This Is What It Takes to Do a Clutch Replacement on a Million-Dollar Ferrari F50
Hint: It involves splitting the car nearly in half.
Changing the clutch on any car, let alone a supercar, is a fairly straightforward but time-consuming and oftentimes annoying job to perform. It typically involves separating the transmission from the engine to access the clutch and requires multiple tools and/or a lift. If you think that's a tedious process on your daily driver, however, then we suggest not getting a Ferrari F50 anytime soon.
Joe Macari Service of London shared on Instagram a timelapse video of a clutch replacement its crew performed on the iconic Cavallino. Showing just how much work must go in to swap the old clutch for a new one, it serves a reminder of how ridiculous any service, but specifically a clutch job, can be with a Ferrari F50 is. As it appears on said posts, the entire rear subframe and transaxle need to be removed in order to access the engine and transmission
Ferraris made prior to the mid-2000s have a reputation for being some of the most expensive cars to maintain. The U.K. shop did not release the price of the clutch job, but a quick search on FerrariChat revealed a thread from 2008 that outlines the cost of parts for a clutch job on a F50, which is right around $5,000 in parts (not including labor). Of course, given that the thread is from more than a decade ago, prices have probably gone up since then.
In terms of labor cost, TheSupercarRooms, another Ferrari-certified shop based in the U.K., lists a total starting rate for an F50 clutch replacement at approximately $1,415. So out the door you’re looking at a minimum of $7,000, which isn’t terrible when you consider that one of the F50’s major services includes the replacement of the car’s FIA-standard fuel bladders, which costs a cool $18,000 according to another thread on FerrariChat from 2010.
But you know what they say supercars and their maintenance—if you have to ask you can't afford it, pal.
h/t: Road&Track
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