Ferrari F12 GTO leaked

The first official images of Ferrari's hard-core F12 GTO appear to have been leaked by Dutch website Autogespot.nl, which says it sourced these two images from a private configurator available only to Ferrari customers.

We first saw the more extreme version of Ferrari's top-shelf V12 model, the F12 Berlinetta, in spy shots taken near Maranello earlier this month, when Prancing Horse sources confirmed to motoring.com.au that it will be called the F12 GTO.

Initially it was believed the camouflaged prototype was a facelifted version of the $690,745 front-engined F12 Berlinetta, dubbed F12 M.

However, these low-res screen-shots reveal what was concealed in the spy shots – a revised rear-end including three air-vents for each rear wheel housing and new front and rear bumpers designed to produce more downforce and therefore improved cornering capability.

There's no official word from Ferrari ahead of what's understood to be a Frankfurt motor show world debut for the F12 GTO in September, before first deliveries commence next year.

But there are suggestions the F12 GTO – which follows in the footsteps of the previous-generation 599 GTO of 2010 – will gain a 44kW peak power increase, bringing the naturally aspirated 6.3-litre 545kW/690Nm V12's output to 588kW.

Reports that Ferrari will fit a version of the HY-KERS hybrid system from the million-dollar limited-edition LaFerrari are wide of the mark, we believe, but the GTO version could shed up to 100kg of weight compared to the standard F12, which was first revealed at the 2012 Geneva motor show.

That should make the F12 GTO – only about 650 of which are expected to be produced – the fastest road-going Prancing Horse this side of LaFerrari, but it's likely to come at the expense of a $700K-plus pricetag, easily making it the most expensive Ferrari available here.