I don’t know about you but as a racecar lover since 1989, I always wanted to own a Ferrari or at least as a kid put some Ferrari posters on my wall beside my favorite Ayrton Senna.
You’d get me if you have ever spent your weekends watching the F1 Grand Prix events. Coming on to Ferrari, Ferrari S.p.A came into production in 1947, with their very first the Ferrari 125 S laid the foundation for one of the most iconic brands in automotive history.
Ferrari has not seen a major downfall since then and still setting standards with every new release. Be it the 250 GTO or the legendary LaFerrari, the brand has been a foundation that can compete in any era or any of the Ferrari’s competitors.
I didn’t get to enjoy the start of Ferrari’s era (Non ero ancora nato), but I’ve always been a fan of vintage racecars, their historical significance, and nostalgia. Let’s check the best vintage Ferraris ever made.
Ferrari F40
Today’s worth: $2.3 million
Not many quick cars were as fast as the F40 back then. This partly was because the turbos hiked up the engine power so suddenly that the F40 picked up as if it were a little bullet surprisingly fast every time.
The car features a 2.9-litre twin-turbocharged V8 giving it 471 horsepower. It was also the first Ferrari ever to exceed the 200 mph mark and could go from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.8 seconds.
Yet, though this should have been too much to handle, it was not. The car body and wheels seemed to be ready for such a great velocity-up.
The F40 is admired by many and still one of the best Ferraris ever made in history. When released in 1987, it received so many orders that they had to make way more than they initially planned. They thought they were going to produce 400 cars, but that number was way too small.
By the time they made the last F40 for regular roads in their famous factory in Maranello, they had built 1311 of them. That was nearly five times more compared to their fast car before the F40, the 288 GTO.
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Ferrari Daytona (365 GTB/4)
Today’s Worth: $664,099
It’s not wrong to say that the car was solely made to compete with Lamborghini at that time. At the 1966 Geneva Auto Show, Lamborghini released the Miura and set a new standard for how cars would look in the future.
Featuring a V12 prancing 430hp and a top speed of 174 mph, It was the first-ever supercar in the world to hit the market and challenge Ferrari’s dominance of the 50s and mid-60s.
Ferrari didn’t hold long and released the successor of Ferrari 275 GTB, the Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona – one of my personal favorites when I was comparing Old and New Ferraris. The car features a Tipo 251 Colombo V12 engine capable of reaching speeds up to 176 mph and can go from 0 to 60 mph in 5.2 seconds.
The Daytona dominated racing events with the Daytona such as the 1967 24 Hours of Daytona where Ferrari secured a historic 1-2-3 victory.
The production run of Daytona was from 1968 to 1973, in which a total of 1406 units were made. About 1,284 Ferrari Daytona Berlinettas were coupe versions, and 122 factory-made Spyders, fell into the convertible variants.
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Ferrari 275 GTB
Today’s Worth: $3 million
When Ferrari needed to replace the 250 GT, they made what many experts think is one of the prettiest cars ever. The 275 GTB was a Ferrari for normal roads but had parts from race cars. It had a new frame with special rear wheels and a five-speed gearbox at the back.
The frame was new, but it was still made of tubes like other Ferraris. The V12 engine was an improved version of the old one, with bigger cylinders and a special oil system. This made it stronger in the middle speeds.
Three special air-fuel mixers called Webers made the engine give 280 horsepower, but you could get a 320 horsepower version with six mixers.
In 1966, they came up with 275 GTB/4, which had a new version of the 3.3-liter engine with two special shafts on top. The 275 GTS came out at the same time as the GTB. They were similar underneath, but the GTS looked less modern – even though both were designed by Pininfarina. Maybe this was because people who liked open-top cars preferred a style more like the older 250 GT.
Ferrari 288 GTO
Today’s Worth: $3.9 million
The 288 was a special Ferrari. It was not slow or ugly. It was like a chunk of pure excitement covered in craziness and turbo lag (when the engine takes a moment to give full power).
The Ferrari 288 GTO was in production from 1984 until 1987 as an ambitious project to participate in Group B races, though it was never realized due to the cancellation of Group B itself following changes in the regulations.
When making the 288 GTO’s engine, Materazzi took the old Dino V8(which I’ll discuss later) and changed it a lot to make it as powerful as possible back then. This had a turbocharged V8, putting out approximately 400 horsepower, and started to be one of the quickest cars at the time, which could cover 0-60mph in a little over four seconds.
Produced with only about 272 units, this model became very sought after as a collectible today. The GTO packaged all the aggressive styling with the technological developments at that time, such as rear-wheel drive and a light build, to become both a beauty on the road and a beast on the track.
Ferrari Testarossa
Today’s Worth: $250,000
The Testarossa became the top car for famous people in the showiest decade after the war, both because of and despite its real driving abilities. The Testarossa looks amazing. It’s bright red with stripes on the sides and very wide. It’s still impressive, even though it’s not the rarest Ferrari.
Produced between 1984 to 1991, Ferrari made almost 10,000 Testarossas in total, including all three versions making the Testarossa the biggest seller among 12-cylinder Ferraris. It’s still a fact that Ferrari made so many of the Testarossa as Ferrari’s always been known for special numbers.
Ferrari made big improvements with the Testarossa. They added new electronic fuel injection and ignition systems. They also used cylinder heads with four valves per cylinder. These changes boosted the engine’s power to 385 horsepower.
This gave it an edge over its main competitor, the Lamborghini Countach, for a while. However, Lamborghini soon caught up by making its V12 engine bigger and doubling its number of valves.
Ferrari F355
Today’s Worth: $290,000
The beginnings of the F355 are now famous car stories, told by every pub expert. The F355 was Ferrari’s new car to replace the 348 in the mid-90s. While it’s built like the 348, it’s much better in every way.
The F355 has a naturally aspirated V8 that boasts up to 375 horsepower giving from 0-60 mph in just over four seconds, it is capable of almost 180 mph.
The well-balanced body of the car holds great handling, and this car is really enjoyable on twisty roads or race tracks. It’s easily the best V8 Ferrari that deserves all the love.
The F35 is still a popular Ferrari among buyers and collectors. Its prices have stayed higher than the older 308 and 348 models because people still want it a lot. You can get one for around $84,900 to $225,000, depending on specific models and their conditions.
Dino 246 GT/GTS
Today’s worth: $582,500
The beautiful Dino 246 GT mixes two time periods of Ferrari. The amazing shape of 1950s race cars when metal was stretched over a tube frame and only a few were made.
Enzo Ferrari liked V12 engines best, which might be why the first Dino 206 GT didn’t have Ferrari badges. The 206 used a V6 engine made by Fiat in big numbers to make it okay for racing rules. By 1969, the Dino GT (and new open-top GTS version) had a new kind of V6 engine. This time, Ferrari made it themselves.
This engine sits sideways under the famous-looking body. When you start it up, the Dino makes a rough, loud noise like V6 engines do. This special sound is different from the smoother sound of a V12 engine.
It has 192 horsepower and 166 lb-ft of torque and can go from 0-60 mph in 7 seconds. It’s also considered a highly collectible classic Ferrari with values reflecting its rarity, design, and historical significance.
Ferrari 250 GTO
Today’s Worth: $70 million
Arguably the greatest vintage Ferrari ever made with so much worth that no car in history could achieve. Built from 1962 through 1964, only 36 examples were ever made – incredibly rare and highly sought-after.
250 GTO received a 3.0-liter Colombo V12 generating 300 hp, reaching 0-60 mph in roughly 6.1 seconds, and holding a top speed of 174 mph.
The GTO had some sensational racing successes. This model also won three consecutive years in the FIA World GT Championship-1962, 1963, and 1964-and had a sort of supremacy in all endurance races like Le Mans 24 Hours and Tour de France Automobile.
Combining performance with value and rarity, the 250 GTO commands extraordinary prices at auction, scrapping a whopping amount of $50 to $70 million. That’s more than what my family has earned from my great great great grandparents.
Final Words
So, here are the greatest vintage Ferraris ever made, all made before 1990. These were the models that laid the foundation and established the brand to make the most stunning and high-performance vehicles the world has ever seen.
To those lucky enough to have experienced these great machines, they evoke a link not only to an illustrious past but, more importantly, to new developments yet to come. Ul
Ultimately, whether through their racing heritage, striking appearance, or engineering prowess, the finest vintage Ferraris show us all over again why we fell so deeply in love with an automobile in the first place.
