Ferrari F50 - European Super Car - Kid Stuff

The sense of precision and stability spreads throughout the Ferrari's considerable speed envelope. Even ripping around Texas World Speedway's 22-degree high banks (you can barely walk up them), the F50 stayed latched onto the track surface like Hell's own blinding-yellow barnacle. Benefiting from more wind-tunnel development than any other road-going Ferrari, the F50 can generate almost a half-ton of aerodynamic downforce at the claimed 202-mph top speed. Though the 2.5-mile track, with routing through the infield handling course, didn't allow us quite enough running room to reach terminal velocity, we can attest to the F50's predictable stability at high Mach numbers. The car was clocked at 188.5 mph in the Texas World bowl, and we have little doubt of its ability to reach the advertised 202 mph on a proper track.

And we also can attest to the F50's raw magnetism. No road car in Motor Trend history has so purely distilled the real-time driving experience down to its throat-burning 200-proof best. Take a shot of the Ferrari F50 and you'll never want to go back to the kid stuff.

At the end of our two-day orgy of speed, we piled back into our rental cars and idled out of the Speedway pits. In our peripheral vision, we caught a glimpse of the door to the red transporter truck as it was latched shut, and noted that Paul Frame's yellow F50 appeared to be missing from its spot in the overhead rack. One of our editors then recalled that Paul had mentioned something about needing to run by and pick up some groceries at the Piggly Wiggly store.Probably one in Florida.