Ferrari's new hypercar?
Ask yourself this. Just how sure of its brilliance must Ferrari be to have given it a name that instantly morphs into ridiculously curly handwriting? Does LaFerrari sound like the ultimate hypercar? No, it sounds like aftershave. But here's the thing. Is LaFerrari the ultimate hypercar? On recent form, I'd put money on it. Just as the 458 is too much for the McLaren 12C in just about every way bar outright pace, I reckon the LaFerrari will have the drop (just) on
the McLaren P1
the Porsche 918
. Could be wrong, but 963hp and 0-186mph in 15.5 seconds look promising.
LaFerrari is a world away but is it better?
I mentioned recent form. No doubt about it, Ferrari has been on a roll for some time now and the phenomenon seems to be gathering momentum. Looking for the point where it all started to go so right for Maranello's 'best game' cars is interesting. The 'goodness graph' starts high on the sheet of paper in 1984 with the 288 GTO, almost disappears off the top edge for the 1987 F40, then appears to take a precipitous nose dive down to the 1995 F50 before beginning a strong climb back to the LaFerrari (or new Enzo if your tongue balks at LaFezza) via the original, sensational 2002 Enzo.
Unsung hero
Poor old F50. Despite the great name (celebrating Ferrari's half century) it had an almost impossible act to follow in the F40 and appeared at about the same time as the game-changing McLaren F1. It looked a bit weird, too. Or, at least, it seemed to at the time. A few years later, Macca F1 designer Peter Stevens told me why. On a scrap of paper he drew a one line Ferrari F40 and then went on to illustrate, also with a single line, why the F50 wasn't as good: it went 'flat' in the middle, lost its impetus. Well, he would, wouldn't he?
Not the best looking Ferrari but, wow, the drive...
Yet, overshadowed by its predecessor and outshone by its nemesis from Woking as it was, I reckon the F50 is massively underrated. If you're talking faithful, raw F1 transfer of the era it inhabited rather than the buffed up, sanitised, digital-tech crossover that informs aspects of the LaFerrari's design then the F50 has to be the purest, most uncompromising supercar Ferrari has ever made. The contrasts drawn by the 18 years between the two cars could hardly be more dramatic.
Different worlds
Both are mid-engined, both have 12 cylinders, both are made partly from carbon fibre, both come in red - that's about it for the sharing. Most obviously, there's just so much more of the LaFerrari. Its 6.3-litre V12 is mated to a dual-clutch gearbox and an electric motor. A 120-cell, 60kg lithium ion battery pack in a Kevlar casing is squeezed under the seats. The V12 spins to 9,250rpm and develops 800hp; the electric motor adds another 163hp, giving a total of 963hp in a car that weighs around 1,300kg dry. And the combined petrol-electric twist gives 663lb ft of torque. The nod to F1? The active aero, with its moving flaps and spoilers, was a given. The more ambitious HY-KERS system - developed at Gestione Sportiva - is claimed to reduce emissions by 40 per cent, increase the V12's output by 10 per cent, recapture kinetic energy usually lost under braking and cornering to charge the batteries. A second electric motor powers the car's ancillary systems. Impressive. 0-124mph in 7.0sec? An F50 wouldn't see which way it went.
Overshadowed by McLaren F1, perhaps unfairly?
But tell me if this doesn't sound better. Ferrari's objective with the F50 was beautifully simple: to deliver the 'emotion' of Formula 1 on the road. Its naturally aspirated 4.7-litre V12 developed just 520hp (a figure German supersaloons laugh at today) but, thanks to its carbon fibre monocoque (Ferrari's first), it weighed a modest 1,230kg. Good for 0-62mph in 3.9sec and 203mph. But here's where it gets interesting if you believe it's the driver that should do the driving. The F50 had no traction control, no power steering and no anti-lock brakes. It doesn't get much more analogue than that. Suspension was inboard and pushrod operated, the engine bolted directly to the carbon tub. And what an engine; derived from the naturally-aspirated F1 3.5-litre V12 Ferrari designed to comply with the new regulations at the end of the turbo era in 1989.
Spiritual link
Without the racer's pneumatic valve actuation, it was red-lined at a merely spine-tingling 8,000 rather than stratospheric 14,000rpm but, just as in the F1 car, it was a structural, load-bearing component. And you knew all about it. There are various ways in which a supercar can feel alive, but few of modern times have felt quite as visceral as the F50. The four-cam, 60-valve V12 isn't just a dominating aural presence but vibratory one too. It gets to you. In fact, I can't remember ever feeling more physically connected to a car. You've no idea what 'tingle factor' is until you've driven one of these.
LaFerrari may be quicker for raw thrills...
There are other revelations. The driving position is extremely cab-forward and racer-like and you have to slide over a wide sill before dropping down into the deeply sculpted bucket seat. The cabin is very easy to see out of, simply styled and clad mostly in shiny carbonfibre. Despite the car's generous width it feels remarkably containable.
Even by Enzo standards, the F50 feels raw, thrilling and utterly focused. In some ways, it seems like a scaled-up, smooth-bodied Caterham - uncompromisingly hard, noisy and mechanical but shockingly honest and communicative, too. A proper, steel-balled, unvarnished supercar that puts the driver in control. I'm sure that anyone unfamiliar with Ferrari's heritage stepping directly from LaFerrari would be horrified by the vibration and harshness. The game has moved on. But hopefully the F50 would leave a lasting impression that engaged all the senses and took them right to the edge.
FERRARI F50
Engine: 4,698cc V12
Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 520@8,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 347@6,500rpm
0-62mph: 3.9sec
Top speed: 203mph
Weight: 1,230kg (dry)
On sale: 1995
Price new: £329,000
Price now: c. £750,000
Photo Credit: RM Auctions/Tom Maule Studios - Princeville (for more info and pictures of this car - the very F50 used to launch the car in Geneva in 1995 - see the RM catalogue listing here.)