RE: Chris Harris video: F40 vs F50
Discussion
Nice video, though it should have been much closer between the two in performance. OEM F40 brakes are made of cheese, so I suspect they weren't standard and I really don't think the F50 used was at the top of its game. The gearbox on an F50 is a proper delight, and the only manual Ferrari gearbox I know of where you can take 2nd, easily, while cold. Also couldn't help noticing it had the original, strangling, exhaust setup. On a car where the natural tendency (in my hands) is to oversteer, if the F50 was understeering, I'd want to know how old the tyres were.
Nothing to detract from enjoyment of the piece, it did make me wonder about the relative health of the two cars.
Nothing to detract from enjoyment of the piece, it did make me wonder about the relative health of the two cars.
Brilliant video.
Has Chris driven a McLaren F1? Would love to hear his thoughts on that vs the F40.
I agree totally with the poster above who described the fascination in seeing these cars move. They have only ever existed on paper, in a garage or in my imagination so it was great to see them blasting round a track. The thing that struck me most is how short the F40's wheelbase looks.
The F50 looks wrong to me in part because there are too many oval openings around the nose. Maybe it's a fashion thing but the ovals don't look serious enough to me. They bring back memories of fish-face Fiestas and Scorpios.
My earliest strong Ferrari memory, apart from editions of Supercar Classics, was when a friend of my Dad's who worked at Maranello Concessionaires allowed me onto the stand at the Earl's Court Motorshow. I think it must have been 1987 as they had the new 288 GTO there. I and my friend were perpetually in the way of the punters trying to take photos.
Has Chris driven a McLaren F1? Would love to hear his thoughts on that vs the F40.
I agree totally with the poster above who described the fascination in seeing these cars move. They have only ever existed on paper, in a garage or in my imagination so it was great to see them blasting round a track. The thing that struck me most is how short the F40's wheelbase looks.
The F50 looks wrong to me in part because there are too many oval openings around the nose. Maybe it's a fashion thing but the ovals don't look serious enough to me. They bring back memories of fish-face Fiestas and Scorpios.
My earliest strong Ferrari memory, apart from editions of Supercar Classics, was when a friend of my Dad's who worked at Maranello Concessionaires allowed me onto the stand at the Earl's Court Motorshow. I think it must have been 1987 as they had the new 288 GTO there. I and my friend were perpetually in the way of the punters trying to take photos.
Fast Lane also did a tape with a 959 and Countach and I think a Lister etc. Still have it somewhere. My late parents would have wound me up for listening to a tape of "bloody car engine noises" so I used the cassette deck in the family jalopy, volume at 11, day dreaming ...
What a great video; Chris is an enthusiast and his "small boy let loose in toy shop" demeanour is wonderful and does the subject justice. "JC, the boost" - classic. Go the 80s, shows how much has been lost from cars.
What a great video; Chris is an enthusiast and his "small boy let loose in toy shop" demeanour is wonderful and does the subject justice. "JC, the boost" - classic. Go the 80s, shows how much has been lost from cars.
tommy1973s said:
Fast Lane also did a tape with a 959 and Countach and I think a Lister etc. Still have it somewhere. My late parents would have wound me up for listening to a tape of "bloody car engine noises" so I used the cassette deck in the family jalopy, volume at 11, day dreaming ...
Yep, Vantage, Lister, Countach and 959 - called "Now Hear This".I suspect that not too many people have seen a F50 race- I did though, a few years ago at Croft, in what I think was an Intermarque race. It sounded utterly glorious, looked a bit ungainly and ended up in a gravel trap.It was not especially fast to be honest , but that may have been down to a cautious driver. I also saw an F40 in a GT race at Donington; it didn't see which way the McLaren F1s went but it looked amazing and its acceleration was astonishing.
LasseV said:
I would choose M135i over those.
lol i like bmw's and don't get me wrong the M135i is good.....but this did make me laugh....I've assumed you were joking!!?Awesome Vid and harris really let out his fun in this one!! i'd want both which i'm guessing is why the owner has both...i mean how would you choose?
if push came to shove and money only allowed one, then F40...but god that F50 sounds good!
LasseV said:
I would choose M135i over those.
lol i like bmw's and don't get me wrong the M135i is good.....but this did make me laugh....I've assumed you were joking!!?Awesome Vid and harris really let out his fun in this one!! i'd want both which i'm guessing is why the owner has both...i mean how would you choose?
if push came to shove and money only allowed one, then F40...but god that F50 sounds good!
SonnyM said:
I forgot to say thank you to the helicopter pilot - that's the kind of cinematography you only expect to see in a Chris Nolan film.
Max_Torque said:
I assume it was a quadcopter rather than an actual human carrying helicopter!
Quite. Get yourself a £500 UAV and a GoPro and amaze yourself 
Fantastic video - recent articles on the two I've been reading had been starting to tip the F50 in my perceived favour as being a 'purer' driving experience, but the video really defines the difference between the two and the F40 just looks like proper hooligan fun! Really inclusive, immersive video, thanks.
Only just got round to watching this and my-oh-my was it worth the wait! I confess to not being the biggest Ferrari fan in the world, but the F40 really does impress me, although oddly I just don't feel the same for the F50.
The action scenes were great, but the discussion with Mark at the end (filmed in the F40!) has probably become my favourite piece of motoring journalism ever.
The action scenes were great, but the discussion with Mark at the end (filmed in the F40!) has probably become my favourite piece of motoring journalism ever.
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