- The Ferrari LaFerrari successor is under development
- The new hypercar, which might have 499 in its name, may be influenced by the Le Mans-winning 499P LMH race car
- Code-named F250, the new Ferrari should debut later this year with deliveries beginning in 2025
Ferrari engineers have been spotted again with a prototype for what's thought to be the successor to the LaFerrari, a model that is code-named the F250 (the LaFerrari was the F150).
The upcoming hypercar will be the latest member in Ferrari's Special Series, which in addition to the LaFerrari includes the 288 GTO, F40, F50, and Enzo.
Such models are offered to Ferrari's most loyal customers and typically rise significantly in value over time. The LaFerrari cost approximately $1.4 million when new but today is trading for more than three times that figure on the used market.
The F250 prototypes are heavily camouflaged, but the latest test vehicle looks to be wearing the final body design. It also looks like it is sporting the production taillights and exhaust tip designs.
The car already looks lower and wider than the LaFerrari, and it sports clear influences from Ferrari's Le Mans-winning 499P LMH race car. The 499P influence can clearly be seen in the front fascia on some prototypes, and it looks like the 499P's single light strip at the rear has also made it onto the F250. Ferrari most recently used the motif on its hardcore SF90 XX. The doors, meanwhile, follow the typical butterfly-wing design shared with the LaFerrari and its Enzo predecessor.
The first test mules using a makeshift LaFerrari body were spotted as early as 2021, but Ferrari still has some development planned as the F250 isn't expected to debut until the second half of 2024. The debut is rumored to be scheduled for October. Deliveries should follow in the first half of 2025.
2023 Ferrari 499P LMH race car
All Ferrari has said about the car is that it will be launched by 2026 and be limited to "far less" than 5% of the automaker's total volume. Considering the company built 500 LaFerrari coupes, plus an additional 210 LaFerrari Aperta convertibles, we could expect around 600 F250 coupes built plus an additional 200-250 convertible versions. The bigger volume is necessary to satisfy Ferrari's growing customer base in new markets.
Warning stickers on some prototypes confirm an electrified powertrain, though it isn't clear whether the powertrain will use a V-12 or a smaller unit. There are rumors Ferrari might use a turbocharged V-6 as the powertrain's internal-combustion component, which is backed up by the V-6 sound that seems to come from engine of the prototype shown in the video from Car Spy Media. This would be an additional link to the 499P, whose turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 is also related to the unit in the 296 supercar. The “499” in the race car's name is a reference to the 499 cc displacement of the engine's individual cylinders.
Ferrari LaFerrari successor (F250) spy shots - Photo credit: Baldauf
Ferrari may even use 499 in the name of the new hypercar as yet another nod to the LMH race car. Trademarks filed by the automaker include 499 GTB, 499 GTS, 499 Speciale, and 499P Modificata. That last name has already been used for a track version of the 499P race car.
