Ferrari F40 in its purest form is set for auction

Sponsored by RM Sotheby’s

What do you do when you’re left holding five Ferrari 280 GTO Evoluzione Group B development cars without a race series to compete in? If you’re Enzo Ferrari, you take the car and turn it into one of the world’s greatest hypercars – the F40.

In 1986, Ferrari was busy readying its new GTO for Group B racing when the FIA abruptly cancelled the series after a run of fatal crashes. Keen to re-establish his company’s pre-eminence in the world of high-performance cars and with the 40th anniversary of his first road-going sports car, the 125 Sport of 1947, approaching, Enzo Ferrari was persuaded to re-purpose the now redundant GTO as a road car, to be called the F40.

The brief was simple: the new car should be strong, light, very fast and Spartan in the extreme. The first two requirements were addressed with the use of Kevlar and carbon-fibre for the new car’s body and the third, by the installation of the 288’s V8 engine, bored to 2.9 litres and equipped with IHI turbochargers and Behr intercoolers. Even in this age of hybrid power, its performance continues to astonish: 471bhp and an extraordinary 425lb ft torque, outputs sufficient to launch the F40 from 0-62mph in 4.1 seconds and to a top speed of 201mph – a figure higher than the Porsche 959, the GTO’s potential Group B adversary, and the Lamborghini Countach.

Purist Ferrari owners had been complaining about what they saw as the company’s drift towards luxury cars rather than the overtly sporting models it had made its name with. The team behind the F40 answered that criticism with a specification virtually devoid of any creature comforts, save for the seats. Reflecting its Group B connections, the F40 was equipped like a race car: composite race seats, pull-strap door releases, drilled pedals and Perspex windows – not a piece of leather or a surplus control in sight.

Admittedly, later in the car’s production life, Ferrari caved in to the inevitable pressure from customers and legislators for more equipment but earlier production cars remained faithful to the original brief. One such is the car being offered for sale by RM Sotheby’s in its Tailored for Speed Collection auction, to be held in Zurich on 11 October. Being an early car – it was built in 1989 – it hasn’t the adjustable suspension and catalytic converters of later F40s. Without them it is that pure, analogue, performance-focused machine Enzo Ferrari himself envisioned; a fitting tribute to his earliest car, forged in the heat of motorsport.

Not surprisingly for such a coveted model, the Swiss-registered car, which is finished in classic Rosso Corsa with red cloth upholstery, has had only three previous owners. All have looked after it (it was serviced most recently by Ferrari dealer’s Niki Hasler AG) and in 2022 its engine, gearbox and body were certified by Ferrari Classiche as bearing the correct serial numbers. Naturally for a car with such a flawless provenance, its warranty booklet, owners’ manuals – still in the correct brown leather Schedoni pouch – and Ferrari toolkit are all present, as is Ferrari expert Marcel Massini’s report detailing the car’s history.

Estimated to sell for between £2m and £2.2m, the car is bound to attract huge interest, easily as much as the F40 did when new. Ferrari had planned to build 400 but demand was such that eventually 1315 left the Maranello factory. Of course, many entered private collections but a few were driven in anger, including by Derek Bell. Writing in Classic & Sports Car, the former Ferrari F1 driver said, ‘It’s just magnificent. This is a car to make your hair curl. The power delivery is sensational and I love the way the turbos come on with such a rush. Very quickly the situation changes from neutral understeer to amazing oversteer but it’s all superbly predictable.’ Clearly then, with the F40, Ferrari achieved its objective of building a race car fit for the road and Enzo Ferrari, a car fit to celebrate his company’s 40th anniversary.

The Tailored for Speed Collection contains some of the rarest and most sought-after supercars and hypercars, representing one of the most exciting collections to come to market in recent years.

Among the 42 lots are racing cars like the Ferrari 333 SP, cutting-edge hypercars including the Pagani Huayra Roadster BC, and limited-edition track-focused machines like the Ferrari FXX-K Evo.

The auction will be held at the Dolder Grand Hotel, Zurich, on Saturday 11 October. Click below for full details

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