For many it’s the definitive supercar. It was the first production car to crack 200 mph and the last that Enzo Ferrari himself signed off — and it turns 30 years old today.
Ferrari created the F40 as a 40th birthday present to itself. Developed in secrecy with the “288” GTO as a base, the Maranello brand unveiled the F40 on July 21, 1987 to great acclaim.
The F40 was race car technology for the road. Ferrari constructed the F40 around a tubular steel frame, with kevlar reinforcement. With few creature comforts and composite body panels, the car’s dry weight is just over a ton, at 2,470 lbs.
At the heart of the F40 sits a twin-turbocharged V8. Derived from the GTO’s engine, the 2.9-liter produced 471hp. Ferrari used magnesium extensively — in the intake manifolds, sump and cylinder head — to keep even the weight of the powerplant down.
Despite the complexity of the project, Ferrari developed the whole thing in under two years.
Enzo Ferrari died just a year after the F40 was unveiled, and the car was the last he signed off personally. By the time Ferrari finished production in 1992, it had made 1,311 of the roadgoing F40s.
As part of the brand’s 70th anniversary celebrations, you can currently find an F40 on display at the place of its unveiling: the Ferrari Museum in Maranello.
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