In the far, far away future, there could be a time when we stand back in amazement to gaze at the horizon, as tidal waves taller than skyscrapers come barrelling towards us, and huge meteors rain from the sky. Some panic and run about with hands in the air, pondering exasperatedly over what they should do next, while others stand quietly offering prayers and meditations. By now, nothing can be done.
Others are probably sitting comfortably in their bunkers, waiting for apocalypse to simply pass on, before emerging once more to rebuild society. This then, is a general idea of how movies, books, and video games depict how the world might end; a feeling of utter chaos and hopelessness. Imagine the crushing roar of asteroids punching through the atmosphere, the howling winds, and thunderous hailstorms.
The distant bellow of tornados sends a chill down your spine, as cracking embers of forests and buildings on fire tells you that there's no place to hide from what's coming at you. If I could somehow summarise it into one particular sound, I think this 13-minute long video of a rare Ferrari F50 GT being hammered around the Yas Marina Circuit should give you a good idea of what to listen for, when life as know it, comes to an end.
Credits to: 1996 Ferrari F50 GT - Supercars.net | Loud, beautiful noises incoming.
Let's rewind the tape a little bit, and learn more on why this car sounds as apocalyptic and hellish as it is. The F50 was Ferrari's 50th anniversary present to itself and their loyal clientele, and was the supposed successor to the iconic F40. Similarly, and just like the Enzo and LaFerrari that succeeded it, the recipe is simple and familiar enough. Take Ferrari's learnings and technology from motorsports, and apply that to a road-going car, while making it as insane and expensive as possible.
The bodywork and design was inspired by the Mythos concept, with an engine taken straight from a Formula 1 car. Put those two things together, and voila, you have an F50. Unlike the more than 1,300 F40s sold to keep Ferrari's balance sheet happy, only 349 F50s were ever made. Changing hands between collectors at auctions these days, its exclusivity makes the F50 cost three-times as much. However, unlike its universally loved predecessor, the F50 is a bit more contentious from birth.
Maybe its underserved, but some might argue that it's not worth three-times as much, and personally, I'd rather have the F40 in a heartbeat. In fact, Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson called it one of the worst cars in the world; relatively speaking, of course. First, let's start with the engine, a 4.7-litre naturally-aspirated V12. Ah, the V12... I can't stop thinking or writing about my love for it at the moment, but there's certainly a reason behind the madness, at least in most cases.
Credits to: 1996 Ferrari F50 - Girardo | Pretty, or not?
The F50's powerplant was taken from the back of a Ferrari 641 F1 car, which was the same car that ferried Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell to go head-to-head in a heated competition against Ayrton Senna's McLaren. Putting an F1 engine in a road-car sounds like a great idea, but there's a reason why carmakers don't do this, from a practical standpoint. There are regulations to comply when putting a car on the road, and the 641's V12 had to be nerfed significantly.
Imagine turning a B-52 comber into a passenger jetliner; it sounds cool, but it just doesn't work. Just like the dumbed-down V12 in the F50, it neither feels like an F1 car, nor does it even go like one. Plus, the engine itself can be discomforting. In order to give it that F1-like feel, the engine was bolted directly onto the carbon-fibre chassis. This means that you can hear and feel every little vibration, shaking your spine and body to oblivion, by 12 cylinders exploding up and down.
However, that's not to say that everything is terrible, even if it has less torque, is heavier, and apparently less fun to drive than the F40. The F50 is a proper driver-focused car, and one that demands your absolute respect and attention. In the right conditions, it's a heavenly experience, as you row through the clickity-clack of its gated manual gearbox, and play around with its sonorous V12. Such an orchestra is ungodly, and if you thought that was good, wait until you hear its naughty sibling sing.
Credits to: Ferrari F40 LM/GTE - WheelsAge | The lineage starts here...
Ferrari decided that they wanted to make a racing version, just like the old F40 LM. They partnered with motorsports chassis maker, Dallara, and Ferrari specialist, Michelotto to improve on the F50's formula to create something that could compete handily in GT1-class championships. Six cars were planned, but none ever followed through its goals. The first reason was Ferrari's unhappiness with new homologation rules that brought in new cars which could potentially outclass the F50.
Secondly, Ferrari realised that they didn't have a lot of money, and decided to send those cheques over to their Formula 1 team, instead. Only three F50 GTs were made in their entirety before being sold off to privateers, while the other three were destroyed to protect its secrets. They're a very rare breed, and for those few that have survived, it's an incredible display of that Ferrari magic, working wonders and walking the line between technological ingenuity, and outright madness.
The development involved taking apart an F50, and refining every little bit from there, inside out. The signature removable targa-top was replaced with a fixed roof, and air-intakes for the engine. The shapely F40-esque rear-wing that curves along with the bodywork was changed for an adjustable one. Extensive modifications were made elsewhere in the exterior, with new spoilers and ducts to helps with aerodynamics, and cooling.
Credits to: Ferrari, WheelsAge, Supercars.net | ... And it continues, wonderfully forwards.
Meanwhile, much of the road-car softness was taken out of the F50, resulting in a 320kg weight reduction, now sitting at a featherweight 910kg (2,005lbs). The engine is still the same monstrosity that it was, but with its 4.7-litres now tuned to somehow produce a whopping 740hp, or 230hp more than the original. Altogether, the F50 GT was even more potent than the 333 SP race-car around Fiorano Circuit, which used the F50's engine before it, and was fairly successful in its racing career.
Revving all the way to an ear-shattering 10,500RPM shouting through its race exhausts, the GT was in every metric better than the normal F50. With all those small tweaks and changes, Ferrari had finally made it closer to its intended plan of conceiving an "F1 car for the road". As one author puts it well, the F50 GT was perhaps the greatest car to have never raced. With videos like these, and portrayals of the F50 GT in games like Forza, we can finally find a wider appreciation for it, over 20 yeas later.
At least, we could always enjoy and remember that truly apocalyptic, biblical, and world-ending V12 engine come to life. It just warms the cockles of my heart to listen to it, and I hope it's had the same effect on you, too. Let me know if you've heard something just as loud, or perhaps something even more capable to shatter ear-drums...
Credits to: Ferrari F50 GT - WheelsAge | Loudness!
@zacknorman97 for more, coming soon :-)