Ferrari’s 2013 F1 Race Car May Be the Last One Rich Folks Can Buy
Newer Formula One race cars are apparently too expensive to keep running.
Ferrari's Formula One car from its 2013 season is currently on sale, but it will likely be the last sold by the race team, due to the serious running costs that come with keeping newer cars running.
At a recent press event at Ferrari World Barcelona, Ferrari F1 race car driver Marc Gené told Autocar that the 1.6-liter engines with hybrid technology are too expensive to run for civilians.
“They are just too difficult to maintain,” Gené said to Autocar. “Just to fly them over, the battery needs some extra safety requirements for the plane. To run, the current engines are very advanced but so expensive.”
The 2013 race cars on sale have the naturally-aspirated 2.4-liter V8 engines that don't require the big hybrid batteries. These machines—as well as the older V8 and V-10 F1 race cars—could be kept running by Ferrari for a sensible price, but when it comes to the more recent hybrid vehicles, it apparently doesn't make sense economically.
“At the moment we are selling the 2013 car, but it could well be that those are the last Ferrari [F1] cars to be sold,” said Gené. “That’s why the Formula One price is going up, because the market is what it is.”
Ferrari's Corse Clienti program manages the sale of the F1 team's race cars. When buyers of the F1 cars decided to take their cars out for a spin, Ferrari arranges for a team of techs to be trackside with the car so that it can be properly prepped for some hot laps.
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