Is the F50 the ultimate Ferrari?

Just like Enzo Ferrari himself, I also fell in love the moment I heard a V12. The rawness, the high tunes and the fact that it was used in the F1 cars for a very long time make this my favourite engine!

Ferrari and Formula 1 have an incredible history together; it’s the oldest and most successful team with over 220 GP victories in the championship since 1950. That’s why it comes as a surprise the F50 wasn’t always loved as it is now, mainly because of the lack of power and the ‘’bubbly’’ design. But let’s be honest, no car could’ve surpass the F40. I’ve always been fascinated by the F50 ever since I found out about the car. It’s not just the design that does it for me, but also the massive 4.7L V12 placed behind the passengers. The engine we’re talking about is a developed 3.5L V12 coming from the 1990 Ferrari 641. Can it get any better?!

When @tipozerofourzero told me I could pick three of his cars to shoot while staying in London, I immediately told him his Dutch-delivered F50 was going to be one of them. Not just because of the V12 but being a very rare car (349 produced) it’s so hard to get close to one, let alone see one in a museum. I’m very privileged to tell my experience with this legendary car first hand.

Getting into the F50 is as awkward as in the F40. You need to climb over the big carbon fiber tube and aim for your seat. The interior is better equipped than expected and even the removable top is covered in leather which gives it a very luxurious look. I changed my mind fairly quickly when the engine started rumbling. Even when stationary I got goosebumps all over my body.

While driving, you can feel the F40 and F50 are related. They share the same kind of character. But they are also very different. The F50 is more responsive than the F40 with its ‘’turbo-lagging-V8’’. The F40 is a bit more hardcore, but the F50 is louder. We drove to the highway and slowly built up the revs till around 3,500 rpm before gently flooring it. After we passed some speed cameras it was time to floor it a bit more. ‘’Are you ready?’’ – asked ‘’Tipo’’. Before I could answer his question he grabbed the steering wheel with two hands and casually put his foot down. I’m not even exaggerating when I’m saying that it must’ve been one of the best moments of my life. The sounds of that marvellous engine is so addicting, especially when we reached about 7,500 rpm and shifted to the next gear. The mechanical ‘’cling-clang’’-sound produced by the 6-speed is magnificent!!

While shooting the car at the same location as his F12tdf and F40, @tipozerofourzero decided to turn the F50 into a real transformer. He opened the front and the rear part, showed on the pictures. There’s literally no space for anything in the front part and the big V12 housed in the back takes up half the car. Might not be the most practical vehicle, but I can imagine what this must drive like on a racing track.

Being a rather dated car (produced from 1995 till 1997) some things don’t work like they used to do. For example, the doors. At some point I had to close the door after I grabbed my camera out of the passenger side, but it didn’t close properly after trying a couple of times. Having to slam the door of a €2,000,000 car was a thought I’ve never had to consider before. With pain in my heart I gave it a swing and it closed like it did when it left the Maranello factory in 1997.

Another big thanks to @tipozerofourzero for bringing his beloved F50 out and check out more pictures of the shoot over here.

Could this be the new FXX K Evoluzione?

While testing at a track in Italy, Ferrari was spotted with a highly camouflaged FXX K, we think this will be the FXX K Evoluzione.

FXX K
Although our source wants to remain anonymous, he gave us a lot of information about the car in question. If you look at the rear of the FXX K you can clearly see it has a different wing design. The previous car had a twin-profile spoiler and as you can see, this one has the traditional wing design with shark fin to strengthen the construction. Even the V12 sounds differently according to our source, there might be a chance they removed the hybrid system. On the other hand, the driver could’ve been in a different driving mode which would explain why it sounded louder. Even though these are all rumours, it really looks like Ferrari will be launching this car very soon.

Ferrari Challenge and GT
Ferrari did not only test the FXX K at the track yesterday; a Challenge and GT car were driving around as well. The GT was fitted with a new exhaust, but there are no massive changes on the Challenge car. The GT car was also equipped with an external speedometer, so this must’ve been an engine-based test.

Positve race for Ferrari!

After the succesful race for Ferrari at the Nürburgring the cars went to the factories for their last check up before they went on the airplane towards Mexico. It was a difficult round in Mexico for Ferrari but in the end some positives to take home.

GTE-Pro
The race got well underway for Ferrari with the #71 starting from pole. Poleman Sam Bird in the Ferrari 488 GTE #71 was in first at the start, pursued by the Aston Martin #95 of Sorensen and then the two Fords. James Calado, with AF Corse’s car #51, took sixth place after few laps thanks to the contact between Christensen’s Porsche and the 488 GTE of Clearwater Racing driven by Weng Sun Mok. At the end of the first hour Sorensen managed to overtake Bird but shortly after, at the first pitstop, the positions were reversed with Davide Rigon again in front of Nicki Thiim. Calado, for his part, overtook the Ford of Olivier Pla before the Arena (the last area of the Mexico City circuit) but was hit by the French driver on the left rear wheel forcing him to enter the pits. Fortunately, his stint was about to end and so car #51 just had to bring forward its planned stop by just a few laps. Alessandro Pier Guidi took over, putting in a great stint, to guide the Ferrari into third place. At the next pit stop car #51’s race was hampered by an unfortunately incident. Immediately after refuelling, with Calado in the car, it suffered a fuel pump problem that was solved with another visit to the pits. Obviously Calado and Pier Guidi lost several positions and resumed in sixth place, a lap down. At the same time, the Aston Martin #95 overtook the #71 at the pits to move into first. In the final two hours there were two Full Course Yellows, where the cars had to drive at 80 km/h. In the first one, the Aston Martin #95 stopped for a pitstop running out of order compared to the strategy of the majority of the rivals, and in the second the Ferrari, which had meanwhile moved into first, also pulled in and thus managed to keep first place. Bird and Rigon’s ambitions of winning were frustrated by a 10-second penalty for exceeding 80km/h during the first Full Course Yellow phase. Car #71 finished second behind the Aston Martin and ahead of the Porsche of Makowiecki-Lietz, while the #51 was sixth.

GTE-Am
It was an uphill race for the two Ferrari 488 GTE’s entered in the GTE-Am class. Spirit Of Race #54 came fourth with Miguel Molina, Francesco Castellacci and Thomas Flohr, while the 488 GTE of Clearwater Racing ran into two drive-throughs losing precious seconds. In the end Matt Griffin, Keita Sawa and Weng Sun Mok crossed the line in fifth in a race won by the Porsche of Proton Racing driven by Matteo Cairoli, Marvin Dienst and Christian Ried. The overall victory went to the Porsche of Timo Bernhard, Earl Bamber and Brendon Hartley. The result of the 6 Hours of Mexico leaves a slightly bit bitter taste in the mouth, because it is clear that victory was within reach, but the two Ferraris secured a good haul of points helping the Prancing Horse to stretch its lead in the Constructors’ standings. Ferrari now has a nine-length lead over Ford, 22 over Aston Martin, and 31 over Porsche. Next race in two weeks is at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

RM Sotheby’s epic Ferrari auction!

One of the activities of the 70th anniversary in Maranello this weekend is the RM Sotheby’s ‘’Leggenda e Passione’’ auction. Some of the most important cars in the history of Ferrari will be sold by the American auction house.

LaFerrari prototype
There’s an epic line up of around 40 legendary Ferrari’s to be sold. A couple of the cars have never been offered before, which makes it a unique occasion for some of the lots. Besides the one-off LaFerrari Aperta we wrote about a couple of days ago, the LaFerrari prototype is also being auctioned off. Estimated to bring up around the €1.2000.000 this LaFerrari was first shown at the private viewing to close clients. Every client who visited the atelier to spec their LaFerrari had the chance to view and sit in the car. This particular model was produced in late 2012, making it quite an early car since Ferrari revealed the LaFerrari at the GIMS in 2013.

Ultimate barn find
Another car that caught my eye is this 1969 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Alloy with matching numbers. It’s the only road legal version with the alloy body, so I have no clue why the previous owner ‘’forgot’’ about this masterpiece sitting in his garage. Scaglietti built 5 lightweight 365 GTB/4 Daytona’s to compete in various championships, like the 24 hours of Daytona. In addition to the five competition cars, one road legal example was built. It changed hands in Italy a couple of times before being shipped to Japan where it stayed hidden for around 40 years. The staff of RM Sotheby’s estimated the value of the car at €1.400.000 – €1.700.000.

Tailor made 458 Italia
No, this is not a wrapped 458 Italia. The camouflage design is actually painted on the car. The 458 Italia left the factory in this exact colour scheme as the personal car of Lapo Elkann, the grandson of Fiat-boss Gianni Agnelli. The traditional Ferrari shields were replaced by peace signs and there’s a combination of brown, red, dark green carbon fiber and camouflage print in the interior. Even the V8-engine block has been finished in the same scheme as the exterior. The car sold for €1.000.000 at an auction at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016. The current owner might has some regrets by buying since it’s estimated to be worth between €250.000 and €350.000.

Short Wheel Base
The most valuable car of the auction is this 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione by Scaglietti. One of just 46 alloy-bodied examples built and it’s #39 of a total of 74 Competizione SWB’s. The car received an engine rebuilt in early 2010, done by DK Engineering. While the car has been restored, it still has all the original documents like the factory build sheets, service invoices, magazine articles and the history by marque expert Marcel Massini. SWB’s always tend to be the most expensive lot of the auction, and this one makes no difference: it’s estimated between €8.500.000 and €10.000.000.

Other interesting lots are the 333 SP, a 250 GT LWB California Spider by Scaglietti, a 488 GTE and a Bianco Fuiji 599 SA Aperta. Check out the full list over here.

Italy GP: Mercedes beats in Ferrari territory!

A painful home race for the Scuderia, several issues all weekend and Vettel losing the championship lead to Hamilton.

Saturday
Monza was exceptionally wet, Free Practice 3 was delayed and eventually shortened to just 16 minutes of green flag because of the heavy rain. Qualifying was an even bigger mess, a few minutes into Q1 Grosjean spun out and brought out the red flag. A full 2 hours and 35 minutes of waiting ensued. The first problem was for Kimi, when his left front brake caught fire in the pits. Meanwhile on the wet track the drivers pushed as hard as they could. Mercedes was clearly the fastest car, but Red Bull showed great speed as well. Ferrari however was not even close to the top 5, in the end both Seb and Kimi had to start behind the two Mercedes cars, a Force India and a Williams.

Sunday
It was sunny on sunday! The Ferrari team and fans were all hoping for a good race pace to challenge for victory in Italy.
The start was a success, Kimi moved Bottas on the edge and took P4. the two Finns had another intense battle, they were inches apart in the famous Parabolica. But the Mercedes engine proved faster once again and the race went downhill from here on. Räikkönen dropped back and reported damage on the rear of his car, no solution could be found.

Vettel got himself into P3 but not near the pace of the Silver Arrows in front. He missed the first chicane and from that moment he experienced a steering issue, the car felt unstable under braking. This caused Vettel to drive more careful and thus slower. He finished in third, a shameful 36 seconds behind championship leader Hamilton.
A big round of applause to Ricciardo who started from P16 and managed fourth place 53 laps later, earning him “Driver of the day”. Räikkönen followed in fifth. Special mention to Max Verstappen who suffered a puncture because of contact with Massa on lap 1 and still finished in the top 10.

Let’s stay positive for a moment, Ferrari celebrated the 70th anniversary with a nice display in the paddock. The fans were fantastic to see! So much support and enthousiasm. And the race was entertaining with lots of overtakes.

Vettel is now 3 points behind Hamilton who leads the championship for the first time this year. Will he take it back in Singapore? Stay tuned to find out!

My absolute dream: shotgun in the F40

Driving along in a Ferrari F40 was beyond my wildest dreams.

I remember preferring my F40-based-toy-car over all the other ones when I was a little boy. To have been in one for a ride is, of course, beyond my wildest dreams!

In an era where all cars are super technological and have all kinds of devices to keep the car on the road, it’s so much fun to go 30 years back in time and experience what a hypercar of the 80s feels like. Because, let’s be honest, the F40 is the LaFerrari of its time. It was revolutionary in every way possible; the first production car that could reach 200 mph (324 km/h) and it was one of the first cars using a carbon tube. The F40 was also the last car Enzo Ferrari personally approved, making the car even more special.

So, what’s it like to finally get a ride in your absolute dream car? Kind of scary at first, because you hope the car won’t disappoint but also fulfil all of your expectations. To start, you obviously need to get in the car. And that’s quite a err.. technique thing to do. To start, I gave my bag and camera to the owner @tipozerofourzero so I could climb into the car. You need to put your left leg over the large lip of the carbon tube. Next, aim right for the seat and just hope for the best. It’s a low car so especially for someone my height it can be a pain in the ass getting in and out all the time.

One of the things the F40 makes so notorious is the turbo lag. Turbo lag is the time between putting your foot down and the moment the turbo smashes in. In modern cars it’s perfectly refined but without any help of computers the engine takes a while time to create enough exhaust pressure to spin the turbo. The easiest way to experience turbo lag is when the engine is in low-rpm. Ever since I found out what turbo lag is, I wanted to experience it. It’s hard to explain what the car does, but when the driver puts his foot down the car accelerates around 40% of its capability until the turbo comes in. The 100% is accessible around 3 seconds after the driver stepped on the gas.

Driving on the highway with one of the most iconic cars ever build makes you feel like a rock star. Just look at a random car and you see cameras and iPhones being held up high just to get a picture of the car. Since the F40 is finished in red paint, everyone knows it’s a Ferrari. Some design parts are so recognizable, like the spoiler, the pop-up headlights and the triple-exhausts, which makes it even harder to not recognize it as a prancing horse.

When we got to the photoshoot location, we decided to park the F40 on the grass. Even @tipozerofourzero was impressed by how good the car looked on the green surface. While taking pictures of the F40, I realised how beautiful this car actually is, I wouldn’t change a thing about its design. Everything seems to be right. Enough of me drooling over my favorite car, please enjoy the pictures I took that day.

Thanks to @tipozerofourzero for making one of my biggest dreams come true!

Succesful GT weekend for Ferrari!

Ferrari had a succesful weekend in GT with a win at Paul Ricard, a podium in America and the lead in the championship!

ELMS
After a great race last time for Ferrari in the European Le Mans Series, the action returned to the track in France. Circuit Paul Ricard hosted the fourth round of the season and it was set to be a great one for Ferrari again.

After the #55 Spirit of Race car clinched pole on Saturday the race got well underway for them on Sunday. With the other Ferrari’s fighting for position the #55 could get away from the chasing pack and it immediately had a big gap in its first stint. After the first stint the car held its position and drove home to clinch another Ferrari win in the ELMS. Second place went to the Aston Martin of TF Sport, third place was for the 488 GTE from JMW Motorsport and the #51 Spirit of Race again just finished behind the top three. The JMW Motorsport Ferrari is still in second place in the championship with just 9 points less than the TF Sport Aston Martin.

The next race will take place at Spa-Franchorchamps at the end of September.

IMSA
Risi Competizione’s return to the IMSA SportsCar Championship resulted in a third-place finish for their Ferrari 488 GTE on Sunday afternoon at the IMSA GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway. The IMSA GT Challenge, which featured the GT-LeMans and GT-Daytona classes, featured close battles for the pair of Rosso Corsa Ferraris in two hours and forty minutes of racing.

GT-Le Mans
Starting from fourth position the no. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE driven by Giancarlo Fisichella was pushed off course on the opening lap, but recovered to run in second position after the first round of pit stops. Toni Vilander then took over and led the race in the Ferrari during the second hour and Fisichella took over for the closing stint. Despite an off-course excusion in the final minutes Fisichella brought the Ferrari to the checkered flag in third position. This was Risi Competizione’s third podium finish of the season and the team also won the Dekra Green Challenge Award for the third time this year. The race was won by the Chevrolet of Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen.

GT-Daytona
In the GT-Daytona class, Alessandro Balzan and Christina Nielsen recorded a fourth place finish and their eighth top-five finish in ten races this season. Starting from tenth position, Nielsen made up several places at the start of the race to move the no. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3 up to fifth. Balzan took the Ferrari over at the first round of stops in sixth position and drove up to fifth in the second hour of the race and then to fourth in the closing stages. Winning the race were Jerome Mul and Corey Lewis on the Change Racing Lamborghini.

By finishing in fourth position, Balzan and Nielsen’s championship lead remains strong at 13 points with two races remaining in the season. The next race on the schedule is the IMSA Monterey Grand Prix, September 21-24, at Laguna Seca in Monterey, California.

Additional LaFerrari Aperta in the making!

Ferrari plans to build an additional LaFerrari Aperta to raise money for charity. The car will be sold at the auction in Maranello on the 9th of September.

Originally meant to build 209 examples, Ferrari now offers this car at an auction. The Aperta will feature a unique livery, just like the 500th LaFerrari did.

RM Sotheby’s are the ones taking care of the auction ‘’Leggenda E Passione’’, which will feature a lot more unique Ferraris build through the years. If you’re interested in this LaFerrari Aperta or other lots, like a black Enzo Ferrari or a 333 SP, make sure to check out the full auction list over here.

Belgian GP: The rollercoaster in the Ardennes!

The surprisingly sunny Belgian Grand Prix ends in a win for Hamilton with Vettel seconds behind. The championship gap is now 7 points.

Visiting Spa
This article may get a bit more personal, as I visited Spa on race day, you’ve probably seen it on our Instagram story. I was entering the circuit at La Source when the gp3 series started, these young and fearless drivers provided some great racing to watch! Then I walked around the F1 fan village, it has to be said, Liberty Media is doing a great job for the entertainment of the fans! A big stage for some music, a gaming zone, a pit-stop practice and plenty of food and drinks. You could fly a drone, race some RC cars around, or buy your favourite team merchandise (Scuderia Ferrari, of course!).

I climbed the hill up Eau Rouge to watch the Formula 2 race, from where I saw Ferrari junior driver Charles Leclerc perform a great drive from the back of the grid to P5! I also saw Matsushita crashing hard in the tyre barrier at the top of Raidillon, he walked away unharmed thanks to modern safety of both car and track Going towards Les Combes during the Porsche Supercup, and reaching Pouhon in time for the Driver’s Parade, the tension builds towards the start of the Formula 1.

The race
The top 6 remains untouched in the opening laps, until crowd favourite Max Verstappen retired because of an engine problem, a painful loss for the many Dutch fans. He managed to stop on the side of Kemmel straight, but yellow flags were waved. Räikkönen could see Max standing still and did not lift his foot. He got a 10 second stop-and-go penalty and 3 penalty points added to his racing license. Kimi later stated that the penalty was “pointless”. However he did manage to get back to 4th place.

Meanwhile Vettel was attacking Hamilton but he couldn’t get past the Mercedes. The race spiced up when the two Force India drivers touched and caused a safety car to clean up the debris. Seb was right on Lewis’ wing at the restart but the top speed of the Mercedes was too much. Kimi had a better restart when he squeezed past Bottas to take back his starting position. Räikkönnen 4th, Ricciardo takes an impressive 3rd, Vettel on the podium but losing important points in the championship to rival Hamilton.

Next up: Monza, Italy!

Is this the best train-station-pick-up ever?

We parked up the Ferrari F12tdf to photograph it and absorb it's beauty. — We parked up the Ferrari F12tdf to photograph it and absorb it’s beauty.

The last day of my stay in London was going to be the one I’d remember forever. I travelled to North London to meet up with @tipozerofourzero to have some fun in three of his cars, the first one being his F12tdf. He travelled over an hour into London to meet.

I patiently waited at the train station until @tipozerofourzero arrived in his F12tdf, which is actually his homage to the #2689GT 250 GT SWB. ‘’I purchased a Ferrari magazine many years ago. In the magazine was a full feature on the car. I had always thought the 250 SWB was one of the greatest Ferraris. The 250 SWB was the ‘’Gentleman’s Racer’’. But when I saw Bruce Meyer’s competition car (chassis #2689GT) in the magazine, it was instant love!’’

I got in the car and the first thing I noticed was that it is such a big car. There’s enough space to store some luggage behind the seats or in front of you. We drove off to the highway to get a quick impression of the cars’ abilities. The F12tdf is capable to reach 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 2.9 seconds and its top speed is said to be 340 km/h (211 mph). We obviously couldn’t test out the top speed because of the sensitive speed cameras, but the sprint was easily done and I can tell you, it’s disturbingly fast.

As for the interior, ”Tipo” picked the best ingredients. Daytona racing seats, satin carbon fibre around the air vents and the central tunnel. The dashboard is covered in Blue Medio alcantara and even the steering wheel is finished in Blue Medio leather, both to complement the famous blue stripe. When you’re on track, the led rev display really comes in handy as well. As a passenger you can keep track of the speed, the rpm’s and which gear the driver is in with the passenger display. This option will cost you around $4,000…

The F12tdf itself has a very recognizable Ferrari design. The front-V12 setup is similar to the legendary 250 GTO and so many other successful Ferrari models. The side vents just above the rear wheels were taken from cars like the 275 GTB/4 and the 288 GTO. The remarkable fuel cap got its inspiration from the Ferrari racing cars like the F40 LM and the 250 TR. Only 799 units were produced and they were all sold out within a couple of months. Like all limited Ferrari’s you had to be invited by Ferrari to be able to purchase the car.

Massive thanks to @tipozerofourzero for getting his F12tdf out, just for me to experience what a 780 bhp car is like! Check out more pictures of this over here.