The Ferrari F50 is the Ferrari that answered a simple question — how much car can this badge carry? — with 520 PS from 4.7L DOHC 65 degree Tipo F130B V12. It was built from 1995 to 1997, when airbags, anti-lock brakes and Japanese build quality became the world standard. The shape is credited to Pietro Camardella and Lorenzo Ramaciotti at Pininfarina. 377 were built.
How it came about
The Ferrari F50 (Type F130) is a limited production mid-engine sports car manufactured by Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari from 1995 until 1997. Introduced in 1995, the car is a two-door, two seat targa top. The F50 is powered by a 4.7 L naturally aspirated Tipo F130B 60-valve V12 engine that was developed from the 3.5 L V12 used in the 1990 Ferrari 641 Formula One car.
The car's design is an evolution of the 1989 Ferrari Mythos concept car, while Pininfarina incorporated design cues from contemporary F1 racecar designs, particularly at the front. A total of 349 cars were made, with the last car rolling off the production line in July 1997. The F50's engine predated the car; it was used in the Ferrari 333 SP for the American IMSA GT Championship in 1994, allowing it to become eligible for the stock engine World Sports Car category.
The hardware
The engine is 4.7L DOHC 65 degree Tipo F130B V12; the output is 520 PS. On the scales it comes to 1230 kg. That is roughly 423 horsepower per tonne: hypercar territory, where the limiting factor is the tyre, not the engine. Drive goes through a 6-speed manual. The layout matters: the engine sits behind the driver and ahead of the rear axle, which puts the mass in the middle of the car and is why mid-engined cars change direction the way they do. The wheelbase is 2580 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Family and rivals
In the Ferrari line-up the Ferrari F50 has a clear place: it replaced the Ferrari F40; it handed the line to the Ferrari Enzo; the factory was Maranello, Italy. The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Bugatti 18/3 Chiron, the Ford GT90, the Porsche 911 GT1. Its Ferrari stablemates include the 250 GTE and the 328 GTS.