Basically, F40 was developed based on 288GTO. Nevertheless, its chassis was much more advanced - with moulded carbon-fiber and Kevlar panels bonded to the steel tubular spaceframe. The structure produced 3 times rigidity yet it was 20% lighter than conventional construction. External finish was also better than GTO. As you can see, the huge and high rear wing could generate much more downforce than GTO's tiny body integrated spoiler, thus high speed stability was greatly improved. In addition to the flat bottom panel and carefully studied shape, F40 had a good drag coefficient of 0.34, in spite of the big rear spoiler.

The engine evolved from GTO, that is, a dohc 32-valve V8 with twin-turbo and 2 intercoolers, driving a 5-speed manual gearbox mounted behind the rear axle. With a slight increment of capacity (from 2855 to 2936 c.c.) and higher turbo boost (from 0.8 to 1.1 bar), the V8 produced a maximum 478 hp and 425 lbft, that's 20% up from the GTO ! As a result, 0-60 mph took just 3.9 sec and top speed was 201 mph.

F40 was definitely quick. Besides, it had superior handling, grip and stability. In particular, the near perfect (50:50) weight distribution, wide tyres (front 245, rear 335) and low centre of gravity contributed a lot to its high cornering limit. It might be a little bit slower than 959 in 0-60 mph, mostly because of the lack of Porsche's sequential turbos and 4WD. However, in real road contest F40 was far faster, no matter 0-100 mph, mid-range acceleration and cornering speed. No wonder the Ferrari could dominant GT racing in the following years while 959 just satisfied with a win in Paris-Dakar rally.

F40 was the peak of Ferrari's fame. It's the fastest car Ferrari ever built, even faster than its successor F50 (though Ferrari would not admit). It really worked, winning many races. It sold well, a total of 1100 millionaires queued to pay 180,000 pounds for each F40, earning Ferrari a huge profit. It was the last Ferrari unveiled by Enzo Ferrari himself before his death in 1988. Considering its success, including those in motor racing, no other car could be more suitable to conclude the achievement of this legendary old man.

F355 was not a clean-sheet design. Its chassis and powertrain were based on the 348 just as the styling implied. Talking about styling, Pininfarina’s work in the F355 was very limited. It’s virtually a 348 with modified details, such as odd-looking circular fog lamps, revised shape of air dam, rear bumper, rear spoiler, skirts, engine cover etc., oh yes, don’t forget the deletion of the cheese-slicer side intake grilles which was always my favourite. Though many people fascinated with the new styling, I maintain that the old 348 looked far purer and original.

348’s powertrain layout remained unchanged, i.e., a 90° V8 mounted longitudinally amid-ship, mated to a transverse gearbox and drove the rear wheels. The engine gained 2 mm in stroke, thus raising displacement to 3496 c.c. from 3405 c.c.. Breathing was greatly enhanced by 5-valve cylinder heads, which employed 3 intake valves and 2 exhaust valves for each cylinder. The center intake valve opened 10° (phase angle) later than the side ones, thus creating swirl to improve air-fuel mixing, hence higher power and cleaner emission. Titanium connecting rods reduced inertia thus raised rev and top-end power. Individual butterfly valve for each cylinder improved throttle response.

The result was a record-breaking 108.7 hp/litre specific output, up from 348’s 88.1 hp/litre. Totally, there are 380 horses running under the engine lid at sky-high 8,250 rpm, plus a not-so-remarkable 268 lbft of torque occurring at 6,000 rpm. That made the F355 some 100 hp more than its rivals.

The chassis had the same wheelbase as 348, but it got 30% extra stiffness. For improved stability, front and rear tracks were widened by 12 mm and 37 mm respectively. Body panels were mostly made of steel as before, but engine lid was carbon fiber, so was the newly-added flat undertray which reduced aerodynamic lift and equalised downforce on each axle. 18-inch 5-spoke wheels were made of magnesium, which is lighter than even aluminium.

Suspension remained as double wishbones all round, but more care had been taken for tuning. Springs were softer, anti-roll bars were stiffer and with new self-lubricating bushes. The electronic damping control used in 456GT was added to provide better ride. Steering had added servo and with revised geometry.

Although all the changes seemed minor, the summation of them converted the F355 into a completely different car than 348. The 348 was always nervous at the limit, in contrast, the F355 was highly controllable. Power oversteer could be induced and catch easily. There’s fine feel in the steering, although some criticised as too light and some disliked its rather slow ratio (3.2 turns from lock to lock). The chassis was very balanced and communicative, and cornering limit from the strong powerplant, grippy tyres and great brakes was lifted to new height. Many regarded it as the best Ferrari chassis since the Dino 206/246GT.

On the other hand, as Montezemolo required, the F355 was also rather easy to live with. Clutch was lighter, 6-speed box was slicker to shift and have a much useful close ratio to make use of the limited torque. The cabin was carefully crafted, with good materials and tasteful design to match. The softened springs and electronic damping provided exceptional bump absorption that hardly imagined for such a supercar. Besides, the F1 semi-auto transmission added later reduced driving effort (especially in city) without deteriorating performance. Most customers chose that option.

However, the most addictive was still the 40-valve V8. It’s so revvy, so exciting that no road car had ever delivered. Where most cars had already cut off at 6,500 rpm, the Ferrari just started to deliver its greatest moment from that point. It screamed fiercely in a pure Ferrari tone, all the way revving to 8 and a half thousands rpm without a cough.

However superb it was, the F355 was just a turning point for Ferrari. Its successor 360M raised the game to another level. Both of them were not exactly Enzo’s kind of car, they were the brainchild of the Montezemolo empire.

However, Prost's car has 3500c.c., able to run up to 12,000rpm and delivered probably 750hp. We can at most say F50's engine has used some of the 641's technology and experience, rather than saying it is a detuned version of the Formula One engine. 

Back to the F50 itself, it is a logical successor of F40, which was so successful that about 1200 cars were built. After the failure of Jaguar XJ220, Yamaha OX99-11 and McLaren F1, Ferrari is more conservative on pricing : 329,000 pounds "only". And it also guarantees that no more than 349 cars will be built. ( It once guaranteed that only 500 F40s would be built, it turned out to be 1200 so that resale price fell considerably and hurt the image of the company. ) 

F50's engine is unquestionably the core of the car, with 4698c.c., the high revving 5 valves per cylinder V12 is capable of a record-breaking specific output of 110.7hp/litre, eclipsing F355's 108.7hp/litre to be the most efficient normally aspirated engine. Combining with the light weight of 1230kg and close-ratio 6 speeds box (which compensates for the less impressive torque of 347lbft ), 0-60mph can be achieved in only 3.8sec. 

Chassis is also extraordinary. Carbon fiber is inevitable, but the whole chassis and suspensions are bolted on the engine / transmission like Formula One cars, thus producing an ultra-rigid and simultaneously light structure. If it were not open top and being so big, it would have been probably lighter than McLaren F1's 1138kg. 

On the road, F50 is very stable, accurate in handling at any speed, and the huge tires and down force generated by the big rear spoiler enable high speed cornering stability. It runs faster than F40 in race tracks, thanks to the better chassis, but slower on mid-range acceleration than the 425lbft predecessor. Because F50's engine is so highly tuned, thus enables less room for improvement compare with the turbocharged F40, Ferrari still used F40 as their GT racer. But in real world, without modifications, F50 is far faster than F40, except in top speed. 

F50 is also relatively easy to drive than other exotic supercars like McLaren F1, XJ220 and Diablo. But it is not better made. Everything is for performance enhancement, so don't expect McLaren's 10 discs CD changer and Bugatti's wood and leather cabin. Dashboard and other interior trimming are black carbon fiber, leaving only the traditional silver shifter globe to be distinguish. Racing bucket seats have no adjustment. Ok, it has a "standard" open top, but what is the use in such a supercar ? Sometimes engineers in Maranello have some humour. 

Pininfarina's stylists also like to joke. They had created the ugliest supercar of all time !

F50 - the only profitable supercar in the 90's

• Bugatti: bankrupted after 154 cars produced
• McLaren: although finished the 100 units production run of F1, the whole project made considerable loss.
• Jaguar: 3 years after launched, there were still some XJ220 stocks yet to be sold.
• Yamaha: the worst among all - failed to sell a single OX99-11
• Lister: totally built only 4 Lister Storm.
• Dauer: its Porsche 962-based Dauer 962 failed to aroused public's interest. A handful was sold but the company disappeared very soon.

End of the road for the F50

Testa Rossa (250TR)  (1958)

A good example of early racing Ferrari which also suited road use. Ladder chassis and drum brakes might not be as advanced as Jaguar D-type, but the 3-litre V12 was undoubtedly a gem, which output 300 hp at sky-high 7,000 rpm accompanied with exciting noise.

Dino 308GT4 (1973)

One of the rare Bertone-designed Ferrari was Dino 308GT4. Equally rare was its 2+2 mid-engined layout. Basically it shared the platform with 308GTB sports car, such strategy, which was repeated in Mondial / 328 / 348 combinations, helped saving cost. Although performing strong, few people loved its plane look as well as "Dino" badge.

Mondial (1980)

A Pininfarina-styled body replaced 308GT4 in the early 80s, though based on the same 308 platform. It looked better and offer more generous rear seats. Since it shared the drivetrain with Ferrari's mainstream V8 sports car, engine and transmission received frequent upgrade. First with the 3.2-litre V8 from 328GTB in 1985, then in 1989 with 348tb's 3.4-litre longitudinally mounted motor accompanied with a transverse gearbox, thus called "Mondial T". Since the gearbox was no longer placed underneath the engine, the engine of Mondial T could be lowered by a massive 6 inches so that handling was improved a lot.