Few things sound as glorious as a V12, even fewer than a Ferrari V12, and absolutely nothing like a genuine Formula 1 Ferrari V12.
One such engine is currently up for grabs on eBay, of all places, but you wouldn’t expect it to come cheap, did you?
The engine has been listed online by the same seller – with the same shocking feedback rating – as a LaFerrari V12 recently re-listed on the auction site. It has a Buy It Now price of $375,000 and has attracted 376 watchers but, despite being online for a couple of weeks, has yet to sell. With a price steeper than that of a new street-legal Prancing Horse, that’s hardly a surprise.
It is claimed that the engine in question is the Ferrari Tipo 044/1. If true, that means it was built for the 1995 season, displaces 3.0-liters and tips the scales at a mere 132 kg (291 lbs). The block and heads are made from lightweight aluminum alloy, while the electronic injection comes from Magneti Marelli.
The engine may be roughly 25 years old, but it delivers 760 HP in qualifying trim and revs to more than 17,000 rpm. Under normal racing conditions power was usually restricted nearer the 600 HP mark, for reliability reasons.
The listing makes no mention of what condition the engine is in and which races it was actually used in throughout the 1995 season. The sole image of the engine, though, leads us to believe it has been rebuilt rather recently.
Is the engine worth the $375k asking price? It depends. If you are a multi-millionaire with a fascination for V12-powered Formula 1 cars, then maybe. However, as Mercedes-AMG is discovering with their One hypercar, F1 engines are far from suited for street use, so this gem’s won’t be shoehorned into a car but, rather, shall become a piece of art, adorning a millionaire’s living room, working space or what-have-you.