Ten classic Ferrari cars that prove it’s the marque to beat
From Sixties stunners to Nineties nutters, the Italians know how to make ’em Sports cars come and sports cars go, but only the best endure as legends. You know, the kind of hallowed machines that grace posters for decades, young boys pouring over their every detail, fenders and all. And, when it comes to iconic motors, Ferrari has built more than any other marque: from race-bred GTs to world-beating supercars, the house of the Prancing Horse has long been the marque of distinction when it comes to automotive exotica. Don’t believe us? Here are ten of the greatest Ferrari cars to prove it.
1/10Stick “LaFerrari” in your favourite translation app and you’ll see it literally means The Ferrari – which is ironic, because 2013’s limited-run model was unlike any Ferrari that had come before. Not only was it the first Prancing Horse in 40 years to not be styled by Pininfarina, but it was the first hybrid machine ever to come out of Maranello. Packing a 6.3-litre V12 engine paired with an electric motor and energy recovery system, its combined power output was an astonishing 950bhp – enough to see it hit 124mph in just seven seconds and carry on all the way into the history books.
2/10Where most people enjoy a cake and a lacklustre party for their 40th, Ferrari decided to create a car more bonkers than anything that had come before: a roadgoing racer with 470 stallions beneath the bonnet, the F40 was the fastest, most powerful Prancing Horse ever when it launched in 1987. Built as a pared-back answer to Porsche’s high-tech 959, the only thing more striking than its voracious but accessible V8 performance was the arresting kevlar shell, penned by long-time coachbuilding collaborators Pininfarina. Little wonder it still graces posters today.
3/10Pure excess on wheels, the 12-cylinder Testarossa couldn’t have been more Eighties if it shipped with shoulder pads instead of wheel arches. Wrapped in bodywork clearly intended to excite teenage boys, those fully functional – albeit completely absurd – side strakes masked a machine built first and foremost as a top-end tourer. With 390bhp at its disposal, the radical Testarossa would be the last Ferrari to carry a flat-12 engine – and it was quite the swansong, going on to spawn the mighty 512TR and F512M racers.
4/10Don’t you hate it when you build an exotic racing special, only for its intended category to tank? Still, few begrudged Ferrari’s effort at fielding a machine for the fledgling Group B series – largely because the result was the magnificent 288GTO. A mere 200 road-going examples were built to qualify the model for competition and, boy, were they mighty. Loosely derived from the existing 308GTB, the 288 was a fearsome track beast in the grand tradition of the GTO – a featherweight racer with 400bhp of turbocharged V8 power that would shove you into the nearest tree if you so much as blinked at the wrong moment.
5/10Had Enzo been around to see the launch of the 458 in 2009, he’d probably have up and quit the company right there: here was a flagship Ferrari with a V8 engine mounted plumb in the middle of the car. Oh, how the mighty had fallen. Well, except that the 458 was a 210mph sports car with a breathtaking shell, racing pedigree and luxury in spades. As divine to drive as it was to look at, it proved a fitting replacement for the equally remarkable F430 – and things only got better with the arrival of the near-600bhp Speciale variant in 2013.
6/10Five years after the F40, the famously idiosyncratic Ferrari decided it was time to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Still, everyone loves a celebration, and it was the perfect excuse to launch the F50. Every bit as nutty as the F40 before it, gone was the turbocharged V8 in favour of pure, naturally aspirated V12 performance. And not just any V12: the F50’s engine came from the Scuderia’s 1990 F1 car, as did the inspiration for its advanced monocoque chassis, spartan interior and liberal use of carbon fibre. On the road it was both brutal and agile, a ballet dancer with a sledgehammer – albeit one with a whopping great wing.
7/10Not the first but easily one of the finest cars Ferrari ever made, the 250GT was the superlative example of a red racing tourer. Here was a machine you could drive to the track, race – probably to victory – then pilot home again for a well-earned oil change. While the sister 250GTO was a true thoroughbred racer (and now the most valuable car of all time, to the tune of $70 million), the road-going GT was remarkable for its blend of cruising comfort, sublime style and impressive V12 performance, whichever of the oh-so-many models and bodies you chose.
8/10When customer-turned-competitor Ferruccio Lamborghini launched his magnificent mid-engined Miura, Ferrari had a choice: match the Lambo’s novel configuration or stick with its proven front-engine, rear-wheel-drive formula. One look at the long-nose GT should tell you exactly where Maranello chose to plant the V12 motor, and it didn’t harm the stunning two-seater one bit. While its unofficial moniker came from the marque’s 1-2-3 finish at the 1967 24 Hours of Daytona, the 365GTB/4 was seminal in its own right, setting the tone for the sharp-edged Ferraris of the Seventies.
9/10A Prancing Horse in all but name, the Dino was arguably the most important sports car never to wear a Ferrari badge. Built by the Italian marque between 1967 and ’75, it was the first car to come out of Maranello equipped with a V6 engine – precisely why stubborn old Enzo wouldn’t give it his last name – and it proved that Ferrari could build in big numbers. Penned by Pininfarina, built by Scaglietti and at its best in 2.4-litre form, the curvaceous sports car cut a dash beside the boxy angles of the GT4 before it – and never more so than in drop-top GTS guise.
10/10Naming a supercar after your company’s late founder? It had better be a zinger. No sweat for the Enzo, which eclipsed every expectation when it launched in 2002: brutish rather than beautiful, the 200mph machine redefined what it meant to go fast. Equipped with a 6-litre V12 that could propel the Formula One-inspired Ferrari to 125mph in just 9.5 seconds, more astonishing than its acceleration was just how comfortable the Enzo was at lose-your-licence speeds. With a carbon-fibre shell, downforce for days and a cockpit straight out of Top Gun, it was a beast deserving of il Commendatore’s name and went on to spawn the even more extreme FXX.
