First look: Fastest Ferrari yet

YOU'RE looking at the first official picture of Ferrari's fastest production car ever, and if you want to head to Tokyo right now you'll be able to see it in the carbon-fibre.

Ferrari calls it the FX, for now, but when the production car is unveiled at the Paris motor show on September 26 it will more than likely be the F60, successor to the F40 and F50 as Ferrari's ultimate supercar.

But from April 27 until mid-July a prototype is going to be on display at the Contemporary Art Museum in Tokyo, as part of an exhibition called "Artedinamica", which celebrates Ferrari and fellow Italian sports car-maker Maserati, which Ferrari now owns.

The good news is that if you can't get to Tokyo, the F60 will be at this year's Sydney motor show, which kicks off on October 18. The bad news is that it is expected to retail in Australia for $1.5 million, or even more.

Also on display in Tokyo are drawings of the next generation Maserati Quattroporte luxury sedan, which is inset above. It is not due to appear until 2003 and should make it to the Sydney motor show for its Australian debut later that year.

But it is the Ferrari that is the undoubted star right now. A 6.0-litre V12 that produces 485kW mounted amidships and driving the rear wheels via a seven-speed gearbox, means this will be even faster than the McLaren F1 supercar.

Performance figures being mooted are spectacular: 0-100km/h in 3.2 seconds, 0-160km/h in six seconds and a top speed said to be around 330km/h!The mechanical details are hugely impressive. The engine is said to be 30 per cent lighter than the 4.7-litre unit in the F50 suspension is via double wishbones all-round with the assistance of electronic dampers and stopping power is provided by Brembo brakes.

Wrapped around the driveline is a bold, Pininfarina-designed body which promotes obvious links to Ferrari's F1 car, particularly in the elongated nose and V-shaped air dam, while the gaping air intakes are familiar from the 360 Modena launched in 1999.

Built extensively in carbon-fibre - which helps enormously in hitting the 1200kg weight target - the F60 is a coupe design with scissor doors that are hinged at the front.

Considering the enormous performance it is no surprise that aerodynamics plays a key role, with undertray flaps adjusting the airflow to grip the car to the ground. But the single photo released by Ferrari shows no sign of the huge rear wing mount seen on test mule spy shots and this apparently was a decoy.

Inside, the F60 is said to have the traditional Ferrari appointments - body hugging bucket seats, a three-spoke steering wheel (with gear shift levers in this case) and drilled alloy pedals - but overall it eschews luxury fittings.

The F60 heads a pack of hyper-performance supercars heading for production. Also coming are the 400kW Porsche Carrera GT and the 410kW Mercedes-Benz SLR, the latter now firming as a real chance for right-hand drive and local sale in Australia (See "SLR sale hope" in our Future Models section).

Meanwhile, the all-new Quattroporte will be an all-wheel drive competitor to the likes of the Mercedes-Benz S-class and BMW 7 Series, powered by engines sourced from Ferrari.