Ferrari is a name synonymous with Formula One dominance, but in reality, they’ve had their lean periods. The mid-eighties, in the height of the turbo era, was not a particularly fruitful time for the Prancing Horse, but for a brief moment, their luck turned around. After hiring the wild, speedy and lighthearted hotshoe Gerhard Berger, the team began to develop the 1987 car to compete with the Lotuses, McLarens and Williams that were dominating the period.

The F187 boasted a 1.5-liter, twin turbocharged V6 that spat out an obscene 900 horsepower in the races, and was capable of even more in qualifying. However, as powerful the motor was, it was only one piece of the puzzle, and the entire package had to be sorted out before it could really shine. If the car had two weak points, they were economy and reliability. The turbo era was known for insane consumption, and often cars would finish their fuel supply before the checkered flag. While the Ferrari was fast, it had a poor finishing record — as Berger retired from 9 of the 16 races in 1987.

Much of the positive development that this car received was at the hands of clever technical director, John Barnard. The Englishman had been poached from McLaren for the 1987 season, and instantly, he made some changes not all the Ferrari mechanics and engineers were pleased with. For one, the Brit set up his own office in England to distance himself from the virulent Italian media, and to set aside space to begin developing the 1989 car.

When back at the factory in Maranello, Barnard insisted the mechanics refrain from drinking any wine on testing days, which didn’t go over well. Stories of the Ferrari mechanics bursting into song after a lunch with plenty of Lambrusco have been recounted by many. However, it’s been shown that the effect of a cold, Northern mentality has had good effects on organizing the Italian team — see Lauda, Brawn, Schumacher and Todt.

After finishing fifth in the championship that year, the Tipo 033 engine had to be recalibrated for the ’88 rule changes, which reduced the size of the turbo car’s fuel tanks and limited boost pressure. This was enacted to level the playing field between the turbo cars and the atmospheric cars, and lower speeds and expenditure. In effect, this put the turbocharged Ferraris at a massive disadvantage, since their insatiable thirst forced them to run closer to 550 horsepower just to reach the end of the race.

While their qualifying speed was never in doubt, their race pace was not terribly good, thanks to a minimally-modified engine and a fuel computer that was simply obsolete in comparison to the contemporary offerings from Honda. In fact, it was the McLaren-Hondas which won all but one race that year, the Italian Grand Prix, where Gerhard Berger luckily inherited the win after McLaren’s Ayrton Senna crashed out.

The Ferrari F187/188 took new technology and moved it forward to four wins and plenty of podiums through the ’87 and ’88 seasons. It lacked in the fuel economy department, but a shrewd technical director and the requisite amount of focus allowed the cars to refine the chassis and the engine to give it pure pace. Matched with the talented hands and feet of Berger, some luck and great looks, this car has gone down as one of the brightest in Ferrari’s long, exciting history.