The Ferrari F50 was the first Ferrari road model with a carbon-fiber monocoque.
Launched in 1995, the F50 was created as Ferrari’s fiftieth-anniversary flagship and pushed Formula One ideas unusually far into a road car. Its central passenger cell was a carbon-fiber monocoque, or structural tub, rather than a conventional steel-based cabin. The engine and gearbox were mounted directly to the rear of this structure, making the powertrain a stressed part of the chassis.
The F50’s 4.7-litre naturally aspirated V12 was derived from Ferrari’s 1990 Formula One engine. It also used push-rod suspension and a removable targa roof, reinforcing Ferrari’s description of the car as close in spirit to a Formula One machine for the road.
The F40 is often confused with the answer because it made extensive use of lightweight composites, including carbon fiber and Kevlar. It did not, however, use the same carbon-fiber monocoque construction. The later Enzo also employed a carbon-fiber monocoque, but it followed the F50 in 2002. Ferrari built 349 F50s between 1995 and 1997, making the technology exceptionally rare even within Ferrari’s limited-production range.