Photo: RM Sotheby's
After the 288 GTO, the F40 rewrote the rulebook. The F50, meanwhile, is often regarded as being probably the worst range-topping Ferrari of all time. Why it's hated for and by what sort of person, I can’t actually understand.
Some argue that it’s softer than the F40, but they’re wrong. Other have this short-sighted view on specialness, but they’re wrong as well. How is this for reference: 349 units of the F50 versus 1,311 units of the F40. Having cleared these misconceptions, could the haters please stop hating the F50 already?
“No,” some might reply. “The engine is not as exciting as the F40’s twin-turbo V8.” You there dissing this car for its means of propulsion, did you know that the 4.7-liter V12 engine powering the F50 has some things in common with the V12 engine in the Ferrari 641 Formula 1 car? Are you not entertained?
Ferrari is the last automaker to pull such a ludicrously glorious stunt with a road-legal car, but other names in the biz are catching up with the Prancing Horse’s bright idea. Others such as Mercedes-AMG, who intends to make the Hybrid Power Unit of its F1 racer sufficiently reliable for use in a road car.
Now that justice has been made or the F50, I want you to pay attention to this black-painted example of the breed. Only four units of the 1990s supercar were finished so, of which two are U.S.-specification models. One of them, unfortunately, was crashed. The pictured F50, who bears chassis number 062/349, is the only North American-market example still in existence.
Showing just 2,083 miles on the odometer, RM Sotheby's estimate on this Formula 1-inspired blast from the past is $3 million, probably $3.5 million if a collector gets too passionate during bidding. A lot of green dollar bills, I agree, but don’t forget how much of a forbidden fruit this Italian thoroughbred is.
If, however, you're the sort of person in the market for something more modern than the F50, the open-top LaFerrari Aperta should fit the bill.
“No,” some might reply. “The engine is not as exciting as the F40’s twin-turbo V8.” You there dissing this car for its means of propulsion, did you know that the 4.7-liter V12 engine powering the F50 has some things in common with the V12 engine in the Ferrari 641 Formula 1 car? Are you not entertained?
Ferrari is the last automaker to pull such a ludicrously glorious stunt with a road-legal car, but other names in the biz are catching up with the Prancing Horse’s bright idea. Others such as Mercedes-AMG, who intends to make the Hybrid Power Unit of its F1 racer sufficiently reliable for use in a road car.
Now that justice has been made or the F50, I want you to pay attention to this black-painted example of the breed. Only four units of the 1990s supercar were finished so, of which two are U.S.-specification models. One of them, unfortunately, was crashed. The pictured F50, who bears chassis number 062/349, is the only North American-market example still in existence.
Showing just 2,083 miles on the odometer, RM Sotheby's estimate on this Formula 1-inspired blast from the past is $3 million, probably $3.5 million if a collector gets too passionate during bidding. A lot of green dollar bills, I agree, but don’t forget how much of a forbidden fruit this Italian thoroughbred is.
If, however, you're the sort of person in the market for something more modern than the F50, the open-top LaFerrari Aperta should fit the bill.
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