Ferrari F40 Values - Past and Present
Discussion
cseven said:
I'm amazed people can still talk of anything other then a bubble. Regardless of what you think a car is worth if the values double every 6-12 months you are indeed in big bubble territory.....the question is how long it will go on for.
But isn't the F40 just next in line as an appreciating classic which will follow the likes of the 250 GTO, 288 GTO, etc... And these are unlikely to come down at all?pistolp said:
250 GTO about 40 made, 288 there were 272 and F40 there were 1300 odd.
It's the speed of the appreciation and the type of buyers buying at today's levels that would concern me. But it's just one view. Of course they could keep going!
Markets do remain irrational longer than people can ever imagine. Pity the guy who shorted the F40 index, if there was one.It's the speed of the appreciation and the type of buyers buying at today's levels that would concern me. But it's just one view. Of course they could keep going!
Personally I can't understand why the 288 is worth so much more than the F40
Any higher value based on rarity is IMO more than offset by the fact that the F40 is so iconic
I think you can put a fair bit of the price rise over recent years down to the fact that the people who grew up with F40 posters on the wall all now in their early 40s - the prime time to start buying classic cars. I certainly know 7 people in this group who have bought F40s in the last 6 months
Any higher value based on rarity is IMO more than offset by the fact that the F40 is so iconic
I think you can put a fair bit of the price rise over recent years down to the fact that the people who grew up with F40 posters on the wall all now in their early 40s - the prime time to start buying classic cars. I certainly know 7 people in this group who have bought F40s in the last 6 months
The original coke bottle is an iconic design but the countless millions produced mean that the value of a single original example will never be particularly high.
Supply and demand is what drives prices and supply is finite so it has a 'disproportionate' (not really, if you think about it) impact on that equation.
Yes the F40 may be 'more iconic' (sic) to a particular generation but those who wish to consider themselves part of the Ferrari collector-set will apreciate the scarcity of the 288 coupled with its undeniable good looks (albeit with slightly chintzy wheels IMO!) and on that basis alone, they should find a level much higher than any 'equivalent' F40 (esp. amongst those uber collectors who need to have the whole set: 288/F40/F50/Enzo etc) but it just goes to show how deeply embedded Ferrari culture is accross the world that a comparatively mass produced car like the F40 can attain such 'elevated' levels.
I've been thinking about Maranello's recently and see that they appear to have begun to 'take-off' in the UK. Many fantasise about the lineage that appears to flow from the 275 GTB and 365 GTB/4 but over here, they appear to be slow to shift at current prices. I believe that there were circa 3,700 made (in 550 & 575 iterations) which would appear to limit the scope for long term gains but then again, the Ferrari mystique appears to conjure-up its own market forces.
Another parallel is the Maranello/Testarossa situation. Wikipedia says that there were almost 10,000 Testarossa/512TR/F512Ms built but again it would be easy enough to argue that they are 'more iconic' than the Maranellos.. It will certainly be interesting to see where all of this ends up...
Supply and demand is what drives prices and supply is finite so it has a 'disproportionate' (not really, if you think about it) impact on that equation.
Yes the F40 may be 'more iconic' (sic) to a particular generation but those who wish to consider themselves part of the Ferrari collector-set will apreciate the scarcity of the 288 coupled with its undeniable good looks (albeit with slightly chintzy wheels IMO!) and on that basis alone, they should find a level much higher than any 'equivalent' F40 (esp. amongst those uber collectors who need to have the whole set: 288/F40/F50/Enzo etc) but it just goes to show how deeply embedded Ferrari culture is accross the world that a comparatively mass produced car like the F40 can attain such 'elevated' levels.
I've been thinking about Maranello's recently and see that they appear to have begun to 'take-off' in the UK. Many fantasise about the lineage that appears to flow from the 275 GTB and 365 GTB/4 but over here, they appear to be slow to shift at current prices. I believe that there were circa 3,700 made (in 550 & 575 iterations) which would appear to limit the scope for long term gains but then again, the Ferrari mystique appears to conjure-up its own market forces.
Another parallel is the Maranello/Testarossa situation. Wikipedia says that there were almost 10,000 Testarossa/512TR/F512Ms built but again it would be easy enough to argue that they are 'more iconic' than the Maranellos.. It will certainly be interesting to see where all of this ends up...
The conclusions may be different in 12 or 24 months. Tastes change with the times and relative value in the used market also changes. The first owner of my F40 received, from the factory, two F40's in exchange for a 275 GTB in 1990. The GTB is occasionally displayed in the museum at Maranello and is, I estimate, worth $3 to $4 million.
One of the F40's he sold immediately for ca. $2 million and the other one he kept and drove. On paper he would have been better off financially with the 275 and even better if he flipped both F40's immediately.
The point being that in 1990, at the height of the Supercar bubble, one 275 was worth two F40's. I can see that relationship holding up over time, which means that an F40 is worth $1.5 to 2 million.
One of the F40's he sold immediately for ca. $2 million and the other one he kept and drove. On paper he would have been better off financially with the 275 and even better if he flipped both F40's immediately.
The point being that in 1990, at the height of the Supercar bubble, one 275 was worth two F40's. I can see that relationship holding up over time, which means that an F40 is worth $1.5 to 2 million.
pistolp said:
It's the speed of the appreciation and the type of buyers buying at today's levels that would concern me. But it's just one view. Of course they could keep going!
Arable land prices have done the same thing last 5 to 10 years with same type of buyers moving in. They sat still for years and then suddenly jumped and kept on going! Like classic cars, no death duties on arable land and pretty much no capital gains.I bought an F40 last year and can honestly say I don't care one iota how much it's worth. More than some digital bits on a banks computer. If they go nuts in future well then I'm sure my 1 year old daughter will be happy when I drop dead, if the backside falls out the market, well thats a risk in any market I would likely have put the money in. The biggest danger is emissions legislation effectively banning them but life is too short to not buy the car you had on your bedroom wall as a kid!
fblm said:
I bought an F40 last year and can honestly say I don't care one iota how much it's worth. More than some digital bits on a banks computer. If they go nuts in future well then I'm sure my 1 year old daughter will be happy when I drop dead, if the backside falls out the market, well thats a risk in any market I would likely have put the money in. The biggest danger is emissions legislation effectively banning them but life is too short to not buy the car you had on your bedroom wall as a kid!
Let's hope your daughter gets to drive it one day 
Another pricing factor is when F40s (by age) become 25 years old they are open for import to the US which means less supply in Europe over time.
i think they probably do still have a bit to go up -15% maybe more and Im sure everyone is a cash buyer and its a market built on more sensibles this time around than 1992 but its also amazing how many people are profit taking... there are quite a few of them being traded in the last 12 months
fblm said:
I bought an F40 last year and can honestly say I don't care one iota how much it's worth. More than some digital bits on a banks computer. If they go nuts in future well then I'm sure my 1 year old daughter will be happy when I drop dead, if the backside falls out the market, well thats a risk in any market I would likely have put the money in. The biggest danger is emissions legislation effectively banning them but life is too short to not buy the car you had on your bedroom wall as a kid!
LongLiveTazio said:
fblm said:
I bought an F40 last year and can honestly say I don't care one iota how much it's worth. More than some digital bits on a banks computer. If they go nuts in future well then I'm sure my 1 year old daughter will be happy when I drop dead, if the backside falls out the market, well thats a risk in any market I would likely have put the money in. The biggest danger is emissions legislation effectively banning them but life is too short to not buy the car you had on your bedroom wall as a kid!
fblm said:
I bought an F40 last year and can honestly say I don't care one iota how much it's worth. More than some digital bits on a banks computer. If they go nuts in future well then I'm sure my 1 year old daughter will be happy when I drop dead, if the backside falls out the market, well thats a risk in any market I would likely have put the money in. The biggest danger is emissions legislation effectively banning them but life is too short to not buy the car you had on your bedroom wall as a kid!
^^^^ Exactly the same but had mine for nearly 10 years and my daughters want to drive it now. Gassing Station | Supercar General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff