ferrari parked in an open area. Security camera footage that later circulated on social media shows the children climbing onto the car, sitting on the windshield, walking across the roof, and sliding down the rear glass as if it were playground equipment. At one point, the exposed engine beneath the rear window appeared to capture their attention, while bamboo poles were also seen making contact with the bodywork.

When the owner returned from a business trip, he found the consequences of their curiosity scattered across nearly every panel. According to local reports, the Ferrari suffered deep scratches to the hood, roof, fenders, taillights, and glass, while the front bumper was also cracked.

Given Ferrari’s famously expensive repair costs, the owner chose not to send the car to an official dealership. He estimated factory repairs would have exceeded 100,000 yuan (about $14,700). Instead, he took the 488 GTB to an independent body shop, where aftermarket replacement parts helped reduce the final repair bill to 29,360 yuan—roughly $4,300.

Armed with repair invoices, the owner met the children’s parents twice at a local police station in hopes of reaching a settlement. According to the South China Morning Post, the parents offered just 5,000 yuan (around $730) in compensation and reportedly did not bring the children to apologize for the damage.

The negotiations quickly stalled.

Unwilling to accept the reduced offer, the Ferrari owner has now filed a civil lawsuit seeking reimbursement for the full cost of the repairs.

Under Chinese law, children younger than 14 cannot be subjected to administrative detention, meaning civil litigation is effectively the only legal avenue available for property owners seeking compensation from a child’s legal guardians.

The damaged car is no ordinary sports car. Produced between 2015 and 2020, the Ferrari 488 GTB marked a major milestone for Maranello by replacing the naturally aspirated 458 Italia with a 3.9-liter twin-turbocharged V8 producing 670 horsepower. It was later succeeded by the F8 Tributo before Ferrari transitioned to hybrid power with the 296 GTB.

According to the owner, he purchased the Ferrari new for 3.6 million yuan—approximately $530,000—and, until this incident, it had never suffered so much as a scratch.

For most owners, protecting a Ferrari means avoiding potholes, parking far away from shopping carts, and keeping up with meticulous maintenance. Few would think to add “playground supervision” to the list.

Source: South China Morning Post via YouTube