The Ferrari 550 Maranello (tipo F133) was built from 1996 to 2001. The 550 Maranello marked Ferrari's return to a front-engine, rear-wheel drive and 2-seater 12-cylinder model, 23 years after the 365 GTB/4 Daytona had been replaced by the mid-engined Berlinetta Boxer.
In 2000, Ferrari introduced the 550 Barchetta Pininfarina, a roadster limited to just 448 examples. The 550 was replaced by the upgraded 575M Maranello in 2002.
After 30 months of development, the Ferrari 550 Maranello was unveiled in July 1996 at the Nürburgring racing circuit in Germany, by the two Formula One drivers who were in the Ferrari team at that time : Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine. . The model's name referred to the 5.5-litres total engine displacement and to the town of Maranello, homme of the Ferrari headquarters. Pininfarina executed both the exterior and interior design. The exterior design is credited to Elvio D'Aprile under the supervision of Lorenzo Ramaciotti and created between 1993 and 1996. Also Maurizio Corbi, a Pininfarina sketch artist and designer was involved in the design process. The interior design was penned by Goran Popović. Frame and main engine components were shared with the 2+2 Ferrari 456, although at 2,500 mm (98.4 in), the 550's wheelbase was 100 mm (3.9 in) shorter.
In 2002 the 550 was replaced by the 575M Maranello, which was an all-around improved version (modificata in Ferrari parlance) of the car, rather than an all-new construction. The 575M was fitted with a larger 5.75-litre version of the F133 engine. In total 3,083 units of the 550 Maranello were produced.