History
The Ferrari F40 was launched in 1987 to celebrate Ferrari’s 40th anniversary. The Ferrari F40 is known as one of the most iconic Ferraris ever made and was the last car personally approved by Enzo Ferrari. The F40 was built as a race car for the road and was designed, tested and built in just 13 months. As the successor to the 288 GTO, the F40 was Ferrari’s fastest, most powerful and most expensive car for sale. The F40 has racing DNA and was designed by Pininfarina using composite materials. The production ended in 1992, after 1311 cars left the factory in Maranello. In today’s world the Ferrari F40 is a highly sought after supercar, with second prices high above the one-million-euro mark.
Technical details
The beating heart of the F40 is its 2.9-liter twin-turbo V8 engine, delivering 478 horsepower (352 kW) at an incredible 7.000 RPM and 577 newton meters of torque at 4.000 RPM. The twin-turbo was introduced to reduce the so-called turbo lag. The fitted dual IHI turbochargers provided high responsiveness and thrilling acceleration. Like the 288 GTO, the F40 had a double wishbone setup, although many parts were upgraded. The F40 is equipped with a five-speed manual gearbox. The F40 is as pure as it gets and does not offer any driving aids like ABS, ESP or power steering.
Performance
The Ferrari F40 was a true masterpiece of Ferrari. This resulted in peak performance. The F40 was one of the first cars to pass the magical boundary of 200mph. The acclaimed top speed was 324 km/h. 0-100 km/h was done in only 4.1 seconds. When you have the courage to push the car to the limit, the F40 rewards you with an incredible feeling in return.
Dimensions and weight
This two-seater berlinetta has a length of 4.358mm and has a width of just under two 2 meters (1.970mm). As the F40 is a true supercar its height is limited with 1.124mm. The use of composite materials results in a dry weight of only 1.100 kg.
Variants
Next to the regular Ferrari F40, Ferrari also built more powerful versions of the F40, the F40 Competizione and the F40 LM. The F40LM was a request by the French importer who wanted to compete in the 24 hours of Le Mans. In total 10 were built, the first two cars were labeled as F40 LM and the remaining cars left the factory under the name of the F40 Competizione.
Design
Pininfirina designer Leonardo Fioraventi and his team created a true design icon, a real poster car. The Ferrari F40 has a tubular space-frame chassis, kevlar panels and carbon-fiber doors, bonnet and boot lid. The extravagant width and low design accompanied with the huge rear-spoiler was a result of extensive research in the wind tunnel, leading to top aerodynamics and a low drag coefficient. Ferrari only offered the F40 in the red color, Rosso Corsa. Although, this didn’t withhold some owners to repaint their car to a different color. There are known examples in colors other than red, such as black, blue, yellow, green, white and even pink.
Interior
Sitting in the Ferrari F40 gives you a true racing driver feel. Two race-style seats hold the driver and the co-driver in position. The seats are finished in bright red with a tree-point harness. Further the interior lacks any form of luxury. However, this is not what the F40 is about, it is purely designed to go fast.
Prices
In time the Ferrari F40 was already a rarity with only 1311 cars ever made. The price back in date was around 230.000 euros. The F40 is a highly sought-after collectible. Prices for the Ferrari F40 vary based on factors as condition and mileage. Prices range from over 1 million euro to over 3 million for examples in pristine condition. If you find a Ferrari F40 for sale, be prepared to act quickly, as these vehicles tend to sell fast.
