2012 Ferrari Maranello 550

2012 Ferrari Maranello 550 - I’m not going to mess about here: I love the Ferrari 550. Always have. There are those who will forever associate Ferrari with mid-engined supercars, and yes, there is something spectacularly purposeful about a car in which you effectively strap yourself to the front of the engine. But let’s not allow the appeal of the mid-engined Fezzers distract us from those in which the driver sits behind the donkey. For one thing, you get to admire the engine. Five-and-a-half litres of Italian V12 churning away up front makes its presence felt.

550 Maranello
Launched to the press at the Nürburgring in 1996, the 550 Maranello was Ferrari's answer to those who believed the performance of a front-engined V12 car could not beat that of a mid-engined sports car. The successor to the F512M, the 550 Maranello proved quicker and, thanks to its better front-engined, rear drive packaging layout, far more practical. The 550 Maranello also benefited from Ferrari's maniacal attention to aerodynamics with a low Cd (0.33) and constant downforce over both axles. The combination of uncompromising performance and aerodynamic efficiency helped the car establish new production car speed records on the 12th of October 1998 in Marysville, Ohio, covering 100 km (62 miles) at an average speed of 304.1 km/h, (188.88 mph) and 296.168 km/h (183.955 miles) in one hour.


The Ferrari 550 Maranello and 550 Barchetta are 2-seat grand tourers built by Ferrari. Introduced in 1996, the 550 was an upmarket front-engined V12 coupe of the kind not seen since the Daytona. It shared its platform and 5.5 L (5474 cc) engine with the 2+2 456 (Engine Code: F133) but was positioned as the company's highest-end model. The car used a transaxle layout, with the 6-speed manual gearbox located at the back, in-line with the driven wheels. The model number refers to total engine displacement (5.5 litres) and the model name of Maranello refers to the town where the Ferrari headquarters are located.