The F50 Thread

A US buyer wishing to purchase a Euro F50 should be advised against doing any US Federalization work. It is all but unnecessary due to the age of the car and will significantly hamper marketability in the future.

 

Good point, besides the fact that they are much rarer, this is why USA specification F50s often command a premium here.

 

No sense whatsoever in federalising a euro F50:
- have the original design F50 by Ferrari (no factory adjustments for a specific market)
- no playing around and modifying an original car (what workshops would do to the car for federalisation)
- saving $ hundreds of thousand
And, additionally, from my viewpoint,
- don’t add unattractive features to its design (front number, rear light…)

US F50s being at a premium in the US is another issue, exactly as they are unwanted and at higher relative discount in Europe

 

I agree with the overall sentiment of leaving these cars original just the way they left Maranello.

However, the question must be asked, why are there at least half-a-dozen (106765, 103114, 99999, 103496 and more besides) Euro F50s that have been Federalized in the USA?

The answer is simple: without Federalization they would be illegal to use on the road in the USA in many jurisdictions.

The Federalized F50s were purchased at a significant discount to the USA F50s and their respective owners naturally found it worthwhile to pay for the Federalization process, otherwise they wouldn't have done it. We have sold one such example and the owner really likes the fact that his Eu F50 now Federalized has maximum marketability as it can be registered and legally used anywhere.

Of course, as the cars get older and more valuable, Federalization will become moot. That said the Federalization work is minor, besides the lighting changes the original design is largely unaffected, and there's no front plate mandate.

There were only 60 Tipo USA cars, and many American collectors have a distinct preference for them, I measure this not only by the fact that I am often asked specifically for them, but the fact that they routinely bring more money in the USA. Personally I do like the Eu F50s, but I also like the USA F50s with their more aggressive front spoiler winglets. I'm not sure a USA F50 is unwanted anywhere, but I can see that European collectors prefer a Eu F50 and Americans typically prefer a USA F50.

Here's the Federalized 106765 which we sold to a USA gentleman.

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Obviously there were cars federalized previously - as you mention, that was the only way to legally use a Euro car in the US up until very recently. This essentially closed the largest market in the world to non-US cars, which in turn inflated the values of the US cars to a premium that was often 50-100% over a comparable non-US car.

Now that federalization is no longer required, the price delta has narrowed and some recent transactions would indicate parity. I know several US owners & active buyers that specifically want(ed) a non-federalized EU version and it wasn't a matter of price. For one, there's a greater selection (~300 RoW cars, vs. 55 US cars), so buyers can be more particular about history, documentation, or colors. The other motivation seems to be driven by greater liquidity - a US owner of a RoW F50 has (duh) the RoW to sell the car into, as well as other like-minded US buyers that see the same appeal in buying a RoW car. IMO, the buyer pool is much more shallow for US F50s, and even smaller for previously federalized RoW cars.

Underlying all of this seems to be a preference based on the perception of purity for the RoW cars - anecdotally I often hear the same about F40s lately (more than one US buyer having sold a US car and replacing it with a Euro version) and even more so with 288s, where RoW buyers seem to have a strong preference for cars that weren't federalized in period.

At the end of the day, US buyers are in a great position as the entirety of F50 production is now an option for them. Great times!

 

Good points, bear in mind that GTOs were Federalized in a way that was easily and relatively inexpensively reversible and we haven't experienced any discount for cars whose Federalization was fully reversed. As regards F40s we'll soon see where the market for US cars lie as F40 chassis number 90000 comes up at the 2022 Amelia Island soon. With F50s Federalization is still required for California but people get around that by registering the car in another state, meanwhile there are more than the oft-repeated 55 USA F50s, 60 actually.

 

Sorry, I meant no sense to federalise euro F50s now (when it’s not required anymore). Before the 25 years passed, of course federalisation not only made sense but it was a must.

 

I would rephrase as “I’m not sure a USA F50 [or a federalised one] is wanted anywhere else than the USA”

 

Very insightful, thank you

 

Fuji International Speedway, Oyama, Japan, 25 January 1996.

Marcel Massini

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I completely agree, though to be fair, the US still represents the largest market in the world. That said, as the world continues to get smaller, there's a certain comfort in knowing you have the entire world as a potential market to maximize liquidity.

 

USA F50s have been sold to Germany, Singapore, and the Middle East (in the recent past), to name just 3 places, and I believe there are a couple more USA F50s in other locations, and there have been reasons for this.

There are some people who live outside the USA who specifically want a USA car, an example of this is the German Leopold Stiefel, co-founder of Media Market, also resident in USA, hence he wanted and purchased a USA car, 103964 which he keeps and drives in Germany, registered with German plates IN.F 50. The advantage of this is his F50 is truly register-able anywhere in the world as he could bring the car to Los Angeles, legally California register it, and drive it up our famed Pacific Coast Highway.

I have recently sold an F50 to a gentleman from the Far East who lives there but keeps all his cars here in California under our supervision therefore we assembled a collection of USA legal cars, he says one day he might take them all back to the Far East.

Of interest but a separate topic, I have sold 2 USA F40s to Hong Kong and Indonesia respectively, exported there but both owned by gentlemen active in business in the USA who see the potential for returning the cars here and therefore wanted USA cars, their choice.

I agree that European cars are definitely becoming more popular across the board especially now that Federalization is not required for most (but not all) USA states, and the value delta is decreasing, but I have a suspicion that USA cars will always have appeal and value here in the biggest market for the cars for a collective number of reasons not least because they are relatively rare.

Fantastic period images! Thanks for sharing.

Very true.

 

And then there are some American citizens who actually bought (and received) two brand new F50s, not just one.

Marcel Massini

 

Hi Joe, I always thought 103964 was a Euro ZFFTA46B prefix VIN but I don't have the photo to prove it. Thanks for the updates. A.T.

 

It's physically a USA specification F50 complete with USA side-markers and more prominent front spoiler winglets etc, ditto the Singapore and ME cars.

 

I think Joe the examples you listed confirm that it is due to US-related practical reasons (so as to be able to use them in the US or believing it’s a better investment) rather than preference for a mechanically better, safer, greener, or prettier car (through modifications) that the federalised route is chosen by some.
If both version are offered and one can use them freely wherever, then (quite obvious conclusion)

 

Indeed, the examples I gave were just to show that although a rare occurence, there are some factory Tipo USA specification cars which have been wanted outside the USA, meanwhile here is 103964 which I forgot to post earlier.

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Thanks for the confirmation Joe.

 

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19 years ago in Switzerland.

Marcel Massini

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Yes, I believe Ferrari SpA's owner's manuals for a Eu car is 2,712 lbs and for a Tipo USA car it's 2,998 lbs.

Is that a French plate on a Pozzi car?

 

This image highlights the Tipo USA F50s more prominent front spoiler winglets.

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This feature is illustrated in Ferrari SpA's literature for the USA variant.

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