Ferrari F50 hits its 30th anniversary

Ralph Lauren bought one, as did Mike Tyson. Then Rod Stewart got his hands on one. Clint Eastwood and 50 Cent were also owners, but what’s so great about a Ferrari F50 – just another supercar from Maranello… surely?

Righto, so as soon as you type in ‘Ferrari F50’ your computer screen will be awash with dizzying superlatives. The algorithm might as well have pointed you to Quentin Willson, such is the language. Before you know it, you have read the word ‘legendary’ 50 times.

The Ferrari F50, seemingly, is a prompt for gratuitous word salad, but let’s not get too cynical, and try to steer clear of an irony cul-de-sac. All should exhale before digesting the endless verbiage that a simple search conjures up because it’s inevitable that you’ll read the following adjectives:

• Uncompromising
• Raw
• Visceral

Now we have all that out of the way, you’ll be delighted to know that the F50 is, essentially, a road-legal Formula 1 car (sort of). Launched in 1995 to celebrate Ferrari's 50th anniversary, it was a follow-on from the Ferrari F40 – another leg… sorry, nice sports car.

It’s powered by a 4.7-litre naturally aspirated V12 engine derived from a 3.5-litre powerplant that powered Ferrari's 1990 F1 car. Enlarged and refined for road use, it produced 512bhp at 8,000rpm without the aid of a turbo. Niceties such power steering, ABS, and power-assisted brakes were not included as it was designed to float the boats of people who wanted a ‘driver’s car’. Whatever that means.

The performance stats confirm this. Acceleration was suitably alarming: 0-62mph was achieved in 3.7 seconds and if you kept your foot in to the bitter end the speedo needle would register 205mph. Fuel economy was a nonsense: average consumption was 9.6mpg but if you treated it nice you might get 12mpg.

Exclusivity? Well, there was plenty of that since a limited production run of just 349 units would be the necessary enticement for rich types to put their hands in their pocket and buy at auction. Scarcity meant that this would be an investment, and the truth will out – you’ll pay a lot for F50 joy. You want one now? Well, you’ll reduce your bank balance by around £4 million. The original price of the F50 in 1995 was £357,000.

In August a yellow F50 once owned by designer Ralph Lauren and out of sight for decades, is to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s during Monterey Car Week. The sale price is estimated at £5 million to £5.5 million.

It may be fast, valuable, and mostly owned by fashion designers, rappers, actors and boxers, but it’s not all good news. Supercar snobs don’t like it much: they like the F40 better, but that’s only because Nigel Mansell had one and that justifies their prejudice. Still, if you have an F50 you’ll go faster than a driver behind the wheel of an F40 (which does 0-60mph in 4.2 seconds with a top speed of 201mph), and that surely is the only KPI worth talking about?

So then, what of its fate? Ferrari stopped building F50s in 1997 and, because that production run was just a sliver of time, it achieved its leg… sorry, cult-like status. Whatever you think of Ferraris, this thing, on its 30th anniversary is a wonder to behold. By all accounts the F50 is fantastic to drive, it looks the part and, most importantly, famous people are tripping over themselves to get their hands on one.

Therefore, it’s safe to say that this car is ‘legendary’ and for all those who like a little bit of over-zealous fawning, here’s what the internet will tell you:

‘The Ferrari F50 is more than just a car; it's a statement, a celebration of Ferrari's racing heritage, and a testament to the thrill of pure, unadulterated performance. It's a legend that continues to captivate enthusiasts and collectors alike, its value and desirability only growing with time.’

So, pretty good then.

Tell us what you think of the Ferrari F50 in the comments section below.