RE: Ferrari F40: Showpiece of the Week

[smig12345]

One of my favourite all time cars too, I've always loved the looks of them. As a car mad lad growing up in the 80s and 90s the F40, XJ220 and F1 are my personal dream cars.

[Don Roque]

jakesmith said:

Proper car and unusual for a car to get such universal praise on here (apart from the very well informed chap above who would apparently rather have a MR2 replica)

Don't worry, he's an idiot and not even really into cars.

[anonymous-user]

alfabadass said:

I would take an 80s Porsche 911 instead in hindsight.

As brilliant as the 911 is/was it's not even in the same league.

[anonymous-user]

I love these, always have since I was a kid. Although i think i love the 288GTO Evoluzione even more just for its extra mental-ness

[rat840771]

A few years back we finished playing golf at Brockett hall and went to the pub just outside. There was a Ferrari meet there so my mate pulled in his Citroen and gave it a rev and parked up next to all at least 3 F40’s

[clonmult]

Thornaby said:

I love these, always have since I was a kid. Although i think i love the 288GTO Evoluzione even more just for its extra mental-ness

Remember seeing a 288GTO Evoluzione at Silverstone years back. It really was way more mental than anything else I had seen. Saw an F40 the same day too, loved the fact that you could see the carbon fiber weave through the paint.

I'd be torn between an F40 and a McLaren F1 as my main drive.

[Jonny TVR]

This and the Muira are my dream cars

Only seen one out on the streets and that was back when it was new ... Golders Green parked up with regular cars by the side of the road

Edited by Jonny TVR on Tuesday 4th December 16:50

[Jasandjules]

The Brummie said:

Jasandjules said:

I would love to know how it drives.

They go quite fast........

Well yes but a touch slower to 60 than my TVR... That is why I wanted to know...... IT will certainly keep on going long after my TVR has run out of puff...And whether the handling is sublime etc or a handful.

[anonymous-user]

PH said:

"Understandably given what the cars are worth, owners are mollycoddling F40s, feverishly protecting mileages going up to protect values. "

Couple of PH'ers F40's being mollycoddled...

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp-XrZGDjO0/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOSJrmzXW9E

[Motorrad]

Turbobanana said:

To all of the following, I stick two fingers up:

- Those who mock the "only around 500BHP from a twin-turbo, 3.0 V8"
- Those who claim the overhangs are too long
- Those who say "for £885,000 you could have a (insert modern supercar here)"
- Anyone pointing out that it was the fastest car in the world for only a short time
- The "(insert modern fast estate here) can do 0-60 faster" brigade

I don't care. That right there is possibly the most desirable car in the world at the moment. IMHO, of course...

I bought an RS2 from a broker who told me his biggest disappointment in his driving history was the F40. I thought it interesting and he told me it was poorly build and engineered and didn't deliver enough driver satisfaction in relation to it's fk up potential.

I reckon his opinion has coloured mine since but I'd still love one naturally. An icon is an icon.

[The Wookie]

Motorrad said:

I bought an RS2 from a broker who told me his biggest disappointment in his driving history was the F40. I thought it interesting and he told me it was poorly build and engineered and didn't deliver enough driver satisfaction in relation to it's fk up potential.

I reckon his opinion has coloured mine since but I'd still love one naturally. An icon is an icon.

Must have been a bad one. The one I’ve driven surpassed my expectations, it’s like driving an Elise with a 1970’s Le Mans car engine.

Ok cosmetically they’re built like crap but who cares, they’re actually robust underneath it.

[HardtopManual]

J4CKO said:

I dont like some of the image and stuff that goes with them, The F40 just seems so pure and shorn of the cheesiness

+1

I'm not sure when this sort of thing crept in. At some point, Ferrari became a massive tat business with a small racing/manufacturing arm attached. Late 2000s?

[PAUL500]

clonmult said:

Thornaby said:

I love these, always have since I was a kid. Although i think i love the 288GTO Evoluzione even more just for its extra mental-ness

Remember seeing a 288GTO Evoluzione at Silverstone years back. It really was way more mental than anything else I had seen. Saw an F40 the same day too, loved the fact that you could see the carbon fiber weave through the paint.

I'd be torn between an F40 and a McLaren F1 as my main drive.

Its actually fibreglass weave, and the product of sinkage due to the basic manufacturing process at the time, its now become folklore though that its due to the weightsaving of the paint!

Restorers are now even replicating the look as people think its way of confirming cars originality.

If you ever get the chance to pick up an F40 body component you would see how resin laden and heavy they really are.

Edited to say I still love them though, especially in LM spec :-)

Edited by PAUL500 on Wednesday 5th December 09:42

[F1GTRUeno]

Any excuse to post the best video Chris Harris ever made.

F40 and F50 at Anglesey, getting driven properly.

https://youtu.be/3MDTcXGsjuo

I grew up in the 90's so I always appreciate the F50 more but the F40 is always something special when you see people's reaction to the turbos spooling up and coming in.

[Scrimper]

Jasandjules said:

I would love to know how it drives.

Many accounts of driving F40’s have been written and the Chris Harris video is great although I think the F50 may have had old tyres or been badly set up. Every time I drive mine it brings about a schoolboy like nervousness that no other car does. Round a track it is now way surpassed In terms of absolute speed but with no driver aides you have absolute involvement. It feels very light and is surprisingly forgiving if you drive it with respect. Foot down, with boost coming on, it’s not just the speed but the NOISE that passengers remember. Great car, any owners not driving them don’t know what they’re missing out on.

[anonymous-user]

Scrimper said:

...Round a track it is now way surpassed In terms of absolute speed...

True but if you compare it's Fiorano time of 1.29 with say the 599gto or 458 speciale time of 1.24 its not hard to imagine it equaling them on the same modern r rubber which is prettty remarkable. Obviously the pista etc down around 1.215 are now out of reach and far easier for mortal drivers to actually drive, as you say... wheres the fun in that though?

[HPO]

I was the 2nd UK owner of this car.
Loved it - took it to Le Mans etc.

[Europa1]

rat840771 said:

A few years back we finished playing golf at Brockett hall and went to the pub just outside. There was a Ferrari meet there so my mate pulled in his Citroen and gave it a rev and parked up next to all at least 3 F40’s

Had they just been dug up?

[The Wookie]

Cloudy147 said:

Mega cars! I very nearly drove one a few years ago. Well, I did - for about 30 feet. The owner was due to attend an event I was organising, but last minute he couldn't attend. There then followed a bizarre conversation of 'bad news - good news' - the latter being he'd just insured me on it, keys left under a plant pot and I can collect in the morning.

Petrol heads dream right?

Not quite. I can't describe how intimidating it is to drive someone elses £1m pride and joy which you can barely fit into (seriously, seriously uncomfortable if you are very tall with big feet!), having had zero experience of Left-hand-drive at that time (think: road placement), at 6.30am. In fact, the only experience I had of this car was second hand from a friend who'd driven one - he said "You can't drive it in first gear for about 20 minutes. So second gear only - but be careful because if the turbos spool up you'll be into a hedge".

I bottled it after nearly kerbing it just driving down the driveway - it went back in the garage. But if I'd have made it onto the road, I would have felt like the coolest, most impressive car-guy on the planet for that journey!

Fool. Fool!!

Edited by Cloudy147 on Monday 3rd December 21:00

If it makes you feel any better, I’ll happily jump in a £300k, 600bhp prototype racing car I’ve never sat in before and wring it’s neck around a track, but still st myself every time I drive an F40 down a local road at 25mph.

They have a spectacular ability to intimidate, but they are magic once you’re over it.

Also I’m 6’5” with size 13’s, if I don’t have race boots with me then I have to drive it barefoot to even get it out of the garage!

[C.MW]

No I'm not interested in Ferraris, but this F40 looks well cared for and importantly actually driven and it's all the better for it. Whilist I wouldn't spend that kind of money on any car I totally appreciate a gearhead snapping this particular example with desire of actually driving it like he stole it on his favourite back road.

Edited by C.MW on Thursday 6th December 04:45