Showpiece of the Week: Ferrari F50

Forget the shadow cast by its older sibling, the F50 is astounding in its own right

Let's address the elephant in the room right away. Yes, this car is POA - generally speaking a no-no for Showpiece contenders. However, given the €2.1m asking price of the only non-POA car in the classifieds it seems safe to assume that even if all seven figures were displayed right there in black and white, it wouldn't make a difference to most of us...

Besides, it's worth revisiting this car for a few reasons. Some may decry it as being less visceral, less hardcore, and less beautiful than an F40, but the F50 was still unshackled by power steering, traction control, ABS and four-wheel drive - earlier examples even came with no sound-proofing between the cabin and engine bay. This in a car powered by an F1-derived V12, redlining at 8,500rpm and producing 520hp and 347lb ft of torque. A top speed of over 200mph and a sub-four second 0-60 time completing the picture, and soundtrack.

Just 349 were produced - all in left-hand drive, with two RHD cars later converted by Pininfarina for the Sultan of Brunei - making it significantly rarer than its predecessor; rarer even than the Enzo and LaFerrari which followed it. And, speaking of rarity, this listing features a couple of curio items not frequently included when these cars come up for sale.

You see, its engine and underpinnings weren't the only things which the F50 carried over from Formula One, exclusive merch was also very much on the agenda. The cars' original owners were provided not only with a box of photographs, detailing the construction of their orders, but also a custom pair of TOD's racing shoes, a Schedoni leather luggage set, and the option of a Girard Perregaux watch, uniquely customised for each car.

For any of these items to be included in the sale is rare, let alone three of the four - with the watch having been optional it's possible that one never even existed for this particular car. As a one-owner car, having covered just 5,591 miles in the last 20 years, and with plenty of original goodies included, this must surely be one of the best specimens on the market.

Even though this example may not have travelled a great distance, those two decades have seen perceptions of the F50 come a long way. Now understood to be the beginning of an era of supercars aimed at driver satisfaction rather than outright performance, its value has climbed accordingly. Once maligned as the F40's lesser sibling, and outshone by the all-conquering McLaren F1, the F50 has finally found its place in the sun.

And if any of us could afford to AO that P then, with the roof off, a 4.7-litre V12 screaming away behind you, the pleasure of a gated-manual shift often referred to as Maranello's best ever, and the ease of use inspired by it all being bolted directly to Ferrari's first road-going carbon-monocoque, it surely wouldn't be hard to appreciate why the F50's time in the shadows has come to an end.

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