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THE UNLOVED

Road & Track

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August - September 2023

THEY'VE LIVED FOR DECADES IN THE SHADOW OF MORE POPULAR SIBLINGS. IT'S TIME TO GIVE THESE THREE SPORTS CARS A SHOT AT REDEMPTION.

- TRAVIS OKULSKI, LAWRENCE ULRICH, MICHAEL SCHNABEL

THE UNLOVED

THE FERRARI F50 WAS PANNED WHEN IT DEBUTED. NOW IT REPRESENTS EVERYTHING WE DESIRE.

The Ferrari F40 is the definitive supercar, a 471-hp twin-turbocharged V-8-powered middle finger that overshadowed every thing else of its era. It’s the final road car that Enzo Ferrari personally approved and the first mass-produced car with a claimed top speed of over 200 mph. F40s were listed for $280,000 in 1987. Demand was so high, dealers could command triple that or more.

In 1995, Ferrari followed the F40 with the F50, a naturally aspirated V-12-powered F1 car for the road. Ferrari didn’t let the press drive the F50 until two years after its release and barred owners from loaning cars to journalists. It was heavier and less elegant, and even though Ferrari said the F50 could hit 202 mph—conveniently one more than the F40— our 1997 test revealed that the gearing would only let it reach the mid-190s. Unforgivable. While the McLaren F1 hit 240 mph and claimed superlatives for power, acceleration, and exclusivity, the F50 became a punching bag.

Even though as a kid I had pinned above my bed an extremely Nineties poster of an F50 parked in shallow water, I maligned the car online, parroted negative reviews, and called it an ugly disappointment and the wrong car to follow the F40—ridiculous things for a teenager without a driver’s license to say.

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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August - September 2023-Ausgabe von Road & Track.

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MYTH BUSTING

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RIDE HEIGHT

“YOU CAN SEE FROM MILES AWAY that it’s a Bentley,” says Jai Bolar, the automaker’s head of design strategy and innovation.

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WINGMAN ONE MAN'S QUEST TO REUNITE A 300SL WITH ITS PAST AT THE 12 HOURS OF SEBRING.

GOOSE BUMPS. “I couldn’t believe I was sitting in this seat, in this car, about to throttle onto the track at Sebring,” says Juan J. Escalante.

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END OF THE ROAD

TO SKIRT THE TEDIUM OF THE L.A.-TO-VEGAS SLOG, LEAVE THE PAVEMENT BEHIND.

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Magical Realism

Singer conjures up a fantastical take on the 911 Turbo.

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OUT OF REACH - THE MOST ASPIRATIONAL WATCH IS ONE YOU CAN'T HAVE.

THE BUCKET-LIST WATCH is a dangerous game. It’s good to have a motivating goal, no doubt. But the problem is what happens when you reach that goal. Years, months, or even days later, you need a new holy grail to chase—bigger, pricier, and harder to get than the one you just got.

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FAST PARADE - EXCESSIVE SPEEDING IN SERVICE TO THE NATION.

“ARE YOU FREE ON SATURDAY?” my friend Larry asked on the phone. “We need drivers for the motorcade.”

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GRAND TOUR

THERE'S NO QUICKER WAY TO FULFILL ITALIAN DREAMS THAN IN A V-12 FERRARI.

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LEARNING TO FLY COMING DOWN IS THE HARDEST THING.

SEPARATING A CAR from the ground is simple physics. Drive over an incline at a high-enough velocity, and momentum will briefly relieve your tires of their primary function. The higher the velocity or ramp angle, the higher or longer the flight.

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THE KIMI SPECIAL

A NIGHT CAROUSING WITH THE ICEMAN REMAINS MEMORABLE, DESPITE THE COPIOUS AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL.

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