The Ferrari F40: The Fantastic Legacy

By: Craig McPherson

A 1990 Ferrari F40 in Ferrari’s signature shade of red; Rosso Corsa (Credit: For Sale: Ferrari F40 (1990) - Classic Trader).

Italy is one of the most prominent nations in the automobile industry. It is home to many beloved brands, Ferrari being one of them. Ferrari has crafted plenty of unique, beloved sports cars. Each one is fairly significant in its own right, but in terms of importance, one particular model arguably trumps them all. This particular model is none other than the F40. This is the story of the Ferrari F40, not just how it was conceived and evolved over time, but just what it did to influence the world of sports cars. 

The development of the F40 began as early as 1984. Ferrari wanted to develop a new GT, or Grand Touring, style car to compete in Group B. Group B was a series of rallying and racing challenges in Europe. To achieve this, Chief Engineer Nicola Materazzi suggested using the engine from the 288 GTO as a basis for the engine of a new model. Materazzi was allowed to make this design choice if he only worked on it during weekends. The result of these initial efforts would be the Ferrari 288 GTO Evoluzione, a direct successor to the original 288 GTO, in 1986. However, Group B had also ended by this time. 

  Enzo Ferrari, founder and leader of Ferrari, was unsure of what to do with these new cars without a series for them to compete in. That is, until he agreed to allow Materazzi to keep the original design of the Evoluzione, but modify it to become street legal. The result of this new endeavor would be the original Ferrari F40 in 1987, the same year that the company would see its 40th anniversary. It had a unique, Tipo F120A engine, a 2.9 litre twin-turbo V8. This 478 horsepower engine enabled the F40 to reach speeds of 201 miles per hour. It was for this reason that the F40 not only rivaled cars like the Lamborghini Countach or Porsche 959, but it was also the fastest street legal car of its time. 

Unfortunately though, this was the last production of a new Ferrari overseen by Enzo, as he would pass away in 1988. However, this last project would be a great way to end his legacy. There would also be a few special racing editions of the F40 that were built later on, including the LM, Competizione, and GTE. 

However, the lifespan of the F40 would last for less than a decade, when production ended in 1996 with just slightly over 1,300 units manufactured. Despite this, the pure ambition and innovation that went into the Ferrari F40 more than earned its legendary status in the world of automobiles and racing. As Formula 1 designer for McLaren Gordon Murray said; “The best supercar ever made, and may ever be.”