Legendary Cars: Ferrari F50 – Auto Sportive
I still remember it as if it were yesterday: a yellow 1:18 scale Burago made of metal with spinning wheels, opening doors and a hood.
I was six years old when I was given this Ferrari F1995 as a gift in 50. Among the special models of the House of the Prancing Horse, the F50 represents a special case.
Heir F40
Among the special limited edition vehicles F50 this is the only discovery, and his greatness is somewhat eclipsed by his ancestor. Replacing a Ferrari F40 is no easy task, but the F50, despite not capturing the hearts of enthusiasts as much as its twin-turbo sister, is an exceptional car.
Its bonnet resembles a Formula 1 nose and has an unforgiving '90s look, characterized by more rounded headlights (no longer retractable), while a huge tail with a built-in spoiler makes the car rather unbalanced for the rear view.
On the other hand, the black line running along the sides is beautiful, as if cutting the car into two pieces that connect to the nose and tail.
The F50 was conceived as a kind of road formula one, both in terms of aesthetics and content: the 12-degree V-65 engine with 5 valves per cylinder was borrowed from Nigel Mansell's 1989 single-seat car, the Ferrari 640 F1. however, increased to a displacement of 4,7 liters and modified for use on the road.
Technique and execution
Il engine The V12 delivers incredible power from 525 hp. at 8.000 rpm and 471 Nm of torque, the F50 accelerates from 0 to 100 in 3,8 seconds and reaches a top speed of 325 km / h.
The chassis was also an absolute novelty for the time: it was made entirely of carbon composite materials, like the F1 cars, and the 6-speed manual transmission was in the block with the engine, so it was connected by an auxiliary frame to increase structural rigidity and light weight. ...
Body from Pininfarina it took over two thousand hours of wind tunnel work to reach the downforce values they set for themselves at Ferrari.
349 cars were put up for sale at price Lire 852.800.000, and to avoid speculation, Ferrari limited sales to one copy per customer, but was unable to avoid episodes of theft from garages and gimmicks to hijack one of the cars.
Indeed, at the Ferrari dealership in Philadelphia in 2003, a Ferrari F50 was stolen by a customer who asked to be allowed to hear the roar of the engine. Without a doubt, one of the most striking and spectacular episodes in the history of car thefts.
The F50 has also been the protagonist of many Gamesincluding Need for Speed, Sega's hugely popular Outrun 2, and 1996's Overtop.
