A Guide To Buying A 1995

The Ferrari F50 is arguably the most underrated and underappreciated Ferrari in history and here's why.

Much like the word 'celebrity,' whenever the word 'supercar' comes up, no matter who you are, there are one or two names that immediately come to mind. For some of us it is the venerable Lamborghini Countach or Ferrari F40.

If you are a little younger, perhaps the Diablo adorned your walls as a child, or even the mighty Audi R8. Then there was the world-beating McLaren F1 that came, saw, and conquered everything this side of a Bugatti Veyron. Or on the American side of things, the Saleen S7 checked all the super-boxes too. There is no wrong answer, but often times some cars just end up getting overlooked in the supercar conversation.

With celebrities, odds are most people will have Kim Kardashian at the top of their list. She is essentially the Ferrari F40 of celebs, overshadowing her younger sister Khloe for years. This sibling rivalry is eerily similar to the way the Ferrari F40 has undermined its younger sibling, the F50, despite it being one of the fastest cars of the 1990s. So now, we'd like to reintroduce you to the very underrated, and very underappreciated F50.

Much like their elder and more famous sibling, Khloe and the F50 both had massive, and nigh-impossible, shoes to fill. We all know about Kim, but the Ferrari F40 the last model blessed and sanctioned by Enzo Ferrari himself before he died. Beyond that, the F40 not only went on to become one of the fastest cars of the late '80s and early '90s, but also went on to become one of the most sought after cars in history. Despite its best efforts, the F50 has monstrously huge Goodyears to fill.

Related: Supercar Icons: Ferrari F50 Vs Lamborghini Diablo

Unlike the late and great F40, Ferrari decided to do away with the twin-turbocharged set up and instead took inspiration directly from its 1990 641 F1 race car, and went with naturally-aspirated, dual-overhead cam 4.7-liter V12, dubbed the F130B. That race bred mid-mounted V12 featured and iron block, aluminum heads, a dry-sump lubrication and five valves per cylinder. Power came to a peak at an astounding 512-horsepower at a sky-high 8,500 RPM and 347 pound-feet of torque at 6,500 RPM.

From the engine, power found its way through your choice of transmission, provided that the transmission you wanted was six-speed manual, which was the last halo car to feature a true manual. The next Enzo would only feature an automated manual. But the F50 was a true, and relatively simple setup. No hybrid nonsense like the later LaFerrari would feature, nor any weight-adding all-wheel drive systems to hinder the purity of a Ferrari racecar for the street, power just sent straight to the rear wheels.

Related: Supercar Icons: Ferrari F50 Vs McLaren F1

The big V12 got bolted on the chassis itself, which was then surrounded by a full carbon-fiber tub. Both tricks helped reduce weight significantly, but by bolting the engine and transmission directly to the frame of the car, it created a significant amount of vibration and harshness to everyday rides on uneven roads. To further reduce weight, the body consisted of a mixture of carbon fiber, Nomex honeycomb, and Kevlar. For the undercarriage, copious amounts of aluminum got used to complete the suspension, and even a rubber compound fuel tank help keep weight down to a svelte 2,712 pounds.

Despite coming under some scrutiny for arguably being less attractive than its older sibling, the F50 sure did look pretty on the track. Whether it was the original 288 GTO halo car, or the F40, or even the later Enzo, the F50 may not have been the fastest of the bunch, but it more than held its own against anything and everything that was daring enough to line up against it. Capable of running from 0-60 mph in just 3.6 seconds, through the quarter mile in just 12.0 seconds at 126 mph, on its way to a top speed of 202 mph. Around the skidpad, the F50 managed to pull an impressive 0.95g, and to scrub off all that speed, the '50 used unassisted cast iron Brembo disc brakes shod in 245/35ZR-18 front and 335/30ZR-18 rear Goodyear Eagle F1 rubber to haul the Ferrari down from 70-0 mph in 176 feet.

Related: Supercar Icons: Ferrari F50 Vs Jaguar XJ220

As opposed to today's hyper-digital world that is full of expansive dash screens that could double as movie theaters, the Ferrari F50 was about as bare bones as the original Dodge Viper. The ultimate in analogue, the form-follows-function F50 used two big gauges front and center of the driver to show speed and RPM, while the rest of the dash consisted of HVAC vents and that's about it sans for an 'F50' badge in front of the passenger seat. Both seats are nicely bolstered, and clearly designed for track use, while the F50's gated six-speed shifter provides a clean and rewarding "snick" sound when you find the right gear at the right time. No power steering, no power brakes or ABS, and no power windows either. But then, with a targa-only design, the side windows didn't have a lot of reasons to be in the 'up' position much anyway.

Much like having to ask if one of the Kardashian sisters is single, if you have to ask how much Ferrari's halo car is, both are probably out of your league. Unfortunately, Ferrari only made 349 examples of the F50 in the two years of its production. Even more unfortunate, is that even if you had the $475,000 asking price at the time, each one of those cars got leased out to carefully selected Ferrari owners. So even if you had the money available, and owned Ferraris at the time, it still may have not been enough to gain access to the mighty F50.

Related: 14 Facts About The Ferrari F50 - The 1 V12 Car You Need In Your Garage

According to Classic.com, you can buy (literally) one of these cars today, but it will cost you a bit more than Ferrari's original asking price. The lowest price of the 12 sales on record is a modest $1.9 million, while the top sale checks in at a Bugatti Chiron embarrassing $5.4 million.

As with almost any Pininfarina-designed masterpiece, and just about any Kardashian, both have held up impeccably over time. One could argue that both look just as good today as they did twenty years ago. So, while history may shine a little brighter on Kim and the F40 as being the crown jewel of their respective families, and then later on the Enzo and Kendall, there are those of us that will always have a soft spot for the seeming black sheep of the family stuck in the middle, and appreciate the beauty that so many others have not taken the time to see yet.

Lou was born with motor oil in his veins. His first car was a 1965 Mustang convertible and it's only gotten better from there. He has written for mass market publications such as AutoTrader, AutoConnection and the PowerAutoMedia Group. Import or domestic, as long as it looks good and goes like hell, Lou will have something to write about it.