Ferrari F50 Drivetrain

In keeping with its brief as a Formula 1 car for the street, the F50 employed a naturally aspirated 4.7 liter narrow V12. The block was in nodular cast iron with Nikasil-coated liners. The seven main tri-metallic-bearing crank shaft was propelled by Mahle-forged aluminun pistons via titanium Ti6al4V alloy connecting rods. Lubrication was dry sump with water cooling. The Bosch Motronic 2.7 engine management system combineed electronic injection and static ignition.

The cylinder head had five radial valves per cylinder. This is an ideal solution for engines capable of high speeds that close valves pneumatically. The five valves (three intake and two exhaust) were smaller and therefore the flutter speed was raised above 10,000 rpm. A five-valve arrangement makes it possible to achieve a high degree of permeability of the intake ducts.

The valves were driven by four overhead camshafts. The intake system was of the variable geometry type. The F50 was fitted with an insulated stainless steel exhaust system. A throttle valve driven by the Motronic control unit made two exhaust system lengths available, one was tuned to achieve the best torque values, the other was tuned for better performance at top speed and full load by reducing the back pressure on the exhaust.

The 6-speed longitudunal Ferrari gearbox was designed for short stroke rapid engagement. The synchronizers were ZF twin cone. The gearbox had a manual control with lever, selector fork and rod, and rigid shaft fitted on sliding couplings. The knob was in composite material.

The differential was of the limited-slip type, with a differentiated lock percentage in drive and release. The hydraulic actuated clutch was of the dry twin plate type with self-centering thrust bearing. A water-oil heat exchanger kept oil temperature constant. The gearbox housing was made of magnesium alloy.