FERRARI F40
FERRARI F40 Cat Non Adjust 1991
Ferrari F40, 1991, Cat, Non Adjust, 8,200 miles, one owner from new, Rosso Corsa with red cloth seats, manual wind up windows, Ferrari Classiche Certificate. Exceptional car in exceptional condition. All documents and manuals with Ferrari service history. tools, EU tax paid.
As early as 1984, the Maranello factory had begun development of an evolution model of the 288 GTO intended to compete against the Porsche 959 in FIA Group B. However, when the FIA brought an end to the Group B category for the 1986 season, Enzo Ferrari was left with five 288GTO Evos development cars, and no series in which to campaign them. Enzo’s desire to leave a legacy in his final supercar allowed the Evoluzione program to be further developed to produce a car exclusively for road use. In response to the quite simple, but very expensive car with relatively little out of the ordinary being called a “cynical money-making exercise” aimed at speculators, a figure from the Ferrari marketing department was quoted as saying “We wanted it to be very fast, sporting in the extreme and Spartan,” “Customers had been saying our cars were becoming too plush and comfortable.” “The Ferrari F40 is for the most enthusiastic of our owners who want nothing but sheer performance. It isn’t a laboratory for the future, as the 959 is. It is not Star Wars. And it wasn’t created because Porsche built the 959. It would have happened anyway.”
The Ferrari F40 body was designed by Leonardo Fioravantiand Pietro Carmadellaof studio Pininfarina, under the guidance of Nicola Materazzi, the engineer who designed engine, gearbox and other mechanical parts of the car and had previously designed the bodywork of the 288 GTO Evoluzione, from which the F40 takes many stylistic features.
Drivetrain and suspension
Power came from an enlarged, 2.9L (2936 cc) version of the GTO’s IHI Twin turbos developing a 478 bhp, according to Ferrari. Most experts today agree the number was well over 500 bhp. The Ferrari F40 did without a cat until 1990 when US regulations made them a requirement for emissions control reasons. The flanking exhausts guide exhaust gases from each bank of cylinders while the central pipe guides gases released from the wastegate of the turbos. Engines with catalytic converters bear F120D code.
The suspension setup was similar to the GTO’s double wishbone setup, though many parts were upgraded and settings were changed; the unusually low ground clearance prompted Ferrari to include the ability to raise the vehicle’s ground clearance when necessary.
Body and interior
The body was an entirely new design by Pininfarina featuring panels made of Kevlar, carbon fibre, and aluminium for strength and low weight, and intense aerodynamic testing was employed. Weight was further minimized through the use of a plastic windshield and windows. The cars did have air conditioning, but had no sound system, door handles, glove box, leather trim, carpets, or door panels. The first 50 cars produced had sliding Lexan windows, while later cars were fitted with wind down windows.
Aerodynamics
The Ferrari F40 was designed with aerodynamics in mind. For speed the car relied more on its shape than its power. Frontal area was reduced, and airflow greatly smoothed, but stability rather than terminal velocity was a primary concern. So too was cooling as the forced induction engine generated a great deal of heat. In consequence, the car was somewhat like an open-wheel racing car with a body. It had a partial undertray to smooth airflow beneath the radiator, front section, and the cabin, and a second one with diffusers behind the motor, but the engine bay was not sealed. Nonetheless, the Ferrari F40 had an impressively low drag coefficient of 0.34 with lift controlled by its spoilers and wing.
This is an opportunity to buy a simple mechanical iconic supercar in the right specification – don’t miss it.
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