The Ferrari F50 (Type F130) is a limited production mid-enginesports car manufactured by Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari from 1995 until 1997. Introduced in 1995, the car is a two-door, two seat targa top. The F50 is powered by a 4.7 L naturally aspiratedTipo F130B60-valveV12 engine that was developed from the 3.5 L V12 used in the 1990 Ferrari 641 Formula One car. The car's design is an evolution of the 1989 Ferrari Mythos concept car, while Pininfarina incorporated design cues from contemporary F1 racecar designs, particularly at the front.[7][8]
A total of 349 cars were made, with the last car rolling off the production line in July 1997.[1] The F50's engine predated the car; it was used in the Ferrari 333 SP for the American IMSA GT Championship in 1994, allowing it to become eligible for the stock engine World Sports Car category.
Front: Rose-jointed unequal-length wishbones, push-rods, coil springs, Bilstein gas-pressurised monotube dampers, electronic adaptive damping, electronic height adjustment (40 mm max)
Rear: Rose-jointed unequal-length wishbones, push-rods, coil springs, Bilstein gas-pressurised monotube dampers, electronic adaptive damping, mounting points on a spacer between the engine and gearbox
Electronic adaptive damping (based on steering wheel angle and velocity, the body's vertical and longitudinal acceleration, brake line pressure, and vehicle speed)
Maximum reaction time (from minimum to maximum damping force or vice versa): 140 milliseconds (0.14 s)
Average reaction time (from minimum to maximum damping force or vice versa): 25 to 30 milliseconds (0.025 to 0.03 s)
The Ferrari F50 GT (also known as the Ferrari F50 GT1) is a racing derivative of the F50, intended to compete in the BPR Global GT Series against other series rivals, such as the McLaren F1 GTR. After the series folded, Ferrari was unhappy with homologation specials such as the Porsche 911 GT1 being allowed in the newly formed FIA GT Championship and decided to cancel the project due to lack of funding to compete.[16]
The car was co-developed with Dallara and Michelotto.
Following the motorsport theme of the Ferrari F40 LM, Ferrari developed the F50 GT, a prototype based on the F50 that was built to compete in GT1-class racing. The car had a fixed roof, a large rear wing, new front spoiler and many other adjustments. The 4.7 litre V12 engine was tuned to generate around 750 brake horsepower (760 metric horsepower; 559 kilowatts) at 10,500 rpm and 380 lb⋅ft (520 N⋅m) of torque at 7,500 rpm. A test held in 1996 proved the car to be quicker even than the 333 SP, but this went unnoticed as Ferrari cancelled the F50 GT project because it was unhappy with FIA allowing homologation special cars such as the Porsche 911 GT1 in the series. Ferrari instead focused on Formula One after the BPR Global GT Series folded. The company sold off the three complete chassis out of the six planned chassis that were built–the test car 001, 002 and 003. Chassis 002 and 003 had bodies fitted before being sold. The remaining three tubs were reportedly destroyed.[17][18][19]