Tyson has owned many special cars over the years, including several Lamborghinis and Ferraris, and bought this Rosso Corsa (Racing Red) F50 new in 1995 following his return to professional boxing after his three-year imprisonment for rape. He sold it in 2001.
The F50 has punchy performance worthy of the famous pugilist, with its 4.7l naturally-aspirated V12 engine mustering 382kW of power at a high-revving 8,500rpm, feeding the rear wheels via a six-speed manual transaxle with limited-slip differential.
Built around a lightweight carbon fibre tub, the two-seater delivered an exhilarating open air driving experience, with the mid-mounted engine propelling the F50 to 100km/h in 3.6 seconds and to a top speed of 325km/h.
The car’s pressed-down cornering ability was made possible by fully independent double-wishbone suspension with pushrod-operated coil-overs, and it eschewed driver aids like power steering and ABS brakes.
Mike Tyson’s Ferrari F50 goes on auction
A Ferrari F50 formerly owned by heavyweight champion boxer Mike Tyson is going under the hammer at a Gooding & Company auction in the US later this month.
The 1995 car has 6,200 miles (9,977km) on the odometer and is expected to fetch between $4.5m and $5.5m (R73m to R89m) at the Pebble Beach auction in California on August 19 and 20. The auction will host the world’s foremost car collectors, buyers and sellers at the world-renowned annual Pebble Beach Concours.
With only 359 units built in total, any F50 is a rarity and it has become one of the most collectible Ferrari supercars, but this car’s association with Iron Mike raises its provenance a good few notches.
Tyson has owned many special cars over the years, including several Lamborghinis and Ferraris, and bought this Rosso Corsa (Racing Red) F50 new in 1995 following his return to professional boxing after his three-year imprisonment for rape. He sold it in 2001.
The F50 has punchy performance worthy of the famous pugilist, with its 4.7l naturally-aspirated V12 engine mustering 382kW of power at a high-revving 8,500rpm, feeding the rear wheels via a six-speed manual transaxle with limited-slip differential.
Built around a lightweight carbon fibre tub, the two-seater delivered an exhilarating open air driving experience, with the mid-mounted engine propelling the F50 to 100km/h in 3.6 seconds and to a top speed of 325km/h.
The car’s pressed-down cornering ability was made possible by fully independent double-wishbone suspension with pushrod-operated coil-overs, and it eschewed driver aids like power steering and ABS brakes.