To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION
Estimate:
$2,500,000 - $2,750,000
- The second of 349 F50s produced
- Displayed at the 1995 Frankfurt Motor Show
- Ferrari Classiche certified; numbers matching example
- Major service in 2016; new fuel tank and inner tank
protection
- Owned by noted Ferrari Collectors Michael Gabel, Eckhard Bluhm
and Bernhard Dransmann
- Showing just 3,371 miles from new
- Please note this lot will need to be collected from Needham,
MA
The Ferrari F50 was intended as an early celebration of the
marque's 50th anniversary. What bowed under the bright lights of
the 1996 Geneva Motor Show was the culmination of everything the
automaker had learned over its five decades of existence. The F50's
512-horsepower V-12 stretched the limits of natural aspiration as
it screamed toward its 8,000 rpm redline. The car's carbon fiber
tub kept the weight in check. The F50 split the difference between
raw Ferraris of the past and the high-tech future.
The F50 traced its styling roots to the Pininfarina-penned Ferrari
Mythos concept presented at the 1989 Tokyo show. To create the
production F50, Ferrari and Pininfarina turned to wind tunnels. The
Mythos' basic shape remained intact, albeit with a curvier design
with projector lights housed under headlight covers, deep air
intakes in the front hood, a small passenger compartment, and a
massive rear wing that likened it to the F40 that preceded it.
Enormous center-locking 18-inch magnesium alloy wheels supplied by
Speedline took the Campagnolo look from the 1980s into a new
decade.
The shapely body was created from carbon fiber and was wrapped over
a tub created from the same material. Solid mounts held the
race-derived 4.7-liter V-12 into the car. The V-12 itself was
closely related to the engine that powered Alain Prost's Ferrari
641 Formula 1 race car to five checkered flags during the 1990
racing season.
The 65-degree V-12 was placed just ahead of the rear axle. A carbon
fiber-reinforced polymer intake supplied air, while fuel was held
in an aircraft-grade Sekur fuel-tank bag to keep weight to an
absolute minimum. A longitudinal six-speed manual transmission
shuttled power rearward to a limited-slip differential. Cooling
came via an oil-water intercooler sandwiched between the
transmission's lubrication system and the engine.
Underneath, the F50 utilized rose-jointed unequal-length wishbones
front and rear. Bilstein was tasked with creating electronically
adaptive dampers to make what was essentially a Formula 1 car with
windshield wipers and a passenger seat. Unassisted power steering
ensured that the F50 would live up to its predecessors. After all,
the F50 was never designed to scrub mileage as it dashed across the
continent. Gigantic Brembo brakes ensured that the F50 would come
to a halt quickly after reaching its 202-mph top speed.
Ferrari made no effort to soften the F50 inside, either. Its
dashboard was nearly unadorned, consisting of a carbon fiber panel
punctuated by three climate vents. Exposed carbon fiber was visible
throughout, which, along with the manual window winders, served to
remind occupants that the F50 was an exercise in weight reduction.
Unladen, the car tipped the scales at just over 3,000 pounds, a
remarkable feat given the power underhood, its relatively long
101.6-inch wheelbase, and the fact that the car's structure was
stiffened considerably because Ferrari chose to include a removable
targa roof over the passenger compartment.
Put to the test, the F50 was four seconds faster around the course
at Fiorino than the F40 that preceded it. Even Ferrari's
then-president, Luca di Montezemolo, gushed with praise. He told
Motor Trend in a 1995 review that the F50 would be "the first and
last Formula 1 car with two seats."
This car, chassis number 103114, was completed by the factory in
1995, just the second F50 ever built. Finished in Rosso Corsa over
Nero, with contrasting red cloth seat inserts, upon completion the
F50 was imported to Germany where it was exhibited at the Frankfurt
Motor Show in September 1995. It was subsequently sold new to
Michael Gabel, a noted Ferrari collector from Berlin who exactly
one month after acquiring it would enjoy the car on the Mugello
circuit. In early 1998 Mr. Gabel sold the car to Carmine Ligato of
Bergheim, Germany who would show the Ferrari later in the year at
the Auto Becker Concours d'Elegance in D�sseldorf. In 1999 the F50
was confiscated by German Financial authorities and offered at a
public auction. It was purchased there by Eckhard Bluhm, who at the
time had one of the foremost Ferrari collections in Germany.
Despite Mr. Bluhm rarely showing his cars, his very private
collection is known to have included approximately 30 of
Maranello's finest including a 250 MM, 330 GTC, 275 GTB/4, 333 SP,
as well as the full modern supercar set of 288 GTO, F40, F50, and
Enzo. Needless to say, this F50 was in great company under Mr.
Bluhm's 16-year ownership and is said to have been parked next to
his other F50, which he had bought new, while part of his
collection.
By 2016 the car was under the ownership of noted collector and
famed Ferrari supercar expert Bernhard Dransmann. Mr. Dransmann has
owned over two dozen 288 GTOs, F40s and F50s and is known for his
keen eye and expertise in acquiring and selling these specific
Ferrari models. That Spring Mr. Dransmann sent the car to Maranello
Motors in K�ln, Germany for a major service, highlighted by a new
fuel tank and inner tank protection. The major service was
completed at a cost of nearly €30,000. In July 2016, the F50 was
granted its Ferrari Classiche certification, confirming that the
car remained a numbers matching example. The F50 remained in
Germany until March 2017 when it was imported into the United
States. JK Technologies of Baltimore, Maryland federalized the car,
making all the necessary changes to conform to US-regulations at a
cost of over $100,000.
A stunning example, this F50 has covered just 3,371 miles from new.
It still exhibits its factory original paint and the composite
weave is evident throughout the car, both indicators of a well
looked after original example. It is offered with a black soft-top
and matching Rosso Corsa hardtop with road case. Additionally, the
car is accompanied by its Ferrari Classiche Red Book, owner's
manuals with original maintenance book, select service invoices,
import documentation, tool kit, and its factory supplied photo
album documenting its construction. In April 2020, the F50 received
an inspection and servicing from the authorized dealer, Ferrari of
New England.
The F50, lauded as the last great proper six-speed manual Ferrari
supercar, has very few peers, as it combines cutting-edge, Formula
1-inspired innovation and technology with a road car platform. As
the final generation of modern-day supercars equipped with manual
transmissions begins to gain value in the collector car market, the
F50 presents itself as not only an excellent driving
limited-production automobile but also a very important model in
Ferrari's illustrious history.To view this car and others currently
consigned to this auction, please visit the RM website at
rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/0120.
