5 Ferraris for the Tifosi

Featured, Supercars, Ferrari

on 06/08/2008







Filed under:on 06/08/2008

These days the number of Supercar manufacturers are on the rise. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes with endless number of turbochargers and superchargers. Their displacements and power output figures are astonishing but we seem to have gotten used to it. Around 5 years back, a car producing 800 hp would have left us with wide open jaws and disbelief, but these days entire cars are designed around such amounts of power and after-market tuners are talking of such power. Supercars today generate ten times more power than an average family car with carbon-fiber and Aluminium as their key ingredients.



Without doubt, Italian supercar supremo Ferrari has always made Supercars that are special and unique. With a strong racing background, Ferrari entered the world of production cars with the 125. And we will save the rest of the introduction for another day and get down talking about 5 Ferraris that define the brand and more than car, are a work of art. 5 which were the best among the lot in their era's. 5 which made use of all the advanced technology available in their days, and 5 which featured in more bedroom posters than Madonna!



Ferrari 250 GTO



Only 39 250's were ever built and is a car collector's ultimate possession. Engineered by specialist Giotto Bizzarrini who was also behind the fascinating Lamborghini V12 engine, Bizzarrini was not only responsible for the chassis, but also for the design, which otherwise would be Pininfarina's task. He took full responsibility for the car, meticulously sorting out the handling and the aerodynamics making use of Pisa University's wind tunnel facilities. The apertures and vents on the front are not for show. They help in increasing air-velocity to the engine and aid cooling. Even the cam covers were made of magnesium for the weight reduction purpose. The 250's styling is talked about even today and so are its interiors. The wooden steering wheel adds a touch of class, but arises curiosity as well!





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Ferrari 250 GTO



This car was very very fast. The 250 came in 3-liter and 4-liter variants, and had a top whack of 185 mph, speeds that were considered phenomenal in the 1950's. The V12 3-liter engine produced 295 bhp and was mounted up front. The GT version of the car spent almost a decade on track dominating races and retired after Ferrari decided to focus on F1.



Ferrari F50



349 of them were built, and the 349th was brought out on the day when Ferrari turned 50. The F50 came in versions with and without a roof with its body built entirely of carbon-fiber. It was also used to make parts on the interior such as the seats and gear level knob, a clear indication of weight-savings given prime importance, more so when you consider the F50 's kerb weight of just 1,230 kg- A respectable statistic for a supercar. Sporting stylish 18-inch magnesium alloy wheels, the F50 was officially only available in five colours, Rosso Corsa, Rosso Barchetta, Giallo Fly, Nero and Argento although Ferrari satisfied clients who needed customization.





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Ferrari F50



The car sat on the road with thicker rubber at the rear and thinner ones up-front. Suspension was an electronic unit, which responded with regard to road conditions. The mid-ship mounted 4.7-liter V12 had enough grunt to take the F50 to 60 mph from a complete standstill in under 4 seconds and would run out of steam at a blistering 202 mph. The F50'S engine bares close resemblances to a Formula 1 engine. A dry-sump lubrication unit, aluminium cam heads and titanium forged con-rods being its unique characteristics.



Ferrari F430



The Ferrari Modena 360 was replaced by this and no questions were ever raised on the replacement. It's not very hard to get the point behind the F430. It was always designed to give Ferrari enthusiasts a track experience on a road car.



The F430 shared design cues with the 360 but the changes stood out, courtesy of Frank Stephenson, who was in charge of Ferrari's design department, worked in tandem with design expert Pininfarina to deliver a modern car with retro styling elements. A fine example is the twin air intakes, which was inspired from the 1960's 'shark nose' F1 cars.





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Ferrari F430



The F1 connection doesn't terminate cosmetically. The E-diff (Electronic differential) found on the F430 was borrowed from Micheal Schumacher's F1 car which helped it to shave off 3 seconds from its lap times around the Fiarano circuit compared to the outgoing 360 Modena.



The six-speed manual gearbox was from Ferrari's F1 car, controlled by paddles behind the steering wheel- just like how one would in a F1 car.



The mid-mounted V8 delivered 483 bhp to its rear wheels. Suspension, both at the front and the rear, was a double wishbone aided with coil springs. 0-60 mph came in at roughly about 4 seconds and acceleration continued all the way up to a staggering 196 mph. Interestingly, the engine is visible through a glass window fixed at the rear.



The F430 wasn't better only in terms of acceleration and top speed, but was safer and a lot better in handling too. It managed all of that weighing only a few kilograms more than the 360.



The F430 will be the closest Ferrari has ever reached to a production model. Even then, the keys belonged only to a fortunate few!



Ferrari Enzo



A car that rightly deserves to be featured in every piece of literature written on Supercars. The Enzo takes the laws of physics and makes a mockery a out of it. It is by far one of the best Supercars ever built and recently after the entry of the 1000 bhp Bugatti Veyron, experts and journalists still rate it as the best.



'Sport', 'Race' and 'Super' are the modes the gearbox can be slotted into. The three words can also be used as adjectives to describe the car as a whole. Only 399 were ever built making this one very exclusive as well. This car shares a whole lot in common with a F1 car. The strong yet light monocoque weighs a mere 92 kg and is made of aluminium and carbon fiber. The 6.0 V12 all-aluminium engine mounted in the middle of the car develops no less than 660 bhp and 657 Nm of torque pushing the Enzo to 60 mph from a standstill in 3.2 seconds.





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Ferrari Enzo



The Enzo's engine is controlled by Bosch's complex ECU, the 'Bosch Motronic ME7'. The flappy paddles behind the steering give you complete control over the 6-speed Semi-Automatic gearbox which can upshift and downshift in a mere 150 milliseconds. Shift it into sport mode and it'll take a lot lesser- 90 milliseconds!



The Enzo is cushioned by an independent suspension setup both at the rear and the front. Electronic dampers help in varying the stiffness of the ride. Another highlight of this car is the advanced steering wheel. Similar to the one found on F1 cars, the Enzo's steering wheel has an array of LED's indicating when to shift. One can also choose the gearbox setup, switch on or off traction control and control the indicators.



Ferrari Daytona



The Daytona was the last of the V12 Daytona's. When the prototype was unveiled at the 1968 Paris Salon, it was said to be the fastest car ever built up to that point of time. There is an interesting tale behind its name. The name Daytona was coined infact by journalists after Ferarri won the 24 hr Daytona race in 1967.



As usual, Pininfarina showcased its capability and made this car look as stylish and modern as it can possibly can. For aerodynamic benefit, the head lamps were placed behind clear plastic covers within the finely shaped nose of the car.





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Ferrari Daytona



An all-alloy 4.4 liter, four cam V12 dubbed the 'Tipo 251' gave out an impressive 352 bhp which could do the 60 mph sprint in 5.4 seconds. Similar to the Ferarri 250, this car made use of weber carbs, and dry sump lubrication.



A convertible version was showcased at the 1969 Frankfurt Motor Show, and Ferrari went on to build 150 of them. When the Daytona production stopped in 1973, 1,350 numbers were manufactured altogether. The mid-engined 356 GT4BB was the successor for the Daytona.







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