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This ProDrive Ferrari 550 Is a Dream Track Toy

Photo credit: NM2255 Car HD Videos / YouTube
Photo credit: NM2255 Car HD Videos / YouTube

From Road & Track

As a street car, it's hard to fault the Ferrari 550 Maranello. The Italian grand tourer has it all: An amazing V12 engine, stunning looks, and to round it all off, a gated six-speed manual transmission. How did ProDrive make it even better? The team turned it into a race car, of course.

Back in 2001, a private Swiss racing team hired the motorsport specialists at ProDrive to build a fleet of track-ready 550 Maranello to compete in races across Europe, with an emphasis on endurance racing. The car went on to see victories in the Spa 24 Hour and the GT1 class in Le Mans.

According to fchgt.com, the ten track-modified Maranellos came with an enlarged 6.0-liter engine (up from 5.5 liters), and made 600 horsepower, even with series-mandated intake restrictors. Widened carbon fiber body panels and a sequential Xtrac transmission round out the modifications.

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Nowadays, this particular ProDrive 550 Maranello is being used as a track day toy, and it still looks as fast as ever. Watch for yourself as it does some laps around Spa Francorchamps, and make sure to turn the sound up.

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