Most probably, everyone would know about the Ferrari F40, right? One of the greatest supercar ever made in history. The first-ever production car to achieve and surpass the 200 Mph of speed. It is one of the greatest achievements of the company Ferrari back in 1987. Let us now keep the Ferrari F40 aside for a while, because there was a successor for the F40 with a very straight forward name, F50. The car did not reach out as F40 did and many do not recognize it at all. It was because of the lack of Social appearances and Media attention towards the car. The Ferrari F50, being a successor to one of the greatest road cars, people didn't want it or to be accurate the car was disliked and underestimated but F50 did not deserve such hate. Here's why?
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The Ferrari F50 was made to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the company Ferrari. It is one of the first-ever road cars to have an F1 engine and at the time of its debut in 1995 Geneva Salon, the Ferrari's president "Luca Di Montezemolo" stated that only 349 of this model will be made. There was no flagship sports car from the company for almost 8 years after the release of the record holder Ferrari F40 in 1987 that gained an immense amount of glory for the company. In 1998, the founder of the company "ENZO FERRARI" was dead and this heavily affected the growth of the company. Then the success of the F40 was diminishing and the company's 50th anniversary was approaching. Hence, a new car in the "F" lineup was planned and that was, of course, the F50. The design of the Ferrari F50 was derived from MYTHOS CONCEPT CAR debuted in 1987. Ferrari was planning to build a perfect road-going F1 car. So the engine used in the F50's is developed from the engine of Ferrari 641 Formula 1 car from 1990. The use of this particular engine made the F50 eligible for the stock engine World Sports Car Category.
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Credit: 95octane
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First of all, we can see the bad of the car
Slower than its Predecessor
The Ferrari F50 was of course the successor of one of the greatest cars ever made in history, the Ferrari F40. After being a successor of such a beast, it meant to be faster. But it was 1 mile slower than the F40 because F50 was heavier and had less torque than the F40. The redline was also very limited to improve fuel efficiency. But the actual engine was capable of producing more power and torque in the range of 9,000 to 10,000 Rpm and even higher top speeds, however, it was detuned significantly to give the ease of driving through public roads.
Poor handling
The handling of the F50 was not as good as the F40 provided on the road. Though the Aerodynamics of the F50 was better than the F40 and it was not all that could make the handling better. The major reason behind the poor handling was the Steering system in the F50. The car was said to understeer a lot which gives the driver an unpleasant driving experience. Therefore, driving the F50 is not as fun as driving an F40. Though the car is driven by its rear wheels, there is no chance one can put the car into sliding due to the understeer and this is a demerit that put the F50 one more step below the F40.
Credit: DaiDagas.IT
Restricted the Journalists to drive
The company "Ferrari" restricted a large number of journalists from driving the F50 because they knew that F50 was quite slower than the F40. Therefore the F50 did not receive enough hype in social which eventually degraded its glory.
Now we can see the goods of the car
The bespoke Manual Gearbox
The mosy eye catching thing in this car is the 6-Speed Open-Gate Manual gearbox. It is one of the greatest and the most mechanical gearboxes ever made to date as it presents the driver with the experience that no modern cars get closer.
Credit: Mathieu Bonnevie
Outstanding design
The body style and design of the car was much better than the F40, though most of the people sat its ugly looking. The best part of this car is easily the most radical Rear Spoiler you can ever see in any cars of the time which adds up to the beauty and a tonne of down-force to the car that helps in keeping the car tightly on the road. There's no doubt, it is one of the best looking car of its time. It is surely been the synonym for a best hypercar.
Credit: Ferrari Spa
Technical specs
Engine 4.7 L 60-Valve Naturally aspirated V-12
Max power 512 HP @8,500 Rpm
Max torque 340 lb/ft @6,500 Rpm
Curb weight 1397 Kg
Top speed 325 Kmph (or) 202 Mph
Tire Tipo 036-Derived, Tipo F130 B
0-100 Kmph 3.87 secs
Drive Rear wheel drive
The Ferrari F50 was powered by the same engine that powered Ferrari 641 Formula 1 car which was a naturally aspirated V12. This particular engine was used to make an ultimate road-going Formula 1 car. This V12 is said to rev at around 10,000-12,000 Rpm and produce and produce 690 HP but it was heavily detuned to limit its power to just 512 HP at 8,500 Rpm. The rev-limiter was highly essential because it improved the mileage of the car for regular road use.
The low weight of the car is an important aspect which was achieved by using Carbon-Fibre extensively. The whole monocoque is made of Carbon fibre. The engine of the car was directly bolted to the tub. The car is driven by its two rear wheels only.
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Lap times
Tsukuba circuit 1: 05.81
Suzuka circuit 2: 25.525
Nordschleife Nurburgring 7: 47.543
Written by: Porselvan M
Reference: Wikipedia, Ferrari.com
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