To celebrate Ferrari's golden anniversary, the F50 was released and sold as a limited edition supercar. It followed the footsteps of the 288 GTO and F40 by focusing on motor sports engineering with little concessions for passenger comfort.
A highlight of the F50 was its rigidity. It had no front, rear or engine subframes and featured a solid mounted chassis, with little rubber in the suspension system. Attached directly to the central tub, the engine and transmission doubled as the rear support structure and held the rear suspension components.
With good aerodynamics and braking to complement its stiff chassis design, and having the necessary production figures to meet homologation requirements, it seemed only fitting for the F50 to continue the legacy of the F40 GTE. That is, contest the BPR Global GT Endurance Series, a precursor to FIA GT. Not surprisingly, Ferrari flirted with this idea and began a development of the F50 GT.
F50 GT chassis number 001 was sent to Micholelotti. They were the same company that assisted Ferrari in developing the F40 GT and the 333 SP prototype racers and were commissioned by Ferrari to modify the F50 body. Micholelotti removed the integrated rear wing and replaced it with a much larger adjustable unit sitting on a new flat deck. The front end was modified to feature much larger air apertures and a lower more pronounced front splitter. Other changes included a fixed roof with engine intake and a metal cover for the engine bay.
Ferrari worked on the engine and chassis of 001 to achieve a better power to weight ratio. They drastically reduced its weight to 1800 dry pounds and increased horsepower by 200 to reach 750 at 10500 rpm. To cope with the power, a sequential 6-speed transmission was introduced with a much stronger carbon clutch.
Other chassis improvements included a more adjustable suspension, carbon fiber disc brakes, twenty inch Speedline wheels, a massive rear diffuser and a much lower ride height. The interior received a gutting treatment, resulting in a single racing seat, concise digital display and many more engine mototronics, including a Magneti Marelli Compeition system.
Preliminary results around the Fiorano track lapped the F50 GT faster then the 333SP Le Mans prototype, albeit with a 4.0 liter engine in the 333.
The racer that never raced.
For reasons which Ferrari never mentioned, the F50 race program was halted after five tubs and one complete car had been made. Racing a million dollar car for the GT series seemed reason enough to quit, but we have read diverting resources away from Formula One racing and Bernie Ecclestone were to blame. While stiff competition from Porsche, Mercedes Benz and Toyota were have also been mentioned, I believe competition wasn't a factor detouring Ferrari from racing, more limited resources and money to develop the F50 GT alongside the F1 and 333SP cars.
Despite the fact that the GT never saw action on the track, we are thankful that Ferrari completed two more examples and sold all three cars to very specific clientele who were told not to race the cars in modern race series. Being such a limited version of an already limited series, the F50 GT is one of the most exclusive modern day supercars, and one of the great 'could-have-beens' in Ferrari history.
F50 GT, Chassis by Chassis
Chassis 001 was the original development mule, which was sold to Art Zafiropoulo who still owns the car and first displayed it at the 1997 Rodeo Drive Concours. It is the same car Ron Kimball shot outside of the San Franciso Ferrari dealer for the article in Cavallino 100. After being paraded at track days for several years, Porsche factory driver Johannes Von Overbeck badly crashed the car at Sears Point with cold tires. Ferrari willingly took to car back for repair and, after a year, completed 001 to even more radical specification than standard. Much to Art's surprise, Micheal Schumacher tested the repaired car, and even signed the dashboard!
The repaired car debuted at the 2004 Monterey Historics at Laguna Seca where the F50 GT completed many successful laps. Unfortunately, Art lost control during acceleration after the last turn onto the straight and stuffed the nose of the car into the wall. Art nor the car were seriously hurt, but 001 will once again need repair.
002 was sold to Yoshikuni Okamoto and still resides in his collection in Japan. It seldom comes out of Mr. Okamoto's garage.
The third and final GT has been the most active in the resale market. It was originally sold to Jim Spiro in Louisiana who very publicly auctioned the car at the 2000 RM Auction in Scottsdale. Final bidding for the car sold it at $1 430 000 USD. After the sale 003 ended up in Australia and spent some time in a dealer showroom. It visited a few track days and was displayed at the Sidney 2000 Motorshow. The car has just recently been shipped to England, and is being resold by Oakfields for an undisclosed amount.
Further Reading & Sources
Barnes, John et al. 'F50 GT- The New Era Arrives'. Cavallino, Vol 100. 1997 Bluemel, Keith. 'Scoop! F50 GT1: Geant!'. Auto Prestige Ferrari Models, Vol 8. September 2000 Bluemel, Keith. 'F50 GT1 chassis #001'. World In Red, Vol 7. Spring 2003 Brock, Peter. 'Last of the Species'. Forza, Vol 16. April 1999 Ohta, Tetsuya. 'A Phantom GT Racer'. Scuderia, Vol 25. 2000 Sheehan, Mike. ' F50 GT, A Very Exclusive Club'. Sports Car Market, March. 2000
Story by Richard Owen, Research by Dirk de Jager,
Model Car Photography by Jason.
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