It’s difficult to imagine a world without the Ferrari F40. It’s a car that marked a moment in time for the Italian outfit, honouring their rich and varied history, while setting its sights firmly on the future of the brand. A car that was steeped in mystery during its development, for only a carefully selected group of Enzo Ferrari’s closest personnel knew about the car prior to its launch, meaning that when the F40 was released, even those working in Maranello at the time were left utterly stunned and delighted.
By now, we all know the legendary status this car holds. Its driving dynamics have been documented countless times, its design language has been picked apart by some of the industry’s greats, but the real question for us is just how many untouched examples, such as this example from Furlonger Cars, truly remain? A total of 1,315 Ferrari F40 models were made during its five year lifespan, with a mere 213 out of a planned 400 models heading to the United States, while the rest were spread across Europe and Asia. Nowadays, with the US receiving a limited number of cars upon its launch, the demand for European examples has drastically increased overseas, meaning over the years local cars have been increasingly difficult to come across. All of these factors only enhance this example, being a highly desirable ‘Non-Cat/Non-Adjust’ configured model that was delivered new to Charles Pozzi Ferrari in Paris during October of 1989, remaining in Europe its entire life.
Furlonger Cars have seen their fair share of F40s pass through their showrooms and maintenance centre, being one of the U.K’s leading specialists in caring for these highly-strung beasts for over 20 years now. A standout moment for the experienced workshop came in the form of a unique F40 which the team completely restored and sympathetically upgraded, presenting it in a stunning shade of Azzuro Hyperion with some period correct modifications fitted, completely transforming the look of this 1980s icon.
Looking back to the Rosso Corsa example above, having known the car since 2016, the talented team were more than happy to take a deep dive into the car’s originality when the current custodian requested, with all parties delighted to see just how untouched this iconic supercar really is. During its ‘number check’, the car retains all original body and clam numbers, even the original windscreen and glass numbers, as well as original Lexan engine screen number, original wheel numbers, and the stunning original Momo steering wheel. The car’s bodywork still shows much of its untouched factory weave, denoting that it has received very little paintwork throughout its life, something of a true rarity when you consider the age, thinness of paint used and just how fast the F40 is capable of!
The F40 is more than just a poster car. It wasn't just the most powerful, fastest, and most expensive of Ferrari’s production cars at the time, it stands for decades of passion, development and creativity leading to one of the most exciting driver’s cars to ever grace our roads. When we look back at the greats of the motoring world, the F40 stands tall and possesses one golden title that no other Ferrari can claim, being the very last car Enzo Ferrari personally signed off. Therefore, if you’re lucky enough to find yourself in the market for a true collector’s item, complete with all-important original tool kit, Classiche Certification red book and a well-documented history, this example ticks every single box, in Rosso Corsa, of course.
