AUTOCAR F50 SUPPLEMENT

I found this the other day, a 65 page "book" on the F50. Quite a lot of interesting stuff on all aspects of the F50. If anyone is interested in the car, this is worth seeking out (ebay etc).
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Scott
Any chance of emailing a readable version of the article?

 

When I get a moment, I am going to have another go at posting a readable version. A bit tricky to get under the size limit; but I will give it ago.
Lauda basically says the opposite of what he told Gil in person.

 

Thanks to Stephen for posting the Lauda article

www.ipn.com.au/ferrari/lauda1.jpg

www.ipn.com.au/ferrari/lauda2.jpg

 

FWIW, there is an interview with Dario Benuzzi as well. He says the F50 is faster than the F40, largely because of it's 6 speed gearbox and more linear power delivery.

 

.........so what is it like beyond 8000rpm when it "comes in" then....

!!

Does anyone have the official manufacturers accel and braking tests.. and those of the F40....

 

Yeah, that last 500 revs has to be experienced to be believed

 

OMG...what Lauda is quoted as saying....what a load of BULL!!!

geez...i'll bet he never said all that stuff.

 

Impossible to verify obviously.
The point of posting the interview was really to show that Ferrari and it's employees will plug whatever car they are flogging at that point.

 

must be "difficult" driving a car like this in such a "small power band"

 

ok, this one has F50 performance stats

http://www.fast-autos.net/ferrari/ferrarif50.html

0-60 mph: 3.7 sec
0-100 mph: 8.0 sec
Quarter Mile: 12.1 sec @ 122 mph
Skidpad: 1.03g
Top Speed: 207 mph
Braking, 60-0 mph: 119 ft
Slalom Speed: 71.7 mph


and this one F40...
http://www.fast-autos.net/ferrari/ferrarif40.html

0-60 mph: 3.8 sec
0-100 mph: 8.0 sec
Quarter Mile: 11.8 sec @ 124 mph
Skidpad: .94g
Top Speed: 201 mph
Braking, 60-0 mph: 122 ft
Slalom Speed: 68.3 mph

Bottom line here shows F50 has much better cornering (skid pad and slalom), accel and brakes are pretty much the same.

In the real world, momentum=speed, F50 is faster apart from end time at the drags...

 

One of the design team said that the F50 had braking performance pretty much equivalent to a pre-carbon brake era F1 race car. Hmmmmm, I kinda doubt it!!

Another intersting quote re the "NVH issue" was that riding in the early prototype was "akin to being inside a bell as it rang".

 

The autocar book also has an interview with Piero Ferrari. He was responsible for the whole concept of bringing a "Formula 1 car to the road". He also headed up the initial design team and was closely involved throughout the F50 project.
I thought it would be interesting to see how he voted in the "top 10 Ferrari road cars" in the current Forza article. Hmmmm, the F50 didn't even appear in his top 10 despite including the 288, F40 and Enzo. I wonder why considering he was responsible for the concept and was intimately involved in it's development? Interesting.

 

Cos he now realises that, despite his best intentions, it's an OHOS and slower than an F40

 

the top 10 seems to be all about looks...

The F50 is "arguably" a good looking car.. whereas the 288 and F40 are near perfect from any angle.

 

wait a sec...F40 does 60-100mph 0.1 sec faster than an F50, is 3/10 faster by the end of the quarter and 5kph faster! sounds like the faster they go, the faster an an F50 the F40 is. of course, i could be wrong...but that's what it looks like to me.

so...in 11.8 seconds an F40 is going 124mph...probably an F50 would only be doing what, 116?? 117?? Wowwwwwwwwwww....those F50s are SLOW

 

hmmm selective recall again... firstly, top speed is what?? So, there goes your speed gain theory

secondly, 0-60 cannot be factored into 0-100 times reliably. Often, the gear ratios mean that for a good time the limiter is used for the 60 test, but for a good 0-100 time, the limiter is not used.....

but yes, in a straight line, there's a little bit in the F40's favour.

But who buys Ferrari's for their straight line abilities... a hotted up jap crap will blow one away.

oh yeah... and 2mph is 3kmh, not 5

 

errr...no...there my theory does NOT go...but i don't expect you to understand it. physics just isn't your bag.

 

What are the times 0-1000m?

Isn't that the Euro standard by which performance car acceleration is judged?

 

who cares? according to the genius, no one buys ferraris for their straight line performance. Makes me wonder why ferrari even quotes figures!

 

They only quote figures to satisfy the curiosity of trainspotters such as myself!

 

well that's alright, as long as you know that, apparently, none of the owners care.

 

Yes, those who buy performance cars rarely care about performance figures. I often wondered why that was the case.

 

ask Gil if he cares that a $35000 Skyline can blow dust at the F40...

I think I know his answer in advance.

 

i was only quoting your brilliance.