Ferrari F50 1995, Itália
Fotografia
When Ferrari’s 40th anniversary supercar, the F40, became an enormous, acclaimed success, the company’s engineers recognized that the upcoming 50th anniversary would require something even more superlative. Four years of development were invested into a dedicated road car that would have characteristically strong ties to Ferrari’s then-current racing technology, including the chassis design, founded on a lightweight carbon fiber tub. Pininfarina’s designers outdid themselves with curvaceous coachwork, molded from carbon fiber, Kevlar, and Nomex, that evoked Maranello’s most legendary sports-racers of the 1950s and 1960s, while also bearing a close resemblance to their Formula 1 entrants of the modern era.
The latter was no coincidence, as the engine carried in this spectacular creation was the type F130B V-12 that had begun life in Ferrari’s 1992 Formula 1 car, and underwent 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 between 1995 and 2001. With an enlarged 4.7-liter displacement, yet detuned for more reasonable revving and tractable road manners, the high-compression V-12 in the F50 developed 513 horsepower and 347 pound-feet of torque. The result was otherworldly performance, as proven by Road & Track magazine, whose editors found the car could accelerate from 0–60 mph in 3.6 seconds and achieve a top speed of 202 mph. The return to earthbound speeds was provided by monstrous Brembo brakes with huge rotors, anchored by aluminum pistons. Additional competition-derived details included a racing-style fuel bladder and LCD instruments, in a dashboard that would not have looked out of place on the Mulsanne Straight.
Not just a mere “supercar,” a term that even in the mid-1990s was beginning to suffer from overuse, it was as near as one could come to a modern F1 car for the street—but with leather-trimmed seats, air conditioning, and adjustable ride height.
Ferrari ensured the model’s rarity and desirability by producing just 349 numbered examples—so it is said, one fewer than they thought they could sell—through 1998. It became a favorite of marque-focused collectors and is now considered one of the critical components of the illustrious “Big Five” hypercar portfolio that the most dedicated tifosi build for their stables.
Chassis number 103921:
The F50 offered here was the 47th numbered F50 built, and, significantly, one of just 55 US-delivery examples. Completed on 21 December 1995, it was sold through Ferrari of Houston to Dahr Jamail of Houston, Texas, who immediately had it refinished from the original Rosso Corsa to his preferred Azzurro California.
By 1998 the car had been acquired by Mark Rand, who that year brought it to the Texas Motor Speedway during the F355 Challenge races. It was returned to the original and correct Rosso Corsa—by Ferrari of Houston, the same shop that had first refinished it—and sold in 2004 to actor and prominent enthusiast, Nicolas Cage, but the following year transacted again to Alex Papas of Arizona. Papas exhibited the car at the Ferrari Club of America (FCA) Arizona Region Concours d’Elegance in Phoenix in 2007, winning a Platinum award, then the following year brought it to Bahrain for exhibition along with 19 other special-invitation Ferraris at the Bahrain Ferrari Classics at the Sahkir Tower-Bahrain International Circuit.
It was subsequently advertised in 2008 and 2009 by Mike Haber of Pennsylvania, and sold at that time to Lewis N. Brown, also of Pennsylvania. Brown displayed the car at the Cavallino Classic in 2010, receiving another Platinum award, then at the Panamerican Concours in Coral Gables, Florida, by which time it was memorably registered in Florida as “F50 F1.” The car was sold in 2014 to Dr. Daxes M. Banit of Warner Robins, Georgia, then in 2021 to the current owner, a well-known Southern enthusiast and sports car connoisseur, as well as a devout F50 owner. Most recently the car was displayed yet again at the Cavallino Classic in Palm Beach in 2023, where it received its third Platinum award.
Accompanying the car are its original books and warranty document, the complete original tool and bulb/belt/fuse kits in their black leather cases, the original inflator kit and wheel-nut socket with cases, six sets of keys, and the all-important Red Book, testifying to its Ferrari Classiche Certification and confirming the presence of its original components, including its original US-specification exhaust, issued in 2023.
Also included are the original F50 dedication book in its corduroy sleeve, an original factory-produced photo album in its case, an original three-piece luggage set with yellow Ferrari dust covers, red Ferrari seat and steering wheel covers with bag, the Barchetta top and roll bars, and the original “flight box” with the hardtop and leather hardware pouch inside—essentially all that one would wish to find with a great F50. The car is also accompanied by periodic, regular maintenance records from its prior and current owners, including for maintenance continuously performed between 1996 and 2004 at Ferrari of Houston, and for a 2009 major engine-out service at Algar Ferrari.
An outstanding example of its type, with 8,556 miles at the time of cataloguing and complete with original accessories, this well-known, thrice-Platinum-awarded F50 is deserving of the finest collection. Texto da RM Sotheby's.
