CarBrandLogos archive · Ferrari · 1987

FerrariF40

Composite panels, twin turbos and no carpet — the last car Enzo Ferrari signed off.

Photo: Will ainsworth · CC BY-SA 3.0

The story

A defining chapter in Ferrari history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Ferrari F40, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

The F40 exists because of a car that never raced. The 288 GTO Evoluzione had been developed for Group B, and when that category collapsed Ferrari was left with a twin-turbocharged, composite-bodied programme and nowhere to put it. The company's fortieth anniversary was approaching, Enzo Ferrari was in his late eighties, and Porsche's 959 had just demonstrated what a technically ambitious rival could do. Ferrari's response was to go in the opposite direction from the 959's four-wheel drive and electronics.

Ferrari F40 · Pava · CC BY-SA 3.0 it

Design and engineering

What appeared in 1987 was as close to a racing car as could be registered. The bodywork was Kevlar, carbon fibre and glassfibre over a tubular steel frame, so thin in places that the weave shows through the paint. There was no carpet, no door trim to speak of, and no interior handles — you pulled a cable. Early cars had sliding plastic windows. Behind the driver sat a 2,936cc twin-turbocharged V8 driving the rear wheels through a five-speed manual, with no traction control, no anti-lock brakes and no power steering. Nicola Materazzi engineered it; Pietro Camardella styled it at Pininfarina under Aldo Brovarone, with the enormous rear wing an aerodynamic requirement rather than a flourish.

Ferrari F40 LM - Museo Ferrari · Rahil Rupawala · CC BY 2.0

In production

The result had a reputation for being difficult, and much of that reputation is deserved — the turbos deliver their boost abruptly, and there is nothing between the driver and the consequences. Driven with understanding, it is regarded by many who have done both as more rewarding than any Ferrari since.

Ferrari F40 · Alexandre Prévot from Nancy, France · CC BY-SA 2.0

Legacy

Enzo Ferrari presented it personally in July 1987 and died the following year; it was the last road car he approved. Demand ran so far ahead of the plan that production continued to 1996 and 1,311 cars were built including the LM, Competizione and GTE competition versions, several of which raced in international GT championships in the 1990s. The F50 followed, more technically advanced and far less loved. The F40 remains the benchmark for what a Ferrari flagship is supposed to feel like.

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

1987–1996

Units built

1,311

Designer

ill

Body

2-door berlinetta

Technical specification

The F40, in detail.

Production: 1987–1996; 1,311 produced (including LM, Competizione and GTE)
Class: Sports car (S)
Body style: 2-door berlinetta
Layout: Longitudinally-mounted, rear mid-engine, rear-wheel drive
Engine: 2936 cc twin-turbocharged Tipo F120A/F120D 90° V8
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Designer: ill; Pietro Camardella; it under the supervision of Aldo Brovarone at Pininfarina; Nicola Materazzi (Chief Engineer)
Assembly: Italy: Maranello
Manufacturer: Ferrari S.p.A.