Ferrari F40

The innitial pricetag of this car was about 415,000 US dollars.

Ferrari, quite magnificently, stage-managed its launch at the Maranello factory in ]uly 1987. But there was substance behind the showmanship. The F40 was a genuinely great car, and it put Ferrari back where he believed he belonged. For a few months, the bristling-with-technology Porsche 959 had overtaken Ferrari’s 288 GTO as the fastest road car in the world. The F40 brought the crown back to Maranello.

When it was introduced it was the fastest road car ever built, full stop. Its claimed top speed of 201 mph marked the first time that a road car had bettered 200. The 959 managed ‘only’ 197. And the F40 would reach 60mph in 3.5 seconds (factory claimed time), where the 959 wanted 3.7. To argue which was really the better car is meaningless. The F40 had the headlines.

It was completely unlike Stuttgart’s complex four-wheel-drive supercar. It was essentially simple. Instead of the 959’s electronic control systems, clever six-speed gearbox, and the luxuries of leather, air-conditioning and top-level hi-fi, the F40 took the race car approach of maximum power, minimum weight and classic rear-wheel drive.

The F40 was developed from the 288 GTO via the 288 Evoluzione. The latest leaps in aerodynamics gave it an aggressively angular shape (by Pininfarina), dominated by massive scoops and wings. A new generation of tyres gave it a low, super-wide stance. Lightweight materials and new construction methods helped shed a substantial 135kg. Out went the 288 GTO’s surprisingly plush trim and generous equipment levels in favour of the spartan, stripped-bare look of the racer. Instead of the 288’s ventilated leather seats it had thinly padded highbacked racing-style shells. Where the GTO had carpets and suede Alcantara trim, the F40 had naked Kevlar and carbonfibre. Each skeletal door weighed just 1.5kg; there were no carpets, electric windows, central locking, not even proper door handles just Mini-style cord pulls.

The vehicle weighed in at just 1100kg, while its twin-turbo V8 had grown to 2.9 litres, and power to 478bhp – at the time the most ever offered in a road car. Suspension was race-bred coils and wishbones; the brakes gigantic 13-inch discs, ventilated and cross-drilled, nestling in l0-inch wide front and 13-inch wide rear wheels, with massive Pirelli tyres. It was a racing car in all but name, with fearsome performance and take-no-prisoners manners. Even today, it is a superb tribute to Enzo’s memory.