Ferrari has manufactured many race cars over the years and compiling a list to showcase a top 5 or 10 is often open to debate. Here, in no specific order, we highlight 5 of the greatest race cars ever made that feature the iconic prancing horse.
The Ferrari 250 GTO is possibly the most famous of them all and was designed to compete in the world sports car arena. With a tubular steel frame, it was quite similar to the GT SWB's but aerodynamic changes and a few other improvements in the overall design improved the rear downforce.
Sergio Scaglietti was brought in to replace the departed Giotto Bizzarrini and complete the project, which resulted in not one of the 36 GTOs made between 1962 and 1964 being identical, adding to the aura that now surrounds this classic.
A truly outstanding car to drive with a price anywhere from $50 - $70 million.
No list would be complete without the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa. A winner at Le Mans in 1958, 1960 and 1961 firmly cemented its place as a legendary race car in the Ferrari stable.
The most famous Testa Rossas were some of the earliest models made, featuring pontoon-style bodywork. The bodywork was later changed when the car became unstable at high speeds but this endurance racing car with its 4-speed manual gearbox remains a true legend in Ferrari history.
The current sales price is in excess of $40 million!
In 1961, Ferrari entered the Formula 1 Championship with the 156 "Sharknose" and went on to win five of the eight races that season. A new V6 engine gave the car greater performance and resulted in two wins each for drivers Phil Hill and Wolfgang von Trips, plus a win on debut for Italian Giancarlo Baghetti – the only driver in history to win an F1 race at his first attempt.
However, the season is most remembered for the tragic death of Wolfgang von Trips who crashed in Monza, an accident that also resulted in the loss of lives of 14 spectators. Phil Hill of the USA won the driver's championship, but the victory was naturally a bittersweet one.
Enzo Ferrari ordered all 156 cars to be destroyed after this season.
The current sales price is in the region of $8 - $10 million.
The Ferrari F2004 deserves its place on the list as this was the car that enabled Michael Schumacher to win his seventh (and last) Formula 1 world championship in 2004. Schumacher dominated proceedings, winning 13 of 18 races over the season – his teammate also won another two.
This was the peak of the Schumacher-era domination with five consecutive drivers' titles and six in a row for Ferrari as constructors' champion. With its V10 engine, the F2004 was in a class of its own and the true thoroughbred in the field.
An F2004 was sold at auction several years ago for $2.3 million, a record for a modern F1 car at the time. That figure has since been eclipsed a number of times. An F2003 was sold in 2022 for almost $15 million, so if an F2004 comes on the market again it would certainly command a higher price tag now.
Finally, we complete our list with something from the late 50s, the 1958 Ferrari 246 Dino F1. The 246 F1 was the first V6-engined car to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix (in France) and was also the last front-engined car to win a Formula 1 race in 1960.
Mike Hawthorn was able to win the World Championship in this car and Ferrari also achieved second place in the Constructors' Championship.
With its tubular aluminium body, the 246 F1 had a light and rigid structure, weighing just over 550 kilos and being powered by a 4-speed manual engine. Its success was limited though as engine capacity regulations changed in 1961 and together with the increase in mid-engined rivals, the 246 F1 Dino drifted away.
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