Mike in August please get down to California over Pebble Beach weekend and not only will you see multiple F50s, you will hear the sound they make on the road because they are owned by people who are not afraid to use them. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thank you, Andrew, re video at 1:44. The material used looks good but I was able to tell that it is not the factory-delivered. Now, many coach trimmers change seat material of F40s (e.g., O'Rourke in UK did over 100 cars), others change the F50 Dash material as Curated on this car as well as few others who I know did it. They all claim it is the same material that was used or is a reprint ect. Now, its possible to be true but not probable. Anyhow whether its the same material or a similar looking one is, to me, besides the point: The original has been changed and replaced with xyz and that is not the one installed at the factory with a given stitching and enriched by the patina of the years. If the original is really bad, it becomes a dilema: change or not? - I personally would try to make it as good as posiible and hope not to have to go any further. An F50 currently for sale has a horrible dash and the custodians are happy to say 'original'. But that won't do. I, re dash and all other parts, go after originality first. If the condition is also very good, then I get interested and if I become the custodian, then I take it to best-in-class. That applies to physical condition, history, provenance, service/maintenance, books, toolkits, accessories, and launch promotional material.
I’d love a walk around an F50 with you, you fully appreciate an f50 from an enthusiasts pov, not a dealer, and have definitely seen a lot of them and know them inside and out.
Ferrari of San Antonio had an F-50, which they completely took apart. Even removed the blue baffles from the fuel tank. Had the engine out, so it was basically cut in half. Unbelievably interesting. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I knew there were more than the official 349, but I didn't know there were that many. Are the 3 F50 GT's inclusive in any of those figures? Serial #001/chassis #103097 was sat next to US-spec chassis #103114 in the garage right next to the Portola. Pretty much. See attached Ferrari Market Letter's asking price index (an average of asks in their own classifieds) from Dec 2007, which includes looks back at Jun 2007, Dec 2006, and Dec 2005. I was going to say this, or to attend an auction preview with an F50 featured, which is a more guaranteed, albeit less exciting, way to see one. Mike, there were at least 8 F50's around during Monterey last year: the 6 in the photo Joe shared (inclusive of the 2 I saw in the garage) which were also lined up at a public event I attended, and then Gooding and Broad Arrow both auctioned one. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
In 2004, 001 was for sale for just $695k, and this was reduced to $639k. I have a nice story which is a lesson in foresight about a fine gentleman who I encouraged to buy an F50 for @ $700k in 2008, he deliberated on my recommendation for years until he was finally ready and then I was only too happy to sell him one for $1.5m! We laugh about it these days. FWIW a lot of the interest in F50s in recent years is clearly investment-motivated. The nice thing about the Monterey car weekend is it keeps things in perspective, before you think an F50 is too valuable to be driven on the road, here comes a 250 GTO taking a break from racing at Laguna Seca. Here's 001 on the track in Miami. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Monterey 2022 was pretty kool re F50s. How many do you need? And there were many more but my crappy iphone wasn't big enough. Marcel Massini Image Unavailable, Please Login
Not as expensive as Pebble Beach week, Cavallino has had one or more F50s for the past several years. And it's a great break from the midwest winter!
Cool. From another car with similar perspective: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login On the last picture, can you notice the inscription on the inner carbon panel, slightly above the fan…
I would concur with your 240 guess. I was about to suggest that next time I get a chance, I will check physically, but I guess that with things mounted back it might not be possible. Identifiers including carbon manufacturers’ labels are plentiful (if all is as it should be). From memory, I identified circa 30 different ones on a given car.
That’s interesting, it makes me think of the video THJ made of the F40 identifying some of the body marks like by removing the rear light cluster, and a panel on the front clam and the numbers on the suspension parts etc……. I would love to see an F50 version. Video is titled Definitive F40 buyers guide for those that have not seen it.
The Ferrari supercar market is difficult to navigate. In part due to the sophistication level of the dealers, egos of the 'experts', ad-hoc valuations, often-opaque histories, risks of unknown provenance. An these cars have become so expensive, so rigor is essential. Bul Alas... I do not want to be judgemental but at least observe and note my surprise at how things sell whether good, bad, or ugly. In Nov '22 at RM auction in London there was a tax the rich F50 for sale. Those I spoke to at the event said that even though its an F50, it probably won't sell given its condition, provenance, lack of service/warranty book (if my memory serves me right), among others. The car's condition was clear to anybody who saw it or looked at the RM pictures (If I remember there was a hole on the red seat material). It did not sell at the auction. It took a further 6 months or so for RM to privately find a buyer. Few month later its 'sold' again by this buyer. A bit of wax on the car, and then just add one more layer for extra shine; Heavy use plus clear abuse (recall the tax the rich videos) over a long ownership is transformed to 'single ownership fro the last 17 years'; a youtube video with car cover flying off, a website with 'testimonials' and bingo a buyer pays millions... Of course the buyer could have bought it really cheap and commensurate to its 'quality'. But I doubt it. Anyhow, he had to pay RM and the dealer's commission and these two added will not be a modest amount. Its the small details that reveal much. When I saw that it had 'luggage' which was a cabin case with black cloth material/black leather, I was offended. This was for F50s with black insert material on the seat (e.g. yellow cars, black ones...) but not for a red car with red material on the seat. Anything goes these days... 1997 Ferrari F50 | London 2022 | RM Sotheby's (rmsothebys.com) FERRARI F50 - 107575 - Tom Hartley Jnr THJ: Recently Sold | 1997 Ferrari F50 - YouTube
Do we know for sure if RM sold the car and then it found its way to THJ from that purchaser? Not that it really matters here, as it seems a case of "lipstick on a pig", but there have been times where RM private sales have been noted as "sold" when in reality a transaction didn't take place and it was more likely a matter of the agreement expiring. Other Tax The Rich cars have made their way to THJ, so all the more reason for some curiosity...
Great pictures and work Karim. Thanks. I'm assuming the paint that's been applied to the rear boxes is a perfect match for the original colour. Just wondering why you didn't clean them up and leave them nicely aged?
I had thought something along these lines when I saw the sale, but the speed of the advertised purchase and sale seemed to sound more like THJ had been asked to locate an F50 and probably bought direct and sold before seen, on the promise of tidying and making more presentable.
Interesting. I understand that F50 #107575 is joining one of the finest collections in Europe. I'm a little surprised that the new owner went for a car with this kind of provenance.
Hi Camlet1, Thank you for this wonderful point. It is my constant struggle and I have no answer yet. So any advice would be greatly appreciated. Here is the full picture. These painted silencers are not mine. Those who own them asked me, as a favour, to put them on the car to see how they would fair after few heat cycles. This is being done currently. The car has its original silencers (unpainted) on the side. Additionally I have an extra set (again fully original, unpainted). Soon I will have to decide: the car has been micro-detailed keeping all original but brought to near perfection (including the other 12 pieces of the main exhaust plus the full air injection system which could be brought to new through dedicated micro-detailing and cleaning). The only problem are the silencers boxes. They get scratched and dented through the years and if I install them as-is (even after the minimal cleaning I can do as the original greyish colour fades if you rub too much) the car looks immaculate everywhere and then you have these two silencers who take a big visual area of the engine bay who look abused in comparison (this is Option 1). Option 2 is paint them to the original colour (I know the original colour from the brackets they mount onto) and all looks good but you have the issue of adding paint to the silencers which was your original comment. Option 3: some said just put Tubi silencers and all will look beautiful and keep the originals in a box - but that defeats the purpose of having the car as it was designed in the factory. Of course there is Option 4: given, I have two pairs: paint one set and leave the other as-is, but then which one do you fit?… Any suggestion greatly appreciated.
Prancing 12, Great expression: ‘lipstick on a pig’ - allow me to use it in future. The car was sold directly by the auctioneer to the dealer.
