The 845 hp (at 18,300 rpm) V10 used in the 2003 Ferrari F2003-GA was officially called the Ferrari Tipo 052. It’s a 2997cc engine producing 282 hp per litre and it would go on to win both the Constructors’ Championship thanks to a solid team effort, and the Drivers’ Championship with Michael Schumacher at the wheel.
The Ferrari Tipo 052 is a naturally aspirated 90° V10 with double overhead cams per bank, four valves per cylinder, Magneti Marelli electronic indirect injection, and a dry sump. Ferrari officially lists the power output as 845 hp, however other estimates range from 880 hp up to 950 hp.
These V10s are now remembered as a high-water mark in the modern history of Formula 1, many fans yearn for a return to the days of the howling V10s as opposed to the turbo 1.6 litre V6 engines in use in modern F1 cars. It’s hard to argue that the V10 soundtrack wasn’t vastly superior, but due to fuel economy and emissions restrictions it’s unlikely they’ll ever make a comeback.
The Ferrari F2003-GA was introduced at the Spanish Grand Prix in 2003, the 5th race of the 16 race season. Ferrari found that the previous year’s F2002 was still competitive, so they used the extra time it gave them to continue developing the 2003 car.
F2003-GA was developed by Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne using the F2002 as a starting point, the “GA” was suffixed as a mark of respect to Gianni Agnelli, the former head of Fiat who had passed away in January 2003. The car would go on to win 7 races, taking 13 podiums, 5 pole positions – keeping the Williams and McLarens at bay with 158 points vs 144 for Williams and 142 for McLaren.
The engine you see here is date stamped September 5th, 2003 meaning it would likely have come into use in the final three races of the season. It’s now being offered without reserve, with an estimated hammer price of between €50,000 and €70,000. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing on RM Sotheby’s.
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
