This is the eighth of 349 examples built.
As a successor to the F40, the F50 was Ferrari’s attempt at making a Formula 1 car with a passenger seat. In fact, it was touted as such by Ferrari’s president at the time who said it would be “the first and last Formula 1 car with two seats.”
Starting with the Mythos design, Ferrari and Pininfarina collaborated at the wind tunnel to create the final body design. An unequal wishbone style front and rear suspension featured Bilstien electronically adaptive dampers for unmatched handling and a powerful race-derived 4.7-liter V-12 engine supplied 512 naturally aspirated horsepower. Implementing what it had learned on the racetrack, Ferrari brought all of these technologies together in a limited production 3K-lbs streetcar- the Ferrari F50.
It is said that only 349 examples were ever made and only 55 of those were built for the American market. On top of this extremely limited production, the cars were not really sold new but rather leased in an unusual manner designed to prevent the cars from being used to make mass profits shortly after delivery. All of this lends to the F50’s rarity and boosts its collectibility today.
This particular example has only been owned by two people in its life, and it has only been driven 625 miles, making it like new. In 2014, it was certified as a numbers matching example with a Ferrari Classiche Red Book. It’s well-documented factory purchase order, certificate of origin, export bill of lading, service invoices, and a history by marque expert Marcel Massini. See it here.