Ferrari has a reputation amongst laymen as a car company that makes fast and in your face cars, but with aficionados who know this manufacturer inside and out, they know that Ferrari is more than just that. This is a company that is habitually pushing boundaries, a company that consistently changes the way we think about what cars can be. They take us back to our childhood where we used to play with toy cars and pretend to be racers. When Ferrari introduced the F50 in 1995, they did exactly that by taking us back to an age where the imagination was lucid and unapologetic.
“The F50 is an embodiment of boyhood imagination and engineering ambition but look beyond the aesthetic and you’ll see this is not just a big shiny red toy.”
The F50 is an embodiment of boyhood imagination and engineering ambition but look beyond the aesthetic and you’ll see this is not just a big shiny red toy.
Ferrari F50 features
The Ferrari F50 is basically a detuned version of Ferrari’s 641 Formula 1 car. It’s powered by a 4.7 litre V12 engine and six-speed gear box as well as featuring many materials and principles used in the F1 cars, such as lightweight carbon composites and adhesive materials. So the F50 is basically an F1 car dressed as a road car but which meant increased focus on building the car to be compatible with road law and regulations.
The result was an 8000 rpm, 513 horse power beast that could reach 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds. In other words, the world’s fastest road legal car. However, F1cars that are notoriously difficult to drive, the F50 drives like a go-kart with its precise responsiveness and obedience to the driver. Similar to it’s F1 influencers, the F50 has some serious noise behind it. This keeps you gripped in the drive and immersed in the experience as you feel every rev in your body.
Originally listed at $520,000, the car was conceived in response to the McLaren F1 and although double the price of the F50 and the result was higher performance. For all that, the F50 however is unfazed and rightfully so as it was still a raucous and daring supercar with top speeds of 325 km/h. It was a true race track car designed for the road.
The F50 captured what Ferrari’s reputation is marvelled for, an exhilarating experience that is unmatched by any other car. Consumers at that time who chased the McLaren’s F1 thrill would not be blamed for their choice as it was recognised as the best road super car in the world but anyone who got their hands on this elusive F50 would not be disappointed, not least because it offered every thrill you could want in a super car but for half the price of the McLaren.
The F50’S style was influenced by Ferrari’s 1989 Mythos car which was a mix between a coupe and barchetta, as it resembled a little boat.. The F50 is a two-door, two seat targa top which makes it a semi-convertible. The roof, which can be manually attached or detached takes a whopping 30 minutes which might annoy some who just want to get on the road if the rain has just started.
This car though, no doubt, is best driven as it was intended, with the wind in your face. However, the pursuit of style would appear to have got the better of Ferrari on this occasion because its abundance of curves and F40 style rear wing, means that the body is over-sculpted, with the result that it’s aerodynamics are detrimentally affected.
349 F50’s were ever made, including 55 in the U.S and which angered some rich enthusiasts who were prevented from getting their hands on one due to the exclusivity. The ones who had the privilege to own one will surely tell the tale of it’s experience.
