History of the Ferrari 550 Maranello

The 550 Maranello was Ferrari's version of the 12-cylinder Berlinetta, with an engine in front and a 21^st century style and performance. The Ferrari 550 Maranello was a two-seat Gran Turismo sport car. The 550 Maranello was first introduced in 1996 and touted as a top of the market front-engine vehicle V12 coupe that had not been seen since the Daytona. The car shared its platform and 5.5-liter engine with the 2+2 456 model but was placed at Ferrari's highest end model. In 2002 the 550 Maranello was replaced by the Modificata (modified) Ferrari 575M Maranello in 2002.

The 550 Maranello had a luxurious feel with its interior and roominess. The trunk was wide and high but did not go far back. It did not lack in the performance associated with a Ferrari as it could reach 199 mph and go from 0-60 mph in only 4.5 seconds. The CC of the 550 is 5473 and has 485 bhp of power.

The aerodynamics of the 550 Maranello was shaped in a wind tunnel and the time Ferrari spent on testing Ferrari ensured that there was minimum drag and a constant vertical load on its wheels and it didn't matter the set up of the car. Once again Pininfarina designed the body of the Ferrari and they made the body low and wide with a tail that was cut off.

The engine is laid out in a classic style as it is in the front of the car. The 50 engine is a 12 cylinder and the chassis is a tube shaped steel frame with lightweight aluminum bodywork that is welded to the chassis itself. The 5.5 L V12 engine used in the 550 Maranello won the "over 4 liter" class of the International Engine of the Year award for the years 2000 and 2001. For improved weight distribution Ferrari placed the gearbox in the rear.

One nice thing that Ferrari did when producing the 550 Maranello is put shock absorbers, incorporated by the suspension, that have two settings of normal and sports which can be changed by a switch on the dashboard. The transmission is a 6-speed syncro and the brakes are disc brakes. The 550 Maranello has ZF rack and pinion steering, which comes with Servotronic power steering that is speed sensitive. The gas tank can hold 30 gallons of fuel and is made from a light aluminum alloy. Overall the 550 Maranello weighs 3726 pounds.