Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano review: an Enzo-derived V12 in a genuine grand tourer body
4.4/5motorssouq Editorial Team
The 599 GTB Fiorano is the front-engined Ferrari V12 to buy if the goal is Enzo-adjacent engine drama in a genuinely usable grand tourer shape. It rides better than a 550 while pulling harder in a straight line than either the 550 or 575 before it, and the F1 automated-manual, while less fashionable now than a dual-clutch, is a known quantity that specialists in the region understand well. Expect a longer search in Bahrain's small market and budget for clutch actuator wear on the F1 gearbox.
Pros
- 6.0L V12 is a direct, road-tuned relative of the Enzo hypercar's engine
- Rides noticeably better than the stiffer 550/575 generation before it
- Genuinely serious mid-range torque alongside the high-rev drama
- F1 automated-manual is a known quantity, well understood by regional Ferrari specialists
Cons
- Bahrain's tiny used market usually forces a search into the wider GCC
- Clutch actuator and hydraulic pump wear on the F1 gearbox is a real, budget-worthy risk
- Single-clutch F1 shifts feel dated next to a modern dual-clutch car
- No factory-authorised showroom physically based in Bahrain
Ferrari built the 599 GTB Fiorano's 6.0-litre V12 as a direct relative of the engine that powered the Enzo hypercar, detuned and adapted for a road car that had to be usable every day rather than track-only. The result revs with the same eagerness the family name implies and pulls with genuinely serious mid-range torque, all wrapped in a Pininfarina body noticeably more aerodynamically resolved than the 550 it eventually replaced.
Finding and buying one in Bahrain
The 599 was never a high-volume car anywhere, and Bahrain's tiny slice of the global total means a genuine local search usually stretches into the wider GCC market. That is not necessarily a disadvantage — a well-documented example imported from Dubai or Abu Dhabi with a clean regional service history is often a safer buy than a mystery car that has been sitting in a private Bahraini garage — but buyers should budget time, not just money, for the search.
On the road, the 599 rides noticeably better than the stiffer-sprung 550 while still gripping hard enough through Bahrain's few genuine corners — the roundabouts near the Formula 1 circuit and the sweeping sections of the coast road toward Zallaq — to remind a driver why Ferrari builds cars this way. The F1 automated-manual gearbox, a single-clutch system rather than the dual-clutch of later cars, shifts with a mechanical thump under hard acceleration that some drivers love and others find dated; either way, it is well understood by regional specialists.
Running one and the flaw to budget for
Servicing follows the now-familiar pattern for older mid-cycle Ferraris in Bahrain: no factory showroom in the kingdom, work routed through the wider GCC network or trusted independents. The genuine mechanical flaw to plan for is clutch actuator and hydraulic pump wear in the F1 gearbox, a known service item on cars of this generation that a pre-purchase inspection should specifically check rather than assume is fine.