---
title: "Where Would You Swap This Experimental Ferrari Twin-Turbo V8 Engine?"
description: "Only three of these were built."
date: "2020-04-14"
modified: "2020-04-14"
authors:
  - name: "James Gilboy"
    job_title: "Contributing Writer"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/james-gilboy"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/33013/where-would-you-swap-this-experimental-ferrari-twin-turbo-v-8-engine"
categories:
  - "Ferrari News"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
tags:
  - "Ferrari"
---

# Where Would You Swap This Experimental Ferrari Twin-Turbo V8 Engine?

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2020/04/16494c34e24aba4192027578746b72ef6c7ef850.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

We run across [a lot of odd stuff](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/32985/this-enormous-300-car-barn-find-has-everything-from-classic-muscle-to-rare-supercars>) while trawling the net for all things automotive, but today's find stands out as one of the most interesting things we've seen in a long while. It's a rare prototype for a Ferrari V8 with a murky history, and it is, of course, for sale.

![message-editor%2F1586877284472-503342.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1586877284472-503342.jpg>)
*Ferrari F121, *RM Sotheby's via Race Cars Direct**

Currently posted on [a racing classifieds website](<https://racecarsdirect.com/Advert/Details/91697/prototype-ferrari-v8-twin-turbo-gearbox>), this V8 was apparently christened the "F121" by Ferrari, and designed by Nicola Materazzi. Materazzi was a maestro of early turbo engines, influencing the design of those powering the Lancia Delta Turbo Group 5, Ferrari 288 GTO, [Ferrari F40](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/31777/are-you-cool-with-this-ferrari-f40-foxbody-ford-mustang-mashup>), and Bugatti EB110—all cars with small engines and a ton of turbocharging. Being a lowly 2.0-liter V8, then, the F121 fits in with the rest of Materazzi's portfolio, and with its estimated 400-horsepower output, it would've been a potent little power plant no matter what you put it in.

Which brings us to a question we'd like to ask our readers: Where would you swap this exceedingly rare Ferrari engine, of which only three are said to exist?

![message-editor%2F1586877396911-503348.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1586877396911-503348.jpg>)
*Ferrari F121, *RM Sotheby's via Race Cars Direct**

Personally, I've already toyed with the idea of cramming a 4.2-liter Ferrari F136 V8 into my [24 Hours of Lemons](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/28476/the-top-10-wonderfully-horrible-race-cars-of-the-2019-24-hours-of-lemons-b-f-e-gp>) team's Toyota MR2—they make plenty of power and can be had for as little as $2,000. Stepping up (down?) to an even less-developed and poorly supported engine would no doubt be a hit with race organizers, and if it proved reliable enough to race with it would make my car easily the fastest in the field. It even comes with a five-speed transaxle that'd make the engine swap as straightforward as—admittedly complicated—one-off swaps go. Sure, I'd have to chop out the firewall, relocate the gas tank, and fabricate a shift linkage somehow, but people have completed [far more difficult builds than this](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/31341/mid-engine-rwd-1989-honda-crx-build-is-what-dreams-are-made-of>). Now to just scrounge up the $43,800 I'd need to buy this engine—if you have any nickels at the bottom of your toolbox, I could use them in this time of need want.

![Ferrari F121](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1586877413627-503343.jpg>)
*Ferrari F121*

*, *RM Sotheby's via Race Cars Direct**

![Ferrari F121](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1586877422038-503345.jpg>)
*Ferrari F121*

*, *RM Sotheby's via Race Cars Direct**

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## Author
James is a former staff writer for The Drive. He has changed the conversation around electrification, debunked misinformation online, and become a prominent hunter of what he calls "automotive cryptids."

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/jamesgilboy>)