Ferrari F50 (1995–1997)

Limited edition

Production

349

confirmed units built

every.autos editorialconfidence: high

Ferrari's attempt to sell a Formula 1 car with a numberplate.

If the F40 was a race car for the road, the F50 went further: it tried to be an actual Formula 1 car you could register. Built for Ferrari's 50th year, it used a carbon-fibre tub with the engine bolted straight to it as a structural member — exactly how a grand prix car is built — and a naturally aspirated V12 whose design traced back to the 3.5-litre unit in Ferrari's 1990 641 Formula 1 car.

Enlarged to 4.7 litres for the road, that V12 made 513 hp and revved to the sky, with no turbos to soften it. The car weighed 1,230 kg and came only as a targa. Ferrari deliberately capped it: just 349 were built between 1995 and 1997, one fewer than the company thought it could sell, to guarantee they stayed rare.

Less loved than the F40 for years, the F50 has since been recognised for what it was — the most uncompromising translation of Ferrari's racing knowledge into a road car the company ever attempted.

Written and fact-checked for every.autos · every claim checked against the sources below · 2026-07

Sources (2)

Background

The Ferrari F50 is a limited production mid-engine sports car manufactured by Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari from 1995 until 1997. Introduced in 1995, the car is a two-door, two seat targa top. The F50 is powered by a 4.7 L naturally aspirated Tipo F130B 60-valve V12 engine that was developed from the 3.5 L V12 used in the 1990 Ferrari 641 Formula One car. The car's design is an evolution of the 1989 Ferrari Mythos concept car, while Pininfarina incorporated design cues from contemporary F1 racecar designs, particularly at the front.

Text adapted from “Ferrari F50” on Wikipedia ↗ · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗ · retrieved 2026-07

Specification