The Ferrari 499P is a sports prototype built by

Scuderia Ferrari Scuderia Ferrari Società per Azioni, S.p.A. () is the racing division of luxury Italian auto manufacturer Ferrari and the racing team that competes in Formula One racing. The team is also known by the nickname "The Prancing Horse", in refere ...

to compete in the

FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship is an auto racing world championship organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The series supersedes the ACO's former Intercont ...

in the Le Mans Hypercar category since 2023. The introduction of the 499P marks 50 years since Ferrari last fielded a factory-backed sports prototype that contested for the overall win at the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

, and one of the 499Ps raced with the number 50 as a tribute. The car was unveiled at the Ferrari Finali Mondiali, Ferrari's annual finale for their one-make series,

Ferrari Challenge The Ferrari Challenge is a single-marque motorsport championship that was created in 1993 for owners of the 348 Berlinetta who wanted to become involved in racing. The series was proposed by Ferrari Club Nederland founder and President Hans ...

. The car made its competitive debut at the season-opening round of the

2023 FIA World Endurance Championship The 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship will be the eleventh season of the FIA World Endurance Championship, an auto racing series organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The ...

, the

2023 1000 Miles of Sebring The 2023 1000 Miles of Sebring was an Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance Sports car racing, sportscar racing event held at the Sebring International Raceway, Florida, United States on 17 March 2023, as the opening round of the 2023 FIA Worl ...

. On its first outing at the

2023 24 Hours of Le Mans The 91st 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 91e 24 Heures du Mans), also known as the Centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, Centenaire des 24 Heures du Mans), was an Endurance racing (motorsport), automobile endurance race for tea ...

, the 499P driven by

Antonio Giovinazzi Antonio Maria Giovinazzi (; born 14 December 1993) is an Italian racing driver who currently serves as the reserve driver for Scuderia Ferrari, Haas and Alfa Romeo Racing. He was the 2015 FIA Formula 3 European Championship runner-up and race ...

, Alessandro Pier Guidi, and James Calado won the race. It was Ferrari's first overall victory at Le Mans since the

1965 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 33rd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 19 and 20 June 1965. It was also the twelfth round of the World Sportscar Championship. After the disappointing results of the previous year's race, Ford return ...

, ending the streak of five victories by Toyota Gazoo Racing.

Specifications

The 499P was designed under the Le Mans Hypercar regulations, therefore it does not feature the standardised parts such as the ones found in cars designed to the

Le Mans Daytona h An LMDh (Le Mans Daytona h) is a type of sports prototype race car that will compete alongside Le Mans Hypercar entries in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship from 2023. It also competes in the Hypercar clas ...

regulations, which the 499P races against. The aerodynamics of the 499P were developed in conjunction with Ferrari's Styling Centre, headed by Flavio Manzoni, under Ferdinando Cannizzo, head of Ferrari's sports car engineering department. The car's

twin-turbo Twin-turbo (not to be confused with a twincharger setup, which is a combination of a supercharger and a turbocharger) refers to an engine in which two turbochargers work in tandem to compress the intake fuel/air mixture (or intake air, in the case ...

charged V6 engine architecture is shared with the

Ferrari 296 The Ferrari 296 (Type F171) is a plug-in hybrid sports car designed by the Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari for the 2022 model year. It was unveiled on 24 June 2021. History The 296 GTB was presented as the first "real Ferrari with six cyl ...

and its Group GT3 counterpart, the 296 GT3. However, instead of being mounted to the subframe as in the road-going vehicle, the engine is a fully stressed member in the 499P, and has had various modifications to accommodate its new role as a stress-bearing member. The 499P has semi-permanent

all-wheel drive An all-wheel drive vehicle (AWD vehicle) is one with a powertrain capable of providing power to all its wheels, whether full-time or on-demand. The most common forms of all-wheel drive are: ;1x1 : All unicycles Reflecting one axle with one w ...

, with an electric motor situated at the front axle, providing above (as stipulated by the regulations), and is connected to a bespoke 900 V battery pack, with the ability to be recharged by Ferrari's own Energy Recovery System (ERS).

Racing results

Complete World Endurance Championship results

(key) Races in bold indicates

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...

. Races in ''italics'' indicates fastest lap.

499P Modificata

The 499P Modificata was unveiled during the 2023 Ferrari Finali Mondiali. It is a non-competitive, unrestricted, track-only version of the 499P, made to celebrate Ferrari's victory at Le Mans that year.

References

External links

* {{WEC cars 2023 Cars introduced in 2022 499P Le Mans Hypercars 24 Hours of Le Mans race cars Sports prototypes Rear mid-engine, all-wheel-drive vehicles Le Mans winning cars