The KC23 is Ferrari’s latest futuristic one-off with deployable body panels
It shares its underpinnings with Ferrari’s most successful track car, the 488 GT3 Evo 2020
If there’s one group that can stand toe-to-toe with Ferrari when it comes to producing the most exciting supercars, that’s the owners of Ferrari. To honour the same, Ferrari operates a Special Projects programme where each project originates from an idea put forward by the client and developed hand-in-glove with a team of designers from Ferrari’s Styling Centre to create unique one-off Ferraris. The most recent one to debut is called the Ferrari KC23, commissioned by a leading Ferrari collector and reflects an extreme vision of what the closed-wheel racing of the future may look like.
The Ferrari KC23 is based on the 488 GT3 Evo 2020, the most successful track car in Maranello’s 76-year history, by racking up over 530 victories and winning more than 119 championships. The KC23 inherits the uber-triumphant race car’s layout, chassis and engine but is designed exclusively for non-competitive track use. It borrows the 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8 that powers the rear wheels through a dual-clutch gearbox. Ferrari has remained tight-lipped on the power figures, but regulations limited the GT3’s output to 600hp, so one can expect it to be around the same ballpark.
Since the commencement of the project, the client and the Ferrari Styling Centre focused on creating a radical one-off car completely free of homologation constraints the 488 GT3 Evo 2020 had to adhere to. This resulted in every single one of the race car’s lines being redesigned, including the glass surfaces and even the light clusters.
The result is a monolithic exterior design that seems carved out of a single metal block. Ferrari claims engineers had to work hard to retain the donor car’s performance with the altered silhouette of the KC23. Panels were developed with custom kinematics that activates automatically when the engine is turned on, such as the one behind the front wheel, to reveal a fence that boosts front downforce for better aerodynamic balance. The panel at the rear provides the correct amount of intake air to the intercoolers, auxiliary components, and the engine. The side air intakes open automatically when the mid-rear V8 twin turbo is turned on, and the imposing rear wing is removable for non-track use of the supercar.
The KC23 gets butterfly doors that open vertically on single front hinges, a design shared with the iconic supercar, the LaFerrari. While the headlights and taillights were redesigned, the latter features striking methacrylate light blades inspired by the Ferrari Vision Gran Turismo. Each glass surface is seamlessly integrated with the bodywork, with no visible pillars, frames or seals to create a futuristic design.
The cabin has been kept as similar to the 488 GT3 Evo 2020 as possible but receives seats trimmed in Alcantara with an electro-welded logo specific to the KC23. The customer receives two sets of specifically designed wheels – 18” for the circuits and 21” front wheels and 22” rear wheels when put up for static display.
It will be making its first public appearance between July 13th and 16th at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
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