Ferrari has made some fantastic front-engined V12 cars. And 1 of the most important cars in this generation of Supercars is the 550 Maranello.
At its time of launch in Y 1996, the 550 was the 1st flagship Ferrari that had a V12 at the front in 23 yrs, with its predecessor being the Daytona, the 550 was exciting then and is now. It can max out at just shy of 200 mph.
The then Ferrari Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo wanted to develop a more useable car over the mid-engined exotics of the time. And so the 550 was born.
Ferrari had super reference points for inspiration, from the iconic 250 GT to the legendary 275GTB, so it was no stranger to smart looking GT cars with V12 engines.
The 550 was not the only front-engined V12 Ferrari of the 1990’s, as there was also the 456M which launched in Y 1992. The 456M was a sensible supercar, both in its looks and 4 seats. The 550 was not the 1st V12 in 23 yrs, but it was the 1st flagship 2-seater GT since the Daytona.
The 550 Maranello went on sale in Y 1997 at a cost of around $200,000, which, accounting for inflation, is around $325,000 in today’s money. It came with a 5.5 ltr V12, hence the ‘550‘ name, that powered it to 0-60 in less than 3 secs and 212 mph flat out, that was very fast for Y 1996. An 1 of the 550’s best features is the open-gated, 6-speed manual shifter.
And while the 550 was super at going quick and making a fantastic exhaust note while doing so, it was also excellent at doing what a GT does best, that is cruising comfortably over a long distance.
Best of all was the way the 550 looked, a masterpiece. The long bonnet, shorter rear end, and muscular curves represented a new era of Ferrari, while also being reminiscent of those iconic GT cars from the 1960’s and ’70’s we all know and love. I owned at least 1 of each of them in that frame.
With all things considered it is no wonder why the 550 is regarded as 1 of the best to ever come from the Maranello Outfit and continues to be the benchmark for many of the super GT Ferraris of the modern era.
Ferrari is The Aristocrat of the automotive sector.
Ferrari is closed Friday 205.35 within its 52 wk range of 127.73 – 233.66 in NY. It’s all time high in NY was marked at 233.66 intraday on 29 December.
All technical indicators have turned Neutral in here. Ferrari’s stock is oversold, but the pattern indicates the confirmation of the break out at 196.01 on 3 November and has confirmed.
The Key support is at 199.38 and the Key resistance is at 29.29 at the close Friday in NY.
Note: At the beginning of Y 2020 I called RACE at 230 by year’s end, the stock was trading at 165.22 on 1 January 2020, on 29 December 2020 it marked 233.66 intraday, its all time high
The Maranello Outfit’s shares were raised to Buy from Hold at HSBC, and Buys at Morgan Stanley and Bank of America.
UBS is now calling the stock at 365. Citi downgraded the stock from Neutral to sell. I have not seen any other Street downgrades.
Ferrari will continue to create value in the long term as it becomes the world’s 1st Super Luxury brand.
Ferrari is a quality 1st long term luxury products investment, BAML raised its call to 270 long term.
I have raised my long term target to 375, a Strong Bull call, the strongest on the Street and am holding the mark during this recent profit taking, and seeing RACE as a buying opportunity.
Ferrari has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price at 243.60.
The Maranello Outfit’s shares were raised downgraded from Buy to Hold at HSBC Thursday.
Ferrari will continue to create value in the long term. Ferrari is a quality 1st long term luxury products investment, and I am calling it 375 long term , the Top on the Street, and adjusting it to 250/share short term.
A number of large investors have recently bought shares of RACE, and there has been just 1 instance of insider selling over the past yr that we have seen.
The stock is considered defensive in the sector.
Have a healthy weekend, Keep the Faith!
