Ferrari 550 Maranello Gets Twin Turbo LSX Swap

High-Strung Heap

European exotics have long been known to come with glamorous, high-strung engines producing impressive power numbers and fabulous sounds. Unfortunately, hefty repair bills and a lack of parts availability can often accompany these outlandishly expensive cars when things go awry. So what is the solution to getting an Italian stallion with a bad motor back on the road? An LS swap, of course!

Ferrari Horses

The 550 Maranello was a grand-tourer produced by Ferrari from 1996 to 2001. The Maranello was Ferrari's first model in 23 years to return to the front-engine layout, which featured a 5.5L naturally aspirated V12 producing 480 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque. In general, the 550 is a fairly unique car with a little over 3,000 units made, all of which used a 6-speed manual transmission.

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Diamonds in the Rough

2017's Hurricane Harvey destroyed more vehicles than any other event in history with an estimated one million vehicles taking damage. Many of these cars would eventually be scrapped as the assessed damage was deemed too severe for repair, while many others would make their ways to salvage yards, including exotics. It can be difficult to fully evaluate these cars before attempting to revitalize them, but Matthew Rogers of MCR Tuning was up to the task of fixing a flooded Ferrari.

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A Drowned Pony

Rogers of MCR Tuning received a 1997 550 Maranello at his Horse Cave, Kentucky shop that was an unfortunate victim of the Hurricane Harvey floods. Like many of the flooded cars, the Ferrari suffered damage to its exotic V12 engine and electrical components that resulted in an insurance write-off.

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Powered by America

In an everyday economy car, swapping the damaged engine with a good used one can be a simple and cost-effective job to get it back on the road, but not so much with a Ferrari. At the time of this writing, a used 550 V12 engine will set you back about $28,000-32,000, not to mention the expensive Italian electronics. No, Matthew would repair it the American way with a built LSX engine.

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Built to Rev

Although Matt stated that they were keeping certain details of the LS engine under wraps, he did reveal in a Facebook video that it has been de-stroked to 5.5L in an effort to maximize revs to up near the 8,600 rpm mark. He also claims the entire rotating assembly is comprised of forged components.

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Turbo Time

The LSX build has a set of BluePrint LS3-based heads and a BTR cam with a 'wild' custom grind. The big news is the pair of Garret GTX3582R turbochargers (set up by King Speed) that are capable of flowing up to 850 horsepower each, yet Matt states they will keep the boost at a conservative number. The LS engine pairs with the original Ferrari gated 6-speed via a C6 bell housing adapter.

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It's Alive!

As of September 2018, Matt and crew had fitted the custom wiring harness courtesy of JHPerformance, installed the Corvette/Camaro clutch setup, and plumbed the cooling and exhaust systems to finally get this Italian-American mashup up and running.

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Dialing It In

While the MCR 550 has not been completely unleashed to its full potential just yet, the car has been spotted on public roads, the MCR dyno, and even made the trip to an LS Fest event in late 2018. Matt claims they are gently breaking-in the engine and fine-tuning the new setup, but many expect the car to be capable of 1,000+ horsepower. Keep an eye out for MCR and their wild LS-powered Ferrari.

>>Join the conversation about this LSX-swapped Ferrari 550 right here in LS1tech.com.

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