Ferrari has no shortage of cars that stand out as timeless icons, from the racing success of the 250 GTO to the significance behind the Enzo. The F50 GT, however, has a different story. First developed to compete in international GT racing during the 1990s, it never actually made it to a starting grid, leaving behind an unusual chapter in Ferrari’s history that Ferrari Magazine is revisiting 30 years later.
The F50 GT came to life during the rise of the BPR Global GT Series. Following the F40 LM’s involvement in competition, Ferrari began working on a racing version of its successor, the F50. The project involved Dallara and composite-materials specialist ATR, with the goal of turning an already race-inspired road car into something built specifically for the circuit. A carbon-fiber chassis and Formula 1-derived V12 laid the groundwork, but the GT was entirely different from the car rolling off the production line for customers.
Much of that difference is clear from the moment you look at an F50 GT. The removable roof became a fixed coupe design, complete with a large air intake above the cockpit, while the rear end received a redesigned engine cover, diffuser, and oversized wing. A deeper front splitter and revised cooling openings add to its track transformation. Inside, the focus remained entirely on racing, with weight-saving measures bringing the car's dry weight down to around 1,895lbs.
Ferrari also made big changes to the F50's 4.7L naturally aspirated V12. Power increased from 520 horsepower in the road car to 750 horsepower at 10,500 rpm, paired with a six-speed sequential gearbox. Testing at Fiorano showed the F50 GT capable of lapping faster than the Ferrari 333 SP sports prototype.
The program came to an end in 1996, when Ferrari decided to concentrate its resources on Formula 1. Just three F50 GTs were built, and the car never got the opportunity to establish a racing record of its own. That limited production run, combined with its unfinished competition story, has made it one of the most important Ferraris ever made.
Now, three decades after its story first began, Ferrari is looking back at the F50 GT. The car may not have the race results of the 250 GTO or the road-going legacy of the standard F50, but it remains a reminder of a project that took Ferrari's Formula 1-inspired engineering in a different direction. Its story is all about mystery and what could have happened had it ever made it there.
Source: Ferrari Magazine
