Ferrari FXX K Evo Hits The Track For The First Time In Austin

It’s been over four months since Ferrari revealed the new FXX K Evo. But this is the first time that the upgraded track machine has actually, you know… driven on track. (At least in public, anyway.)

Following its unveiling at the Finali Mondiali event at Mugello last year, the Ferrari FXX K Evo has now made its “race” debut at the Circuit of the Americas. There it hit the track alongside a handful of existing FXX Ks, together with seven 599 XXs and a pair of original Enzo-based FXXs. They all form part of Ferrari’s XX development program.

Based on the hybrid LaFerrari hypercar, the FXX K packs the same 6.3-liter V12 powertrain, but upgraded from 950 horsepower to over 1,000. It also features an array of other track-specific upgrades, including race-ready suspension and rolling stock, a dry weight cut down to 2,568 pounds (1,165 kg), and more downforce.

In fact the FXX K’s aggressive aero package produces 1,190 lbs (540 kg) of downforce at 124 mph (200 km/h) – but the FXX K Evo takes that even further. It produces 23 percent more downforce than the “standard” FXX K, and 75 percent more than the road-going LaFerrari.

The Evo version also features a smattering of other enhancements, including a new steering wheel and electronics. The changes were applied to three existing FXX Ks that were on hand for the event in Austin, with the first ground-up examples to follow later.

The cars took part in the first Ferrari Racing Days to be held at the circuit in Austin – but they weren’t the only ones. All told, about a thousand Prancing Horses turned out for the event, including several grids’ worth of 458 and 488 Challenge racers and some retired F1 cars. There were two 412 T2s (the Scuderia’s last V12 racers); the F2000, F2003 GA, and F2004 that won the US Grand Prix (when it was at Indy), and the F138 that Fernando Alonso drove at Austin in 2013 (where it finished fifth).