Ferrari 550 in Motor Sport
The Ferrari has, since time immemorial been a top performing car brand whose reputation can be compared to few. By any stretch of the imagination, to say it is a peerless brand would not be an overstatement. Those among us who are consumed by a need for speed in motor vehicles the Ferrari line of brands would your first choice. The general design lends itself to achieving of high speeds without compromising on other factors that comprise safe driving such as handling and maneuverability. It is no wonder the motor sport fraternity possess such respect for the Ferrari.
Among the most notable Ferrari brands is the Ferrari 550 which comes in two brands the Maranello and the Barchetta. On this design Ferrari paid more attention to comfort and handling of the vehicle and not sheer speeds. This was especially witnessed in the Marinello. The wisdom in this design was geared towards producing a vehicle for comfort and style as well. This fitted well for a car to be used for reasons other than racing Any one familiar with motor sport, however, would know comfort is hardly the top priority.
It was this factor that prompted some motor sport teams to make modifications to the Ferrari 550 to make it adaptable for the race tracks. This then caused the rebirth of the 550 into the 550GT.The GT was used in Championship races in 1999 till 2000 when it was sold to another racing outfit. At this juncture another rebirth was in the offing and after further modification the 550 GT was reborn as the 550GTS.At this point Ferrari was no longer involved in the development of the racing brand which responsibility was taken by Prodrive.
The 550 GTS enjoyed a lot of success on the racing tracks earning vital victories for its proprietors. Up till 2007 this car was still in operation for racing though not by Prodrive which had diversified into other brands. Looking at the design of the racing version Ferrari 550 is enough to see why it became successful on the race tracks. The original qualities for handling and maneuverability were expertly combined with speed to create a machine that became an automatic winner.
The Ferrari 550 commercial body designs was significantly altered in the racing 550 GT and GTS to endear it to racing. Additions were made to its front and back fenders and fins to provide it with a streamlined designed that made it possible to cut through the atmospheric resistance better. Additions were also made to ensure the car did not flip over when being driven at high speeds especially on those tight and winding corners characteristic of racing tracks.
The pedigree of the vehicle including its engine make up and systems quality no doubt played a great part in the Ferrari 550 producing such remarkable performances on the race tracks. It was the success of the 550 that prompted Ferrari into offering more of its commercial models for racing.
