History

The Ferrari 550 Maranello marked some notable returns and departures for the Italian automaker. It was the first 2-seater Ferrari since the 365 GTB/4 Daytona from 23 years earlier to feature a front-mounted V12 engine and a rear-wheel drive layout. It was also the last Ferrari with a drive-by-cable V12 engine, designed and developed first and foremost for a manual transmission. That 5.5 L F133 A/C V12 sent 478 hp through a 6-speed manual transmission.

In 2002, the 550 was replaced by the 575M Maranello, an improved and version that brought the automaker into the new millennium and made the 550 one of the last mostly-analog manual-only Ferraris. A total of 3,083 units of the 550 Maranello were produced between 1996 and 2001.

This Car

This particular example, Chassis # ZFFZR49B000108464, was sold new by Autoropa, an authorized Ferrari dealer in Arlöv, Sweden in 1997. This 550 Maranello stands out from the sea of Rosso Corsa Ferraris thanks to its very rare shade of Verde Mugello paint over a contrasting Bordeaux interior.

The first owner, who remains unnamed in the car’s registration history, enjoyed the car for two years before selling it to Mr. Michael D. Noss of Gothenburg, a Ferrari enthusiast and former owner of the Swedish amusement park, Liseberg. Mr. Noss owned the car for just under two years before selling it to its third and most recent owner, military author Lt. Marco Smedberg, with 20,000 km (~12,427 miles) on the odometer at the time of sale.

Lt. Smedberg owned the 550 for 24 years and meticulously recorded every service and maintenance item performed on the Ferrari during that time. The fact that it was a Ferrari finished in an incredibly rare color combination did not stop the Lieutenant from enjoying it the way it was intended, adding 80,000 km (~49,709 miles) to the odometer during his ownership.

The recorded services on this 550 Maranello started in 2001 at Autoropa, the dealership where the car was originally purchased. From 2008 until the present, some services were also performed at Tre X Larsson Auto-service AB, a repair shop in Malmö, Sweden. This 550 was so well maintained, in fact, that the original service book was filled with stamps, and Ferrari issued a second one. 

In September 2023, this 550 made its way to Motikon, a classic car dealership in Uppsala, Sweden for an engine and gear oil change, an underbody ice blasting, and dyeing of the seats and other interior surfaces to freshen it up. 

Motikon would end up acquiring the car in early 2024 and completed an extensive service in June 2024, which included changing all of the fluids, replacing the timing belt and its pulley, servicing the brakes, ice blasting the underbody, and repairing the sticky button issue that plagues many Ferraris of this era. Motikon also entrusted Krisson Kladslar Ab with reupholstering some of the black leather trim pieces on the interior. Thanks to Lt. Smedberg’s consistent servicing, this 550 Maranello was, and still is, in excellent mechanical and cosmetic condition.

As it sits, this is one of the most unique examples of the Ferrari 550 Maranello available on the market. With a flawless maintenance record, and its rare color combo of Verde Mugello over Bordeaux, few examples on the market today tick so many boxes. The Ferrari 550 Maranello is not just a thrilling sports car from Ferrari’s bygone era, but also an increasingly sound investment in the collectible Ferrari market.

Upon purchase, the new owner will receive the original Ferrari books in pouch, two service books, the original toolkit, and all of the service and ownership records on file.

The Market