Prodrive Unveil Their 550 GT Challenger
27.4.01

The well-respected Prodrive team, best known for its highly successful Subaru rally cars, has unveiled its version of the Ferrari 550 Maranello racing car, that will compete for the first time at the Silverstone round of the FIA GT Championship on May 13.

Work started on the project on January 2 this year and in just 16 weeks, Prodrive has designed, built and run the new car.

"The team here at Prodrive has been working non-stop since the New Year to get this car ready," said George Howard-Chappell, team principal. "The initial tests have been very promising, but I do not expect us to be on the pace at very first race. By the middle of the season, we should be far more competitive and beginning to secure some good results."

The team's drivers - Alain Menu, Rickard Rydell and Peter Kox - are currently undertaking an intensive period of testing prior to Silverstone but, due to time constraints, Prodrive will be using the first two races as an extension to the development programme.

The racing car is based on the original 550 Maranello road car's monocoque chassis, but with almost every component modified. Despite this, Prodrive designer, Peter Stevens, has kept the styling of the racing car faithful to the original Pininfarina design.

The road car's original 1690kg has been trimmed down to 1100kg thanks to extensive use of carbon fibre bodywork and lightweight components, while Prodrive has redesigned the V12 engine to increase power output from 485 bhp to more than 600 bhp. This gives the racer double the power to weight ratio of the road car, at around 550bhp/tonne.

The car's aerodynamics include a substantial rear wing, front splitter and rear diffuser. The standard six speed H-gate gearbox is replaced by a six-speed sequential box from Xtrac, while 18 inch Prodrive P-WRC wheels and AP racing brakes are housed within the increased front and rear track.

Rickard Rydell will drive the Prodrive Ferrari 550 in this year's FIA GT Championship, while Alain Menu will partner him at Silverstone and then in three further rounds with Peter Kox standing in for the other three.

"We plan to continue development throughout the year and introduce a second car at round seven in Hungary," said Chappell. "Following this, customer specification cars will be available, that can be run in the FIA GT Championship, as well as potentially the American and European Le Mans series and the Le Mans 24 Hour itself."

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