It is true that all Ferrari’s are special. Even when in the company of the less popular models such as the Mondial or 456GT, they always have little details that catch your attention. When in the presence of the popular models then, one would simply absorb all the design and features of the car helplessly, and before you know it, hours would have passed. One can imagine what happened today then when I found myself in front of an F40; the mighty F40. If the Testarossa was the Ferrari icon of the 80’s, the F40 is the Ferrari icon of all time. Part of the Big 5 Ferrari line up, the F40 is one of the most recognizable and desirable Ferrari’s and the details it present are remarkable. From both the external and internal carbon fibre weaves, to the variety of coolers and pipes that run all around the massive engine displayed under a similarly giant engine bonnet, there is just so much to take in. Multiple times throughout the day of the shoot we had to ask our crew to focus and back off from the car so that we can continue shooting – this has almost never happened before in our channel’s history – such is the gravitational force of the F40.
The Ferrari Big 5 are special models that Ferrari releases every few years to showcase the pinnacle of their cars at the time. Started in the early 80’s with the 288 GTO, the Big 5 are intended for only Ferrari’s most important and loyal customers. While the later Big 5 models like the Enzo and LaFerrari were purely a power flex and a preview to the world of what sorts of new technology they can expect to see in regular production models that come after them, the early Big 5 cars had more of a racing purpose. In the early 80’s when Ferrari developed the 288 GTO, they had the pure intention of joining the Group B racing series. The Group B racing series was kind of a Wild West racing series where pretty much anything goes. Aside from engine capacity limitations (4 litre for naturally aspirated cars and 2.8 litre for turbocharged cars), there was pretty much no restrictions, including unlimited turbo boost and horsepower. Use of lightweight materials was highly encouraged to keep the weight down. It was really intended to be a series where all the world’s biggest manufacturers like Ferrari, Porsche, Audi and Ford would bring their best game and fight it out on track.
Ferrari ended up building 272 units of the 288 GTO in order to meet the homologation requirement of 200 units. In addition to that, they built 5 units of the 288 GTO Evoluzione which was the hardcore racing version with huge spoilers, 650HP (over the ordinary 288 GTO’s 400HP), and only 950KG. Unfortunately, right after Ferrari finished developing the 288 GTO Evoluzione, the Group B racing series was cancelled and never took off. Enzo Ferrari, finding himself with 5 race cars that became obsolete overnight, decided to have his engineers design a super Ferrari road car based on the 288 GTO Evoluzione. That ultimately gave birth to not only the F40, but also Ferrari’s crusade to building the Big 5. Ferrari’s engineers were only given 12 months to create the F40, as the car was intended to celebrate Ferrari’s 40th anniversary at the time in 1987. Thankfully, his engineers made the deadline, as the F40 turned out to be the last Ferrari that Enzo himself approved and also presented to the media in person in Maranello in 1987. Shortly afterwards, the legendary carmaker passed away.
There was also a rumour that another reason Ferrari had to produce the F40 was because it had to respond to Porsche’s 959. Also developed for the Group B racing series, the 959 was an incredibly high-tech car with electronically controlled four-wheel drive system, suspension, anti-lock brakes and the sorts – a real technological showcase by Porsche. Ferrari, however, made it clear that the F40 was not about using the most advanced technology but instead Ferrari wanted to make a maximum performance street legal race car. And what a machine they created – it uses a 2.9 litre V8 twin turbo engine (which originated from the 308) producing 478HP. Carbon-Kevlar composite material was used extensively to keep the car’s weight down to a mere 1,100KG. The result was a car that could achieve 0-60mph in 3.7 seconds (in 1987!) and the first Ferrari road car to break the 200MPH barrier at 201MPH.
The moment you enter the F40 you immediately know it is an uncompromising car, with a tall side sill that you must carefully navigate over, to avoid scratching the carbon fibre, before dropping yourself into the seat. I know of no other modern classic or modern Ferrari’s that require such a hike to get into. Once settled into the red carbon fiber bucket seats, there is an instant familiarity with the bare interior, reminding me of the 430 Scuderia that I reviewed earlier. But of course, the F40 is the forefather of the carpet-less, exposed aluminium and bare carbon fibre arrangement that is so common in today’s lightweight super car market. This is the Godfather, the “GOAT” (modern slang for “Greatest Of All Time”), and it feels so special to be sitting in it absorbing all the history and aura that it so effortlessly exudes.
The foot pedals are off-centered to the right, which was surprising in the beginning as this usually only happens in right hand drive cars (since most European manufacturers produce left hand drive cars and right hand drive cars are often an afterthought hence the compromised positioning). However, a quick look at the footwell reminded me that the relatively wide front wheels take up a lot of space and therefore the pedals have to be slightly biased to the right. The clutch is quite heavy, and the biting point is a lot shorter than other road cars, reminding me once again that this is a street legal race car. In any event, setting off was manageable after slotting the familiar open gated five-speed manual gearbox into its dogleg first gear. It is not bad at all but I would not want to be stuck in traffic in it, but then you should never go to traffic-heavy places in an F40 anyway – it would be a sin.
In motion, the suspension is bumpy but reasonable, although I appreciate that we were on some very nice and smooth roads around the beautiful Hong Kong Disneyland. Like what a proper street legal race car should be, everything is heavy and hard, the gear changes require some muscles, the steering is heavy but also very direct and communicative when on the roll, and the brakes are decent but squeaks loudly once warmed up. But you forget all of that when you squeeze the throttle and hear that glorious V8 engine that doesn’t sound like any other Ferrari’s I have driven to date. Power delivery is not the ECU-managed linear feel that we get in modern turbocharged Ferrari’s, but rough, vocal, and confrontational. None of these characteristics came as a surprise to me, as that was what I had fully hoped for from this 1980’s street legal race car. The only surprise was that, despite the age of the car and the lack of sound deadening, there weren’t much rattles or road noise that I noticed.
Ferrari originally intended to make 400 units of the F40, but for once, they took a page from Porsche’s playbook and decided to satisfy demand instead of keeping their word. In the end, Ferrari produced 1,315 F40’s, making it the highest produced Big 5 Ferrari. However, that did not affect the car’s desirability or value at all. On the same day we reviewed this F40, one was sold in Mecum Auctions for a whopping US$2.5 million in the United States. And that hardly came as a surprise, as Ferrari will never ever make something as astonishing as the F40 again. These days, a “street legal race car” is merely a gimmick that is more imagination than reality given the constraints of stringent road safety regulations. A 430 Scuderia may have a similar bare-looking interior and a 488 GTB may have a similarly twin turbocharged V8 engine (which is actually more powerful with 169HP per litre over the F40’s 163HP per litre), but they will never hold a candle to the purity and outright insanity of the F40.
I am grateful for all owners who trust me with the keys to their cars, but I must admit, this time it is different. Never have I dared to imagine myself driving a Big 5 Ferrari one day, and thanks to the incredible generosity of one F40 owner, a drive beyond my wildest dreams came true. As always, I am also grateful for the team for making this possible.
Alex W. (http://www.taipanmedia.com)
Dave (Email: david@lemonadeandgiggles.com)
Alex C.: (IG: @nofishshark)
Adhiraj Rathore: (IG: @supercarsofhongkong)
Martin: (IG: @visualspassport)
See our review video here: