8/17/10

Ferrari F-50, Ferrari's 50th anniversary

Cars Mania Blog
Auto Car | Ferrari F-50 | Built to celebrate Ferrari's 50th anniversary, the Ferrari F-50 Barchetta went into production in 1996, drawing most of its inspiration and technology from the lessons learnt by Ferrari's F1 team. The F50's 4.7 litre, naturally aspirated, V12 engine was bolted rigidly to the carbon fiber monocoque. And its staggering performance nearly matched the F1 cars it mimicked.

Just 349 Ferrari F50's were built between 1996 and 1997, one less than Ferrari estimated they could sell. Ferrari spokesman Antonio Ghini stated that this was because, "Ferraris are something cultural, a monument. They must be hard to find, so we will produce one less car than the market.".

Fifty years of racing, 50 years of winning, 50 years of hard work." With these words, Luca di Montezemolo introduced the F50 on March 6, 1995, at the Auto Museum in Geneva, Switzerland, in conjunction with the city's 63rd annual auto show.

Piero Lardi Ferrari and Sergio Pininfarina removed the car cover to officially present the new car to the world. The F40 may have been a hard act to follow, but the Ferrari designers exceeded themselves with the F50, which replaced its predecessor's small capacity twin- turbo V8 powerplant with a more traditional Ferrari V12.

In typical Ferrari fashion, the company announced just 349 cars would be built over two years-one less than the market demanded. The first ten cars went to Europe, while deliveries to the United States began in July 1995. Each owner received a document signed by Luca di Montezemolo attesting to the authenticity of the car, and all the owners were to be invited back to Modena after the last F50 was produced to celebrate the evolution of the car.

The Ferrari F50 on offer, chassis 105193, was delivered to HRH Prince Saud Bin Fahad Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud. The car was kept primarily at the Prince's Monte Carlo residence. Build number 148 of 349, HRH retained the car until 2002, at which point the car was sold to an owner in the United Kingdom.

This F50 is capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in under four seconds and goes from 0 to 100 mph in just over eight seconds. The car has never been damaged, and both the aerodynamic carbon fiber body and central structure maintain the close factory tolerances with which the F50 was built. The interior appears practically new, with no wear on the form-fitting racing-style seats.

The condition of this F50 will satisfy the most demanding collector and it will provide all the performance for which these supercars are known. It offers a nimble, exhilarating, and unapologetically aggressive driving experience. This F50 has very low mileage and underwent a recent full service by official Ferrari dealer Joe Macari, and it includes Ferrari Certification.

Make: Ferrari
Model: F-50
Year: 1996
Country of Origin: Italy
Type: Supercar
Group: A
Engine : V-12, Naturally Aspirated, 4,698 CC, Gasoline
Horsepower: 513 BHP @ 8,000 RPM
Tourque: 347 LB FT @ 6,500 RPM
Redline: 8,500 RPM
Brakes: Brembo Corss drilled ventilated discs all round, 4 pot calipers.
Wheels: 18 inch All Round; Titanium Alloy hubs
Handedness: Left
Dials: Digital Representations of Analouque Dials on TFT screen.
Readout: KM/H
Transmission: 6 speed H pattern Manual
Driveline: M/R Mid Engined, Rear Wheel Drive
0-60: 3.7 Seconds
Top Speed 202 MPH

(sportscarmarket.com)

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