The Ferrari F50 is widely considered to be one of Maranello’s most expressive modern hypercars, combining 1950s-style aesthetics with competition-developed performance technologies. Starting with a lightweight carbon fiber tub, Pininfarina mounted curvaceous new coachwork molded from carbon fiber, Kevlar, and Nomex honeycomb. The cockpit could be completed with either a removable soft top or a separate hard top stored in an accompanying road case, which allowed the F50 to strike the pose of a barchetta or berlinetta, encapsulating the best of both worlds.

A new naturally aspirated 4.7-liter V-12 was dropped into this spectacular marriage of body and chassis in a mid-rear architecture that ensured optimal weight distribution. The type F130B engine began life in Ferrari’s 1992 Formula One car before undergoing further development in the 4-liter 333 SP sports car, which won numerous driver’s and constructor’s championships in IMSA GT and FIA sports car racing. With an enlarged displacement of 4.7 liters and yet detuned for more reasonable revving and tractable road manners, the new high-compression V-12 developed 513 horsepower and 347 pound-feet of torque, capable of launching the F50 to 60 mph from standstill in just 3.6 seconds, while achieving a top speed of 202 mph.

Stopping power was provided by Brembo brakes with huge rotors (14 inches in front and 13.2 inches at the rear) anchored by aluminum pistons. Although the F50 abounded in Formula One-specification equipment, from the racing-style fuel bladder to the LCD dashboard instruments, the model was still appointed with creature comforts such as leather-trimmed seats, air conditioning, and adjustable ride height.

More refined than the brutal F40, yet not as cossetting as contemporaries such as the McLaren F1, the F50 was a difficult car to pigeonhole; this was a machine built for pure experience, rather than the pursuit of any specific, granular performance benchmark. Writing for their June 1996 issue, the editors of Motor Trend summed up the F50 thusly:

“All but devoid of body roll and pitch, the F50 has the immediate feel of a full-race go-kart, with not a gram of fat in its physique-just sinewy, instantaneous response. This power-hungry Ferrari gives its lucky driver a sense of Master-of-the-Universe-type control. Total omnipotence-without an in-depth background check. Cool.”

Built from 1995 through 1997, the breathtaking F50 was earmarked for an official production cap of only 349 examples, ensuring a rarity that instantly established the model as a bona fide collectible. The F50 remains a favorite of marque-focused collectors, often serving as the centerpiece of modern Ferrari collections, and as a critical component of the illustrious “Big Five” hypercar portfolio that is relished by dedicated Maranello enthusiasts today.

AN F50 IN MONACO

This fabulous F50 claims fastidious single ownership by a Monaco-based collector for 13 years prior to a period of care by one of the world’s foremost Ferrari specialists, resulting in a highly desirable example. As confirmed by its production plate, chassis number 106400 is the 182nd example built, and in July 1996 the car was issued a manufacturer’s certificate of origin (a copy of which is on file).

According to a deep file of documentation that includes former registrations, bills of sale, a Marcel Massini history report, and a Ferrari Classiche Red Book and corresponding Certificate of Authenticity, this beautiful European-specification F50 completed assembly in July 1996, finished in Rosso Corsa over a Nero leather interior with red seat inserts. Retailed through the well-known preferred distributor Garage Francorchamps in Belgium, the Ferrari was immediately sold to a local enthusiast who relocated to Monaco in 1999. Over the following nine years the car was regularly serviced by marque dealer Groupe Cavallari’s respected Monaco Motors. In early 2010 the owner sold the F50 to DK Engineering, the highly respected Ferrari specialist in the UK, and DK continued to intermittently service the car over the next four years.

In January 2015 the Ferrari was sold to the consignor, who became the car’s fourth private owner. Six months later, the F50 was issued a Red Book from Ferrari Classiche that authenticates the continued presence of the matching-numbers chassis, engine, and transaxle, as well as its original body, ensuring that this F50 retains a high degree of originality.

Offered from nearly 10 years of consistent care within the Dare to Dream Collection, chassis number 106400 displayed 20,910 kilometers (~12,993 miles) at time of cataloguing, and it is desirably accompanied by factory-issued flight case for the hard top, hard tonneau and roll bars, soft top and bag, tools, owner’s manuals, and two pieces of Schedoni luggage. This beautifully presented, mid-production F50 would make an exquisite addition to any sporting collection, particularly suited to collectors pining to fill a gap in their assemblage of Ferrari’s lauded “Big Five” modern hypercars.