It’s only been a few weeks since the Ferrari 499P walked away with victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and a new rumor has surfaced online indicating that the race car could lead to the launch of three road-going based hypercars and a track-only variant aimed at customer racers.
On July 6, Ferrari made four intriguing trademark applications with the Italian Patent and Trademark Office. The first is for the name Ferrari 499 GTB, the second is for Ferrari 499 GTS, the third is for Ferrari 499 Speciale, and the fourth is for Ferrari 499P Modificata.
As you’ll likely already know by now, a simple trademark application doesn’t mean that a car manufacturer actually intends on producing a car with that name. These trademarks could simply be Ferrari trying to protect the 499 nameplates after its Le Mans success. Or, as CarBuzz suggests, they could be an indication that the Le Mans Hypercar will spawn a series of variants available to purchase.
Read: Ferrari Ends Toyota’s Le Mans Dominance Winning For The First Time Since 1965
The 499 GTB, 499 GTS, and 499 Speciale would all be road-going models and carry similar names to other Ferrari models, such as the 296 GTB and 296 GTS. However, given how closely the 296 GTB and SF90 Stradale sit in Ferrari’s line-up, it’s hard to see a place where a new mid-engined model dubbed the 499 could slot. One possibility is that it would sit between the 296 GTB and SF90 Stradale with around 900 hp.
What we think is more likely is that spurred on by its Le Mans success, Ferrari could be considering the launch of a limited-run of 499 models through the brand’s Icona series that’s already led to the creation of the Monza SP1, Monza SP2, and Daytona SP3. Of course, this remains speculation.
As for the fourth and final trademark, 499P Modificata, it may follow in the footsteps of the Ferrari 488 GT Modificata that’s available for private purchase but is not eligible for any racing series. If it were to adopt a similar philosophy to the 488 GTB Modificata, then the 499P Modificata could offer up even more performance than the Le Mans car given that it wouldn’t be bound by any racing regulations.
