F40 vs F50: relative merits & pitfalls

I'm impressed. Those are quite extreme choices for a first Ferrari. MOney shouldn't be an issue then so there are no downside. A F40 is $300k, a F50 is $600k. At this stage it's all down to your personal favorite.

Do a search, plenty of comparison info on this site.

 

You can take the top off the F50 so thats a big plus. I think the interior is nicer on the F50 than the F40. Ive heard the F50 is very buzzy & there is a lot of vobration because the chassis is a stressed member But I dont know if this is true about the vibration

 

I've ridden in the F50. No buzz to be concern of. The car is basically perfect. Nothing to regret since it will not depreciate.

 

Man, are you sure you want to get into this? Apart from the fact that an F50 will set you back 300K pounds, cars like these are the ultimate enthusiast's choice, and they usually require a certain amount of knowledge and deep Ferrari passion by the buyer, no matter how deep his pockets are.

If you are such a novice to Ferrari to the point that you can't answer your question yourself, I'd say don't waste your hard earned cash, and as a first Ferrari go for a Challenge Stradale: it's light, it's a proper track car, it's blisteringly fast but it will only cost you 125K pounds and will be an easy-to-own, useable modern supercar. Or better still get in line for a new F430: it's as fast as an F40 or F50 in the real world, with the benefit of being a new, modern useable and reliable supercar.

My advice: forget F40/F50 if you are not a total, absolute petrol-headed passionate Ferrari nut.

 

I'm with this guy sortive. If you have to ask which supercar you should get, you probably shouldn't be getting either. Questions like that are usually meant for the loyalists to each one to go at it.

 

Again, there are no pitfalls. If you can put up the money for one of these, an occasional $10k service is no big deal. It's like dating a supermodel, it's a high maintenanc experience.

I'm not sure what you're trying to find out. The only major issues I heard about is the fuel tanks need replacing on occassions. Servicing it should be pricier, otherwise they are the pinnacle models for the Ferrari brand.

The F50 is the way to go. All carbon fiber and more F1 technology in the design. The F40 is a raw beast.

 

Wow, something must have really gone well in the last 5 years for you to go straight from feeling you couldn't afford any ferrari, to jumping straight up to the cream of the crop. Not to mention the servicing costs, plus the Insurance that you will have to pay on one.

Personally, I wouldn't do it just because I would want to get used to driving a Ferrari first. The F40 and F50s are a lot more car then your Elise or the F355s...

 

Scratch F50 in that case.

 

Jas, I think maranello71 has some good points and the advice is sound. However, you sound like you know what you want and there is nothing worse than missing the opportunity when it beckons. I say go for it! Like William, I like the topless option of the f50. You must follow the fchat law though and post lots of pics, ok?

 

If you buy an F40 you WILL need to replace the brakes and suspension if you enjoy track driving.

My first drive of my F40 was at Brands, it suffered badly from understeer and the brakes overheated quite quickly.

I don't know about an F50, but there are more F40 parts and mods available.

The F40 is also much easier to work on, there are quite a few owners of F40s on the forum so there is always help on hand.

Pay no more than £170k for a really good example.

Try and find an early non-cat car. They have more power and taller gearing.

 

As a F50 owner, I would say defintely go for the F50. I struggled myself between the F40 and F50 but decided finally to go for the F50 for a few reasons.

First, NA engine is so much easier to drive than Turbo engine
Second, the F50 has carbon monoque (true F1 design) whereas the F40 is a standard steel frame structure
Third, its topless configuration is unbelieveable during summer
Forth, the engine is derived from a F1 engine whereas the F40 is basically a turbo-charged 308 engine.

Having said that, you will feel the F40 much more punchy than the F50 because of turbo-charge so if you like drag-race, go for the F40 but the F50 is a much much better track car.

My 2 cents

 

Jas, if I understand correctly you really want a proper "track car" that wouldn't look too bad against a Radical on the track, yet be able to drive you home without your teeth fillings falling out.

In this case, go for an F50 but beware

A) Massive insurance costs if you want to race it on track days - the carbon structure is nice but rebuilding it will cost you like a complete new F50 if you smash it into the barriers. Insurances know this: get a quote before you take the plunge!

B) Such a rare car needs to be very well looked after - if you thrash it regularly on the track you may find that certain spare parts are not that easy or quick to find (F50 owners: do you confirm?)

Otherwise, go for my lifetime favourite:

F40 GTR Michelotto - I read about one a few years ago: 720 BHP, racing suspension set-up, Hewland sequential gearbox, sintered clutch, bigger turbos + ICs... the complete "FIA-GT" package, like the racers of the early '90s. The track credibility is impressive: this (road legal!) car lapped Spa in 2'20'', and Hockenheim "short" circuit in 1'03''. To put it in perspective, this is faster than a Porsche Carrera GT. I also read that this car was clocked at 250 MPH top speed (can't verify the claim).

Now, if you can find one... good luck!

 

Jas,

If I had the knowledge necessary to answer your questions, I would answer them instead of giving you advice as to what you should do with your own money.

It's nice to see that some people actually did answer your question as best they could.

I don't know much about F40 versus F50, but in case this matters I've read that the F40 is actually a faster car than the F50. Even if it is, I'm sure it's not by much, and negligibly relevant.

If anyone else can help out and answer Jas's questions, please do because there are other people like me who are interested in acquiring factual knowledge about these cars.

 

You might want to stay with a matchbox size car like the elise....Your in a whole new area with an F50-F40 ..Do you realize these are really just street legal f1 cars... from what youve said so far i think you should look to gradually move up... start with a 355 or 360 ....learn the to drive a f car then jump into a $500,000.00 purchase. Or maybe buy a Carrera GT and bypass the 911 TT and the Gt3-Gt2...

 

It strikes me as odd that so many people recommend the F40 over the F50. I am fortunate to know a few people who own both cars, and all of them (bear in mind these are people who actually drive and race the cars day to day, not magazine reviewers) prefer the F50 to the F40. A lot of people seem to forget that the F40, while lightweight and very much race inspired, was still built on a road car chassis and suffers the ill effects of turbo lag which are not present in the naturally aspirated F50 V12. On top of that, the F50 is built on a real race chassis, not the trumped-up road car chassis the F40 is built on.

There is a lot to be said for the F40, yes...but the F50 is a lot more impressive. I suppose people just haven't figured it out yet

As for my opinion about what car you should buy, my answer is "neither"! The likelihood that you will drop your hard-earned coin on either car and be happy compared to your lotus is nil. They are race cars, yes, but they are not tuned to your exact specification, and it doesn't sound (judging from your earlier posts) that you can afford the maintenance or aftermarket for the F40 or F50. Personally, I'd recommend taking the idea you pursued with your Lotus to the next step -- buy a Noble Much more powerful than the Lotus, much more tuning potential than either the Lotus or the Ferrari, and you should be able to foot the bills without breaking a sweat!

 

Jas,

Good luck with your choice.

Regards,

James.

 

Forgot running costs.

Insurance: £3000-£5000

I leave another £10,000 each year. However I track, sprint and hill climb throughout the season..

To get my F40 how a like it I will have spent nearly £20,0000.

The modifications are:

Michelotto LM brake ducting.
Quantum shocks and Eibach springs.
Michelotto suspension bushes.
Enkei 18" magnesium wheels to run better rubber.

..and shortly a complete engine rebuild with new turbos at Michelotto.

Jas,

After driving your Lotus I think you will be dissapointed with the standard setup on a F40. Its setup to "nanny" would be drivers.

At the minimum i would replace the suspension bushes, shocks and springs. The transformation is superb.

The standard turbos are fine on the street and track every now and then. So you should be O.K if you find a low mileage example. i.e less than 20,000 km.

According to Michelotto standard turbos on standard engines suffer when the boost is upped. So try your best to find an untampered car.

Tubis are bloody useless for tracks. My standard exhuast failed at Bedford, static 101dB. I was 103dB.

Hope this helps.

P.S I have no idea about running costs of an F50.

 

Jas, I claimed the Noble is more reliable because, although they recommend a motor, it is technically a rolling chassis...and if the lotus is more tunable than a car where can select the eninge, I don't know what to tell you!

I would still seriously consider a Noble with a crate LS6 motor and then pay a company to install and sort it for you!

 

If money were of little to no concern, the F50 would be my personal choice.

BUT, 8 years of newer technology STILL doesn't give the F50 a better power to weight ratio than the F40

 

If you like hard edged race cars. The comparison between an F40 and F50 clearly has the F40 being the harder knife edge car. I faced the same choice, but I also factored in the icon value of the two cars. I chose the F40 because it was the last car where Enzo was alive for its development and I think it looks incredible. The fact that they are available well under their original sticker was also a factor as I believe that F40's will appreciate over time whereas F50's are probably stable for a while.

The F40 is a thrilling ride and the twin tubos kicking in halfway to redline under hard throttle is something every race car enthusiast should experience.