RE: Showpiece of the Week: Ferrari F50

RE: Showpiece of the Week: Ferrari F50

Monday 19th February 2018

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.

See the full advert here

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author
Discussion

Schermerhorn

Original Poster:

4,342 posts

188 months

Monday 19th February 2018
quotequote all
For me, THE ultimate Ferrari. Just perfect in every way.

PoopahScoopah

249 posts

124 months

Monday 19th February 2018
quotequote all
The F50 has really grown on me in the last few year.s I never really cared for it in the past. A large part of that was probably because of the F40, which is still one of my absolute favourite supercars. But it really seems like the F50 styling has come of age. It just looks so right today, such tasteful flowing lines, so elegant. If I was lucky enough to have such a dilemma in my life I think I might now struggle to chose between this and the F40.

krismccloy

256 posts

148 months

Monday 19th February 2018
quotequote all
I had a silver 1/18 F50 as a young boy and this has always come #2 to my MCL F1 in my dream garage. Absolutely love the styling and the engine.

Snubs

1,166 posts

138 months

Monday 19th February 2018
quotequote all
I was never convinced by the front end, which i thought looked a bit soft compared to the squarer lines of the F40. In the profile picture above it looks superb.

thecremeegg

1,952 posts

202 months

Monday 19th February 2018
quotequote all
Snubs said:
I was never convinced by the front end, which i thought looked a bit soft compared to the squarer lines of the F40. In the profile picture above it looks superb.
Yea the front is a mess, but the profile and back are stunning. I'd still just prefer an F40 myself but I appreciate I'm probably in the minority.

viggyp

1,917 posts

134 months

Monday 19th February 2018
quotequote all
PoopahScoopah said:
The F50 has really grown on me in the last few year.s I never really cared for it in the past. A large part of that was probably because of the F40, which is still one of my absolute favourite supercars. But it really seems like the F50 styling has come of age. It just looks so right today, such tasteful flowing lines, so elegant. If I was lucky enough to have such a dilemma in my life I think I might now struggle to chose between this and the F40.
Exactly the same here. One UK car mag had an accompanying booklet about the F50 from design to test drive which I loved reading but my love for the F50 grew when I watched the F40/F50 YouTube vid racing through the old Reims straight. Although I would love both, the F40 just pips this to the post for me.

Tuvra

7,920 posts

224 months

Monday 19th February 2018
quotequote all
PoopahScoopah said:
The F50 has really grown on me in the last few year.s I never really cared for it in the past. A large part of that was probably because of the F40, which is still one of my absolute favourite supercars. But it really seems like the F50 styling has come of age. It just looks so right today, such tasteful flowing lines, so elegant. If I was lucky enough to have such a dilemma in my life I think I might now struggle to chose between this and the F40.
See, I am the exact opposite.

I have never really cared for the F40 until recently. The Ferrari F50 is one of only 3 Ferrari's I would have in my Euro Millions garage, the other two would probably be a 355 Spider & 360CS (the rest of the space would be occupied by Lamborghini'shehe).

Amanitin

419 posts

136 months

Monday 19th February 2018
quotequote all
Schermerhorn said:
For me, THE ultimate Ferrari. Just perfect in every way.
it is perfect (as far as mid engine cars go) inbetween the front bumper and the wing.
Those two, however, are just st and ruin the elegance.

Tuvra

7,920 posts

224 months

Monday 19th February 2018
quotequote all
Amanitin said:
it is perfect (as far as mid engine cars go) inbetween the front bumper and the wing.
Those two, however, are just st and ruin the elegance.
Nope, I see absolutely no issues there cloud9

deltashad

6,731 posts

196 months

Monday 19th February 2018
quotequote all
Never a postercar for me. I think they got the styling completely wrong.

456mgt

2,504 posts

265 months

Monday 19th February 2018
quotequote all
Amanitin said:
it is perfect (as far as mid engine cars go) inbetween the front bumper and the wing.
Those two, however, are just st and ruin the elegance.
How would you style it then? Genuine question by the way, given that you can now get bespoke carbon pieces made.

mwstewart

7,554 posts

187 months

Monday 19th February 2018
quotequote all
I love the uncompromising engineering that went into the F50. Epic things.

deltashad

6,731 posts

196 months

Monday 19th February 2018
quotequote all
Amanitin said:
it is perfect (as far as mid engine cars go) inbetween the front bumper and the wing.
Those two, however, are just st and ruin the elegance.
I agree completely, the F50GT pretty much addressed these issues and looks far more pleasing.
The original looks like it wants to be converted into a 9 year olds bed.

suffolk009

5,344 posts

164 months

Monday 19th February 2018
quotequote all
Peter Stevens was apparently never a fan of the styling, he said it basically lost the plot in the middle. Mentioned here: https://www.pistonheads.com/features/ph-features-h...

I've seen just recently some chit-chat (sorry, I don't recall where) about how the ride is much harsher than an F40. Maybe it was SSO on his new blog, dunnow, sorry. But the gist was that you could drive an F40 for hours, but 2 hours in an F50 was all but intolerable.

With only 349 in the world, I suppose a good number of those are taken up in people's collection who wish to own the full set, 288 GTO, F40, F50, Enzo, LaF. That'll help keep the prices up.

F40 for me any day. FWIW.

99dndd

2,079 posts

88 months

Monday 19th February 2018
quotequote all
I must have been 7 or 8 when I 1st saw a picture of it.

I remember cutting it out, sticking to my (elephant shaped) piggy bank and thinking "I'm going to fill that piggy bank then buy that car."

I may need a bigger piggy bank.

J4CKO

41,284 posts

199 months

Monday 19th February 2018
quotequote all
Think these have grown into their looks a bit over the year, after the F40 it seemed a bit over styled and chintzy, but the F40 was so pared back and function over form I think anything that would follow would have seemed like that and more recent Ferraris are even more so.


topless360

2,763 posts

217 months

Monday 19th February 2018
quotequote all
Does anyone know if like the F40, all the examples were painted red from factory?

I know there's a few non red F50's around, but wondered if these have been resprayed or if there was a choice from new.

viggyp

1,917 posts

134 months

Monday 19th February 2018
quotequote all
topless360 said:
Does anyone know if like the F40, all the examples were painted red from factory?

I know there's a few non red F50's around, but wondered if these have been resprayed or if there was a choice from new.
Not all were red from the factory. There were factory black, yellow and silver examples if I remember correctly.

rallye_turbo

15 posts

76 months

Monday 19th February 2018
quotequote all
deltashad said:
I agree completely, the F50GT pretty much addressed these issues and looks far more pleasing.
The original looks like it wants to be converted into a 9 year olds bed.
Never knew the F50GT existing and did a quick search online. My oh my! What a stunning looking car - for me much better looking!

PHMatt

608 posts

147 months

Monday 19th February 2018
quotequote all
I preferred it to the F40 from day dot.

I think it looks better, sounds better and in my head, drives better.