Customers to test-drive Ferrari

Ferrari’s customers will this week be able to test-drive a 1,050-horsepower hybrid prototype car being unveiled at its annual celebration of the end of the global auto-racing season.

The FXX K (right), based on the Italian supercar manufacturer’s €1m LaFerrari hybrid, combines an 860-horsepower V12 engine with an electric engine, to provide an additional 190 horsepower.

Ferrari will build just a few dozen of the model, which may cost €2.5m apiece.

The FXX K will be reserved for a limited number of customers, who will use the car only on tracks in private sessions, or at events organized by the manufacturer.The programme will allow Ferrari to test extreme features that may be used in vehicles eventually built commercially, but without having to meet road-certification or racing regulations. The FXX K will never be used in competition.

Ferrari, which has restricted its overall production to 7,000 cars a year, to preserve the brand’s exclusivity, plans to boost profit with more-expensive and limited-release models and with additional services, as chairman, Sergio Marchionne, separates the business from Fiat Chrysler.