Built to celebrate Ferrari’s 40th anniversary, the F40 was a Berlinetta designed by Pininfarina. It featured sophisticated high performance with turbo-charged running gear combined with a first-class chassis, giving it the tremendous dynamic prowess that made it feel like a racing car.
The F40 nameplate was derived from F for Ferrari and 40, which represented the 40th anniversary of the marque’s car production. The F40 was also the last new car reveal attended by Enzo Ferrari before his death in August 1988.
The F40 had a radical machine philosophy cultivated by its predecessor, the GTO, and it was greeted with enthusiasm. When the F40 was announced to the public in the middle of 1987, the Pininfarina-designed body surprised everyone. Its raw appearance resembled that of a racing model, but it was street-legal and could be driven around town.
The F40 retained only trace elements of its predecessor’s styling that could be seen primarily around the cabin profile. Otherwise, the F40’s body styling was all new, along with many of its construction materials. The low and mean wide front end flowed with an array of cooling slots and intake ducts that could also be found behind the high-mounted wing, that spanned the width of the rear end. The F40’s wing became known as one of the ultimate ’80s power statements.
Despite Ferrari refusing to say how many of its mighty supercars would be built, the public flocked to it. Production continued through 1992, and 1,311 examples were produced in the chassis number range 76624-95317. For some context, that is nearly five times as many vehicles produced as its predecessor, the GTO. Racing versions were developed with suffixes LM and GT-E, which enjoyed success during the 1990s in European GT racing.
Lot #1405.1, a 1989 Ferrari F40 offered with No Reserve at the 2023 Scottsdale Auction, was produced at the height of the supercar boom in 1989. It was an early-production F40 delivered new to the official Ferrari dealer in Holland, Kroymans Automotive B.V. It has a racing history with David Hart and Michel Oprey in the Ferrari/Porsche Challenge series.
This example is finished in Nardo Gray and retains its matching-numbers mid-mounted engine and gearbox. Based on the setup, its 90-degree V8 is fitted longitudinally and has been tuned to produce between 700 and 1,000 horsepower.
The F40 offered was initially constructed as an early non-cat, non-adjust F40; this Ferrari, Chassis No. 80782, was delivered new to Kroymans following completion at the factory in November 1989. According to the consignor, the car remained in the Netherlands until 1992, when it was rebuilt for racing by Peter van Erp of Cavallino Tuning, the racing arm of Kroymans. While becoming a race-ready vehicle, it was repainted yellow.
After it was complete, the F40 was sold to Dutch Racing Promotions of Blaricum, Netherlands, for use by H. W. te Pas. Te Pas raced it alongside Duncan Huisman and David Hart during the 1993 and 1994 seasons.
In the mid-1990s, the car underwent engine upgrade work in collaboration with the racing shop Michelotto, which increased the output to over 700 horsepower. The vehicle later participated in the Ferrari/Porsche Challenge and was driven by David Hart and Mike Hezemans. In 1997, the car was sold to Michel Oprey, a known Ferrari collector, who commissioned further mechanical work on the vehicle throughout the winter of 1997-98. It raced again with H. W. te Pas, David Hart and Bert Ploeg in the same series in 1998.
The car was serviced by Elias Elia of Autofficina in Epsom, Surrey, in the U.K., with a previous owner in 2019. This service included testing the suspension and fitting new fuel tanks and fire extinguisher. Upon its acquisition by the current owner, the F40 was shipped to the Zanasi Group of Maranello, Italy, where it received a cosmetic restoration to its current livery.
Paying homage to Ferrari’s 40th anniversary and with the sophistication of Enzo himself, the F40 is a celebration on and off the track. Register to bid today to showcase this masterpiece in your collection.
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