Ferrari unleashes limited new models: track-only FXX K, Sergio roadster

Any Ferrari is a rare Ferrari, but this week the famed Italian sports car maker introduced two new editions that will be true unicorns, the Sergio and the FXX K.

The announcements come more than a month after Ferrari’s parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced it was spinning Ferrari off as a separate company in 2015. And they point to an increasing trend for the Italian brand: building specialty cars like the Sergio and FXX K that are as profitable as they are rare.

But the rarer of the two is the Sergio. Ferrari announced Friday that it was building just six of these roadsters, named after the late Sergio Pininfarina whose design firm has worked on Ferraris for decades.

The car is essentially a re-bodied version of Ferrari’s 458 Spider, so it carries the same 4.5-liter naturally aspirated V-8 engine mounted behind the cockpit. It makes a brisk 605 horsepower, and the car remains rear-wheel-drive.

But the exterior is entirely new. Ferrari’s goal with this model was to create a “simple, clear style.” The overall look of the Sergio softens the stock 458 Spider’s look.

Elements like the headlights and taillights have been rethought and pay homage to Pininfarina designs from the 1960s and ‘70s, Ferrari said. There’s no roof, and the roll bar just behind the two occupants’ heads has air intakes to cool the transmission integrated into it.

Though the first delivery of the Sergio happened Friday in the United Arab Emirates, the other five owners are spread throughout the globe, including North America, Ferrari said. There’s no word on exact price, but figure each of the six buyers paid at least $3 million for their custom creation.

By comparison, the FXX K is much more common. Ferrari expects to build under 40 copies of this track-only car, which is based on the already-bonkers LaFerrari hybrid super car.

The FXX K gets its name from its predecessor, the FXX. That car was a track-only version of the Ferrari Enzo. The ‘K’ in the latest model’s name stands for KERS, the kinetic energy recovery system that charges the batteries on board this hybrid.

The FXX K has 1,035 total horsepower from the electric motor and the upgraded 6.3-liter V-12 engine. That’s a jump of 85 horsepower over the stock LaFerrari. Torque clocks in at “over” 664 pound-feet and the exhaust system’s silencers have been tossed out.

The KERS system has four modes that drivers can choose depending on their intentions on the track. There’s Qualify, which maximizes the car’s output over a limited number of laps, Long Run for those lengthy track sessions, Manual boost for ultra-quick passing situations, and Fast Charge, which decreases output in the name of recharging the car’s batteries.

To keep the FXX K glued to the tarmac, Ferrari employed various active and passive aerodynamic aids throughout the exterior, including the front splitter, massive rear diffuser, and split rear spoiler. There are two configurations for the car’s bodywork, with the low-drag setup boosting down force by 30% over the LaFerrari, and the high-down force setup boosting it by 50%.

The FXX K will cost around $3 million each. But that’s not just for the car. Like the earlier FXX, the FXX K is for preselected buyers that Ferrari calls “Client Test Drivers.” These loyal Ferrari enthusiasts also get two years of regular access to track time in the car and full mechanical and track support from Ferrari.

Though it’s not a racing program, this system also allows Ferrari to garner data about its cars’ performance for use in future models. The FXX K starts tearing up tracks worldwide in 2015.