The Ferrari Le Mans car you can buy

Ferrari has made a strong motorsport comeback in 2023, winning the Nürburgring 24 Hours shortly before an outright Le Mans win for the first time in over half a century. To celebrate the car that helped it achieve the latter, and allow its most loyal customers to experience it for themselves, Ferrari has created the 499P Modificata. Available to purchase for €5.1m (circa UD$8.42M), buyers will be able to put it through its paces at select events in the new Sport Prototipi Clienti programme, but racing isn’t on the agenda.

While this new programme does sit alongside XX as something for Ferrari’s very best customers, the 499P Modificata offers something entirely new. The Challenge and XX series have only ever featured models based on road cars, but this new offering has its roots firmly in motorsport, and a current Le Mans racer at that.

Shown for the first time at Mugello Circuit during the 2023 Ferrari Finali Mondiali, the model features the same carbonfibre monocoque, push-rod suspension and powertrain as the Le Mans Hypercar, but numerous changes aim to make it more accessible and even more capable. Free of the FIA’s strict regulations, the 499P Modificata receives updates to its powertrain, suspension and cockpit to make it as useable and entertaining as possible.

Under its carbonfibre skin is the same load-bearing, 296-derived 3-litre twin-turbocharged V6 as the Le Mans Hypercar, assisted by a front-mounted electric motor. While the racer is limited to an overall output of 500KW due to regulations, the Modificata boasts an additional 130KW for a peak output of 630KW.

Perhaps the most notable new addition is Push to Pass, providing a 118Kw power boost via a button on the back of the steering wheel. Made possible by its F1-derived 800-volt battery pack, the system can deliver multiple boosts per lap of up to 7sec in length each, with the front axle energy recuperation system charging the system during deceleration. In normal driving without Push to Pass activated, total system output stands at 512kW.

To extract even more performance from the 499P, Ferrari has also eliminated the minimum speed at which the front-axle motor is activated. In the racer, regulations stipulate that it can’t contribute until a speed of 190km/h, with only the rear axle powered by the combustion engine until that point. The Modificata takes a different approach, with the front-axle powered from standstill, giving in full-time all-wheel drive. Not only does this make it much quicker from a standstill and in low traction conditions, but it also allows for greater adjustability in slower speed corners.

While the Le Mans Hypercar was developed on Michelin tyres, Ferrari turned to Pirelli for the Modificata, developing bespoke rubber for an increase in accessible and predictable performance. Featuring an F1-derived compound, these new tyres are said to improve feedback in non-competitive driving, and require less effort to achieve optimum temperatures.

Elsewhere, Ferrari has made changes to its suspension setup and engine maps to better suit the non-competitive use case. Overall design is near-identical to the Le Mans car, though, with even the single-seat cockpit retaining its tried and tested layout.

The Sport Prototipi Clienti programme will launch in 2024 with the 499P Modificata, and as with its existing programmes, Ferrari will handle the logistics of transporting each car from circuit to circuit, with two years of track-side assistance, maintenance and activities included in the AUD$8.42m fee.