2007 Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano Preview

The Newest Ferrari

Looking a lot like the company's 612 Scaglietti, Ferrari's new 599 GTB will take over for the 575.

Here are three sample headlines floating around the auto business this week: "Toyota Truck Plant Expanding Again." "Fleet Customers Can Run Dodge Diesel Pickup on 20% Biodiesel from 2007." "Johnson Controls Mulls Future of Acquired Compressor Business."

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

This is why we are doubly excited when we get news that a new Ferrari is headed for showrooms: not only does the news concern a Ferrari, and therefore one of the most exciting cars in the world, but it refreshes us from the grief of wading through the kind of colorless headlines you see above — the kind of headlines that dominate automotive publications.

Fiat's Ferrari subsidiary recently released the first photo of and information about its newest model, the 599 GTB coupe. Ferrari says this beautiful model, the front-end styling of which looks a lot like that of the company's 612 Scaglietti flagship coupe, will go on sale in the middle of this year in Europe and the end of this year in North America — "not before October or November," said a Ferrari North America spokesman in a recent phone interview.

Check out the 599 GTB slideshow on Forbes.com.

No estimated price is available for the 599 GTB, which the company will unveil at next month's Geneva Motor Show. One could make a guess, however, based on the $257,000 base price of the 612 and the $225,000 base price of the model the 599 is replacing, the 575 coupe, which the spokesman said is "essentially out of production."

Ferrari says the 599 will be its most powerful V12-engined production car of all time. The model will use a power plant derived from that of the company's out-of-production Enzo Ferrari supercar. In a recent statement, Ferrari said the 599's V12 will have "no less than 620 hp" — a figure which would top the 612's 534 hp.

But the 599 will be like the 575: more of a pure sports car than the 612. The 612 has a tiny backseat, but the 599 will be a two-seater with a mid-mounted engine. Like other Ferraris, it will have all-aluminum chassis and body construction and styling by Italian design house Pininfarina. Ferrari says the 599's looks are inspired by those of such classic Ferraris as the 250 GT, 275 GTB and 365 GTB4.

Forbes Fact

Ferrari produced at least 5,700 models of the 575M Maranello and its predecessor, the 550 Maranello, which the company introduced in 1996. The company said this total is a record for a family of Ferrari berlinettas. "Berlinetta" is the Italian term for a coupe, frequently associated with two-seat Grand Touring and sports racing cars.