The Shurlock Collection F50

Like the F40 before it, the F50 was created to celebrate a key milestone in Ferrari’s history. The aim was once again to create a car that would be a showcase for Ferrari’s engineering prowess and reinforce the company’s position at the pinnacle of the supercar world.

The origins of Pininfarina’s styling for the F50 can be traced back to an earlier concept car they developed for Ferrari, the Mythos. But unlike the Mythos, the F50 was built around a carbon fibre tub (a first for a road-going Ferrari) clothed in carbon panels. Pininfarina’s F50 design team spent a huge amount of time in the wind tunnel to perfect air flow and high-speed stability, and while the Mythos is clearly evident in its DNA, the F50 featured a more fluid shape with sculptured vents on the bonnet and a huge rear wing. The rigidity of the carbon tub meant that a removable hard top could be included without the chassis flex normally associated with convertibles.

When it came to the F50’s performance, engineers looked to Formula One for inspiration. Unlike the 288 GTO and the F40 before it, the F50 would not rely on turbochargers to maximise power, but instead the naturally-aspirated V12 unit from the 641 F1 car, which had powered Alain Prost to 5 victories in the 1990 season, was their starting point. This highly complex engine was heavily adapted to ensure its suitability for use in a road car, with capacity being enlarged from 3.5 to 4.7 litres. The result was a sonorous 517 bhp engine, a howling masterpiece that red-lined at 8,500 rpm, with a longitudinal six-speed manual gearbox mounted at the rear.

The F1 ideology didn’t stop with the engine. F1-style pushrod suspension was incorporated, along with cutting edge active dampers developed by leading specialists Bilstein. But like the F40, the F50 eschewed the now ubiquitous driver aids like ABS, power steering and servo-assisted brakes, ensuring the driving experience would be every bit as raw as its predecessor. The F50’s interior continued the spartan theme of the F40, albeit with a modicum of added sophistication. In spite of the extensive use of carbon fibre throughout the F50, it weighed in at 1,230kg, 130kg heavier than the F40.

The F50 was launched at the Geneva Motor Show in 1995 as the world’s first road-going F1 car, and arguably the last truly analogue supercar. By then all of the 349 planned examples had long since been accounted for by adoring Ferrari collectors at the eye-watering price of £340,000. The F50 would spend much of the next decade overshadowed by its predecessor, the F40, whose simplicity and sense of uncompromising purpose had ensured its place as one of the finest and best-loved Ferraris ever built. But over the years the F50’s reputation has grown as a hugely capable and rewarding drivers’ car, and with its scarcity, outrageous looks and F1-derived technology, its value has soared.