Thursday 16th July 2015

Ferrari 550 Maranello: Spotted

The affordable 550s may have disappeared, but that doesn't stop them being quite lovely

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Here's a confession: the current Ferrari range doesn't personally appeal very much. I'm certain they would given an empty track and five sets of tyres but at the moment I don't yearn to own a Ferrari, which is rather sad. They used to be prettier, the speed sounds a bit bonkers for use on the road and that single-minded focus on squeezing every tenth has made them a lot less cool. This is all personal opinion, don't forget; perhaps a Tell Me I'm Wrong with a little more thought...

Dreamy

Anyway, this 550 is a celebration of what I consider a purple patch for Ferrari. Everyone will have their favourite period, and I adore some of the older stuff, but as a (very) young lad in the mid-90s there was something intensely exciting about contemporary Ferraris. Still is, actually.

Of course being young and impressionable would have helped, but think about it. Cars like the 355 and 456 were stunningly beautiful, to a point that none of their replacements have come close to matching. The 550 wasn't quite so lovely but it's prettier to these eyes than a 599. Manual transmissions were predominant and though they obviously weren't slow, there wasn't this unrelenting focus on damper response time, shift speed, Fiorano laps and so on. Simpler and cooler times. No doubt this could then be said tracing back to the 80s, 70s, 60s...

Even better excuse for a road trip, right?

It's taken a little while for the market to appreciate the 550 - see our 2012 Buying Guide proudly stating well used Maranellos "can be found from around £35,000", with most around £45-£55K. Not any more sunshine! Today the most affordable on PH is £65,950 with 94,000 miles, rising to a quarter of a million (!) for this yellow Barchetta. This 550 has been selected for no other reason than the colour scheme; TdF Blue with Crema leather must be up there with Grigio Titanio and Bordeaux as the best 550 colour scheme. Again it's a personal thing, but front-engined V12s always look best in colours other than red.

Annoyingly this car is left-hand drive, meaning a similar spec RHD car can't be far off £100K now. Crikey. But I don't care about current values, or future values or anything. I want a 550 Maranello, to drive and enjoy and love. Someone please say this isn't a hopelessly rose-tinted dream?

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FERRARI 550 MARANELLO
Engine: 5,474cc V12
Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 485@7,000rpm 
Torque (lb ft): 420@5,000rpm
MPG: N/A
CO2: 530g/km (!)
First registered: 1997
Recorded mileage: 18,020
Price new: £121,300
Yours for: £79,950

View original advert here.

[Specs: Zeperfs]

[smilo996]

Really like the 550. The interior is classic Ferrari before they got all F1'd.

The exterior is unusually well resolved for one of their cars of that period and looks sleek whilst the inlet makes the point about what is under the bonnet.

[DoctorX]

I like these now much more than I did at the time and I agree with you regarding contemporary Ferraris. Also, the interior of this looks so much more tasteful than the current crop with their ugly dashboards.

[Krikkit]

Beautiful car, perfect colour scheme for me!

Just FYI though that's not crema hide, that's cuoio by the look of it.

Crema:


Cuoio:

[mon the fish]

I bought my dream car (one of these) 18 months ago, and it's been everything I hoped it would be. I too was an impressionable boy in the 90s, and have yearned to own one.

But you're wrong about the colour, silver with a bordeaux interior is where it's at

[MichelV]

Lovely car, great understated looks.

Thanks to PH buying guide I own one.

Good build quality, but the handbrake !?- boy the guy that designed that certainly was on another planet.

[thatguy11]

Absolute favourite Ferrari, bar none. Black with tan interior please

[harrykul]

MichelV said:

Good build quality, but the handbrake !?- boy the guy that designed that certainly was on another planet.

Yep. He must have been smoking something very explicit that day...

[andybu]

Lovely. Yet another modern classic that has already accelerated in value much faster than my "next car" piggybank is increasing. [Sigh..]

[bertie]

Agreed, and I love mine (with a slight tweak!)

[rehab71]

bertie said:

Agreed, and I love mine (with a slight tweak!)

That's lovely!

I always wondered what those shifters are like to live with? Does it take much getting used to?

[pjwind]

Seems a bit expensive. Look at this similar car in Switzerland. http://www.autoscout24.ch/de/d/ferrari-f550-coupe-...

84800 CHF works out at about 58000 GBP. That is a lot less than 80000 GBP. Do I detect a Swiss/British arbitrage opportunity?

If you don't desire a Ferrari new or old then I think you should go to the doctor and get him to check you are not clinically dead.

[MichelV]

rehab71 said:

That's lovely!

I always wondered what those shifters are like to live with? Does it take much getting used to?

No but they feel very mechanical and heavy. Actually I like teh shift action but the clackedyclack sound it makes I can do without, but that is personal.

Mind you, you only need 1, 2 and a 5% of 3 to loose your license. It is the engine that sets it apart. You start low and next it pulls and pulls....all in the same gear.

[northernmedia]

pjwind said:

Seems a bit expensive. Look at this similar car in Switzerland. http://www.autoscout24.ch/de/d/ferrari-f550-coupe-...

84800 CHF works out at about 58000 GBP. That is a lot less than 80000 GBP. Do I detect a Swiss/British arbitrage opportunity?

If you don't desire a Ferrari new or old then I think you should go to the doctor and get him to check you are not clinically dead.

lol I wonder if the mats are included

[C7 JFW]

Will Smith, Bad Boys 2

That is all.

[OutOfSync]

MichelV said:

Lovely car, great understated looks.

Thanks to PH buying guide I own one.

Good build quality, but the handbrake !?- boy the guy that designed that certainly was on another planet.

What? '90s Ferraris have handbrakes? I always assumed that little lever was just for some light cardio at traffic lights as there is no discernible braking effect?

[BlackpoolRock]

456 stunningly beautiful ? really ? I've always rated that as the most bland car ever to come out of Maranello. I have always liked the 550 though definitely more so than the 575.

[soad]

30,420 miles in just 18 months.
http://www.evo.co.uk/ferrari/8077/ferrari-550

[bertie]

rehab71 said:

bertie said:

Agreed, and I love mine (with a slight tweak!)

That's lovely!

I always wondered what those shifters are like to live with? Does it take much getting used to?

No, just not an issue.

The twist being mine is a manual 575 but very similar conceptually.

[Matt Bird]

mon the fish said:

I bought my dream car (one of these) 18 months ago, and it's been everything I hoped it would be. I too was an impressionable boy in the 90s, and have yearned to own one.

But you're wrong about the colour, silver with a bordeaux interior is where it's at

Hey, I mentioned grey with red too! What a decision to have to make. Pleased to hear you're enjoying it

[Matt Bird]

bertie said:

Agreed, and I love mine (with a slight tweak!)

Just

Magnificent!