Ferrari has had a close relationship with the town of Modena for a long time. Dubbed the “capital of engines”, Modena has been the hometown of several Italian automakers’ factories including De Tomaso->ke27, Lamborghini->ke44, Pagani->ke66, Maserati->ke51, and, of course, Ferrari->ke252. Ferrari offers their beautiful creations in Modena yellow and they even had a car named after this prestigious city which they called the Ferrari 360 Modena->ke385. That being said, it doesn’t surprise us that the Ducal Palace Military Academy is where Ferrari chose to have the world premiere of their latest, and possible best, limited edition vehicle; The Ferrari 599 GTO. According to the Ferrari Chairman Luca di Montezemolo , the choice of the locale was made to “confirm the deep relationship between Ferrari with the terroir and especially with Modena. The Academy is a proper centre of excellence, a historical place, with culture and passion. The Academy and Ferrari are an expression of Italian excellence of this region.”

The premiere was attended by Ferrari Vice Chairman Piero Ferrari, CEO Amedeo Felisa, Montezemolo, and the Academy’s Commander General Roberto Bernardini plus 500 guests from all over the world. The guests were able to ogle the three 599 GTOs that were driven in by Luca Badoer, Giancarlo Fisichella and long-time test driver Dario Benuzzi, with three cadets as co-drivers, but that was as close as they would get to the Ferrari 599 GTO because the special edition was sold out before it even made its premiere.

Follow the jump for the full story and the press release plus a video of the world premiere of the Ferrari 599 GTO.

The Ferrari 599 GTO boasts the title of Ferrari’s “fastest road car ever” and features a V12 engine with a total output of 670 horsepower and 620 NM of torque. It makes the sprint from 0 to 60 mph in an impressive 3.3 seconds. Unfortunately, only 599 people will have the honor of owning this spectacular car and the 500 guests that attended the premiere (and everyone else, for that matter) will be forever green with envy because of that fact. The Ferrari 599 GTO will make its next appearance at the 2010 Beijing Auto Show.

Press Release

The 599 GTO world premiere, held exclusively for Ferrari clients, ended around midnight last night.

The 12-cylinder Berlinetta, produced in a limited edition of 599, was presented at a symbolic place of the city of Modena: the Military Academy’s Ducal Palace. A choice, as Ferrari Chairman Luca di Montezemolo underlined, to “confirm the deep relationship between Ferrari with the terroir and especially with Modena. The Academy is a proper centre of excellence, a historical place, with culture and passion. The Academy and Ferrari are an expression of Italian excellence of this region.”

The evening, with the participation of Ferrari Vice Chairman Piero Ferrari and CEO Amedeo Felisa, started with a welcome address from Montezemolo and the Academy’s Commander General Roberto Bernardini.

A few moments later three 599 GTOs arrived through the Ducal Palace’s entry gate, accompanied by impressive light beams in red, illuminating the Academy’s courtyard. The cars were driven by Luca Badoer, Giancarlo Fisichella and long-time test driver Dario Benuzzi, with three cadets as co-drivers, underlining the strong relationship with the Academy.

The three Berlinettas were then admired by the 500 guests from all over the world, followed by enthusiastic comments on the 599 GTO, while some felt sorry for not being amongst the 599 clients of this exceptional model. The 599 GTOs of this special limited series, which will be produced, are already sold.

The expectations for this car with such an important name are extremely high, as Montezemolo explained: “We’ve created a wonderful car, the most powerful in our history, an exclusive car I wanted to give a historical name like GTO, because it deserves it”.

The 599 GTO’s next official appearance will be in Beijing, at the International Automotive Exhibition. A decision taken, considering the growing market for Ferrari in the Asia Pacific region and in China.