1998 Ferrari 550 Maranello

Enzo Ferrari built his reputation on dominance at the racetrack, earning a record 16 Formula One World Constructors Championships, among countless other accolades. Ferrari also realized the need to build profitable sports cars in order to fund his ambitious racing efforts. The result were some of the fastest and most beautiful sports cars ever created.

In the postwar period, Ferrari pushed the limit by incorporating the latest advancements and producing innovative designs, while at the same time retaining the iconic styling features and familiar lines. At the heart were its V12 engines which were both smooth and powerful.

The front-engine V12 was abandoned by Ferrari 1973, and the company concentrated solely on mid-engine designs with the introduction of the 365 GT4 'Boxer' which incorporated a new flat 12-cylinder engine much like that in their Formula One race car of the period. For over two decades, Ferrari would continue to use this design, before the traditional front-engined V12 would return to the delight of purists and the Ferrari faithful with the introduction of the Ferrari 550 Maranello in 1996.

The Ferrari 550 was a front-engine grand tourer and was produced until 2001. It was named after the Ferrari headquarters and the factory where it was built. It had styling elements of its 275 GTB and 365 GTB predece4ssors. It was quicker and faster than the Ferrari F512M that it replaced. It wore a Pininfarina design that was particularly aerodynamic allowing a top speed of almost 200 mph.

The Maranello was introduced to the press at the Nürburgring. Due to its layout, it was more comfortable and more practical than the car it replaced. The Tipo F133 engine was the first new V12 design since the 'Colombo' derived engines that had powered all of its predecessors. It featured four valves per cylinder, dual overhead cams, and a variable length intake manifold. The naturally aspirated 65-degree V12 was the largest to that time and offered nearly 500 horsepower. It was mated to a gated six-speed gearbox and carried the car to 100 mph in less than 10 seconds. A zero-to-sixty mph sprint was accomplished in just 4.3 seconds. With a drag coefficient of just Cd 0.33, its aerodynamics were more than impressive when compared to its predecessor.

by Daniel Vaughan | Apr 2019