With its screaming supercars and illustrious history in Formula One, the name Ferrari makes petrolheads weak at the knees in a way that few other brands can manage. Fans of the Prancing Horse had their fill at this weekend's Australian Motoring Festival with the chance to wander through a marquee chock full of everything from the legendary F40 to more modern offerings like the F12 Berlinetta.
Here's a run down of Gizmag's favorite Ferraris:
For Ferrari nerds, few cars are as significant as the legendary F40. Powered by a 2.9-liter turbocharged V8, the F40 was incredibly stripped back inside – drivers went without a radio, door trim, carpets or a glovebox. Some early cars even eschewed glass windows for sliding Lexan units, which helped to shave further kilograms from what was already a svelte package.
The F40's successor, the F50, was derived from the engine block of the brand's 1990 Formula One motor. The F50's 4.7-liter V12 was tuned to produce 513 hp (382 kW) at a screaming 8000 rpm. Despite its connection to the F1 world, the F50 was never as well received as its older brother – it was never as fast as the F40 replaced, and the car's styling never won the hearts and minds of the world's motoring press, though to us here at Gizmag, it looks pretty damn good today.
Whereas Ferrari's past flagships were all about mating a monstrous engine to a razor-sharp chassis, the car world has moved on – a fact reflected in the company's latest range-topping hypercar. The LaFerrari takes advantage of electric power, mating a 6.3-liter, 789 hp (588 kW) V12 to a 161 hp (120 kW) electric motor for a total power output of 950 hp – 40 hp more than the McLaren P1. Having now seen both in real life, we're giving the LaFerrari the nod in the aesthetics department – it wins by a beautifully designed nose.
Check out these cars, and the rest of the Ferrari collection in detail in our gallery.
The Australian Motoring Festival runs until March 30 at the Melbourne Showgrounds.
