2004 Ferrari 550 GTS Maranello #50 Pilots: G. Gardel, J. Blanchemain, P. Bornhauser Team: Larbre Compétition Team Race: DNF (GT1 class) at Le Mans in 2006 pw (Altaya?) - ? (diecast)
Published 04/17/17
The Tipo F133, or better known as the 550 Maranello, was produced by Ferrari from 1996 to 2001. It’s a direct descendant from the famous & gorgeous 365 GTB/4, and the first front-engined GT car since the Daytona. Powered by a 5474 cm³ V12 with 48 valves and DOHC, it’s rated at 480 hp. That was good enough to take the car from naught to 100 km/h in just 4.2 seconds. And top speed was around 320 km. In 2001 Prodrive built a racing version of the Maranello, called 550 GTO and later on, 550 GTS. Prodrive built 10 units from 2001 to 2005, all specifically made for racing.
You know what a war horse means in terms of racing? Well, if you look up the definition of the term you might possibly see this specific 550 GTS as an example. Chassis #ZFFZR49B000117110 was in 23 (!) races, from 2004 to 2008, from Le Mans to 12 Hours of Sebring to 1000 Km of Spa. At La Sarthe, however, the best result was in 2004, when at the time the #66 (racing for the British Prodrive Racing team) came in 11th GC and 4th in class. In 2006 the car didn’t have much luck, and retired with clutch issues a little bit before midnight.
In 1:43 scale it came out nice, though far (far!) from high-end nice. I once had the pleasure of handling a BBR (the #61 also from 2006) and it’s easy to see the differences. Definitively not as good as BBR’s resin model (ha!) however this one is far from terrible. Well, good as my 312PB. So in my book, for a particularly not-important DNF car that costs peanuts, it’s a good buy.
12/10/21: The W-143 Garage now has a better version of this model.