The Ferrari F40 (Type F120) is a mid-engine, rear-wheel drive sports car[7] engineered by Nicola Materazzi with styling by Pininfarina. It was built from 1987 until 1993, with the LM, Competizione and GTE race car versions continuing production from 1994 to 1996 respectively.[8] As the successor to the 288 GTO (also engineered by Materazzi), it was designed to celebrate Ferrari's 40th anniversary and was the last Ferrari automobile personally approved by Enzo Ferrari.[9] At the time it was Ferrari's fastest, most powerful, and most expensive car for sale.[10]
The car debuted with a planned production total of four hundred units and a factory suggested retail price of approximately US$400,000 (fivefold the price of its predecessor, the 288 GTO[11]) in 1987 ($0 today).[12] One of those that belonged to the Formula One driver Nigel Mansell was sold for the then record of £1 million in 1990, a record that stood into the 2010s.[13][14] A total of 1,311[9][15] to 1,315 cars were manufactured with 213 units destined for the United States.[16]
Development
Origin
As early as 1984, Materazzi had proposed to Enzo Ferrari the idea of using the Group B 4-litre category (2.8-litre if turbocharged) to prove the performance of new road cars which with increased power could no longer safely display their performance on the road in the hands of regular buyers. Since Enzo Ferrari no longer had control over the production part of the business, Materazzi had to obtain permission from General Manager Eugenio Alzati. Permission was granted but only at the condition that work would take place outside of the Monday to Friday work week. A very small team thus developed the GTO Evoluzione on Saturdays to compete in the same class entered by the Porsche 959 in FIA Group B.[17][18][19][20][21]
Racing
F40 LM
The racing cars were prepared by Michelotto (based in Padua) the Ferrari specialist who had already carried out work on the GTO Evoluzione and on parts of the road-going version of the F40.[34]
Three chassis were prepared and two were used in races, with serial numbers 79890 and 79891. The third chassis, with serial number 88521, was intended to be raced and was a spare car that stayed at Michelotto but was never raced.
The car saw competition on October 15th 1989 when it debuted in the Laguna Seca Raceway round of the IMSA, appearing in the GTO category, with an LM evolution model entered by Ferrari France, led by Jean Sage, driven by newly-crowned International F3000 champion and F1 newcomer Jean Alesi, finishing third to the two faster spaceframe four wheel drive Audi 90s and beating a host of other factory-backed spaceframe specials that dominated the races. In the following race (Del Mar 22nd October 1989) Jean-Pierre Jabouille replaced Jean Alesi who raced in the F1 Japanese GP and had to retire after eighteen laps. In 1990 Ferrari France took part in 6 of the 14 races of the IMSA GTO/GTU championship. Driven by a host of guest drivers such as Jean-Louis Schlesser, Jean-Pierre Jabouille, Jacques Laffite
Performance
The first independent measurements yielded 0 - 100 km/h in 4.7 seconds and a top speed of 321 km/h onto the French Sport Auto September 1988 cover.
The next opportunity to reach the claimed top speed was a shootout at Nardò Ring organized by Auto, Motor und Sport. Ferrari sent two cars but neither could reach more than 321 km/h, beaten by the Porsche 959 S, which attained a top speed of 339 km/h, and the Ruf CTR, which attained a top speed of 342 km/h. Both were limited production cars with only twenty-nine built, so while the F40 never was the world's fastest sports car as self-appraised by Ferrari, it could still claim the title of the fastest production car with over five hundred units built until the arrival of the Lamborghini Diablo (depending on how the term "production car" is defined).[54][55][56] Road & Track measured a top speed of 196 mph for both the European and US spec cars while Car and Driver measured a top speed of 197 mph.[7]
Reception
When the F40 was unveiled in 1987 it received mixed reactions. Dennis Simanaitis praised its looks in Road & Track,[59] but others were unimpressed. Observers considered it a cynical attempt to cash in on speculators’ money after seeing how much was paid for used 288 GTOs and for the Porsche 959.[60] Speculators were expecting Enzo Ferrari's death and to benefit from raising prices.[61] It was estimated in 1990 that only 10% of the delivered F40s were used for driving.[62]
Speculators sold the cars with ever-rising prices, up to over seven times the list price in 1989 (before the bubble burst) which made it even more desirable.[63]
Autocar tested an F40 in 1988 at the Fiorano test circuit. The writer, Mel Nichols, stated: "I do not yet know whether the F40 is untractable in traffic, fearsome in the wet, uncomfortably harsh on bumpy roads or too noisy on long journeys. It has no luggage space and getting in and out is awkward. But I do know this: on a smooth road it is a scintillatingly fast car that is docile and charming in its nature; a car that is demanding but not difficult to drive, blessed as it is with massive grip and, even more importantly, superb balance and manners. You can use its performance, the closest any production car maker has yet come to race car levels, and revel in it."
Legacy
Despite the mixed reviews on the car due to its spartan design and lack of the latest technology (when compared to the Porsche 959 and other supercars), the F40 remains a car that is liked by many individuals in the press and owners. Evo magazine's 2013 "Ferrari F40 buying guide" started with "For many it's the greatest road-going Ferrari of all". An expert explained its popularity among the Ferrari cognoscenti: "They will never be allowed to make another F40 in today's world of red tape and health and safety. That is what makes it so special and so desirable."[12]
Richard Hammond compared the F40 to the Porsche 959 stating the F40 to be "as visceral and edgy an experience as the 959 is refined and sophisticated."[70]
The value and the appeal of supercars are very subjective. Autocar named it the ultimate car to drive. Pistonheads stated that "There have been prettier, quicker, rarer Ferraris than the one built in its 40th year. But none as special". Motor Sport Magazine re-appraised it for the 21st century noting that its engine power delivery is docile at modest speeds and is unleashed when demanded by the driver. Classic And Sportscar concluded after a test with XJ220, EB110 and F40: "It's far from perfect. Actually, perfect isn't even on its radar but it's brutal, ballistic and a bit scary. Magic. No it really is that good." Autoexpress also noted that when the cars have the correct servicing of mechanical components and of the rubberised fuel tanks they are to this day robust and reliable thanks to their simplicity.[71]
References
- Ferrari's best-selling cars: in pictures The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 24 March 2011, retrieved 2016-10-12^
- 1990 Ferrari F40 Bring a Trailer, May 2022^
- Ferrari F40 manual data 9 August 2015, retrieved 2 March 2018