Ferrari 550 Maranello Review

For 23 years Ferrari's two-seat flagship had carried its 12 cylinders behind the driver, from the Berlinetta Boxer to the Testarossa and F512 M. The 550 Maranello, developed under Luca di Montezemolo and unveiled at the Nürburgring in July 1996, put a V12 back in the nose, and Ferrari presented it as its answer to anyone who believed a front-engined car could not beat a mid-engined one. Pininfarina's Elvio D'Aprile drew it under Lorenzo Ramaciotti, with twin vents in the front wings in the manner of the 250 GTO and 275 GTB and tail lights that recall the Daytona. The frame and much of the engine came from the 456 GT 2+2, on a wheelbase 100 mm shorter.

The 5.5 liter, 65 degree V12 has dry sump lubrication and titanium connecting rods and makes 478 hp at 7,000 rpm, driving the rear wheels through a six-speed manual transaxle. Ferrari quotes 4.4 seconds to 62 mph and 199 mph, and Motor Trend recorded 4.2 seconds to 60 mph in 2000. Leather, electric seats, twin airbags, air conditioning, speed-sensitive power steering, two-mode adaptive dampers and traction control were standard.

In 2004 evo pitted it against the best drivers' cars of the previous decade, including the Porsche 911 GT3, Honda NSX-R and Pagani Zonda C12 S, and the 550 won; the magazine said there had never been a supercar so exploitable and so rounded. The engine won its class at the International Engine of the Year awards in 2000 and 2001, and Prodrive's racing version, built without factory help, won the GTS class at Le Mans in 2003.

It costs what a V12 Ferrari costs to run. evo's buying guide calls for cam belts every three years at about £1,950 and a clutch at around £3,000, and notes that the cam seals commonly weep oil and that the dashboard leather can shrink and peel. Classic & Sports Car adds that the original Speedline wheels were recalled for cracking, that 1997 and 1998 cars can leak from their fuel tanks and that the soft-touch door handles and switches turn sticky, and it advises budgeting £2,500 to £3,000 a year for servicing with £10,000 kept back for surprises.

The EPA rated it at 9 to 10 mpg combined. It listed at about $204,000 in America. In Britain, evo puts good cars at £100,000 to £150,000, around their 1998 list price of £143,685.

Its overall mark rests on how it drives rather than on the average of its category scores, which a 10 mpg thirst and V12 servicing pull down. The shape looked restrained at launch and has worn well, the cabin is a proper GT's, and the chassis is as approachable as it is fast. It also set the template for Ferrari's front-engined V12 berlinettas since, from the 575M and 599 to the 812 and the 12Cilindri.