Ferrari F40 1989, Itália
Fotografia
1989 Ferrari
F40
Chassis no. ZFFGJ34B000080022
Engine no. 16148
Chassis no. ZFFGJ34B000080022
Engine no. 16148
The Ferrari
F40 offered here was delivered new to Nigel Mansell in 1989. One of Britain's
best-loved Formula 1 heroes, Nigel Mansell excelled in a career that spanned 15
seasons and is ranked among the greatest racing drivers of all time. Mansell
had signed for the Italian manufacturer's Formula 1 team at the end of the 1988
season, leaving Williams, so the F40 represented the ultimate 'welcome gift'.
In a dream debut, he won for Ferrari in the season-opening Brazilian Grand Prix
of 1989. Nicknamed 'Il Leone' by the adoring tifosi, Mansell would go on to
score two more wins for Maranello before returning to Williams at the end of
1990. In 1992 he won the Formula 1 World Championship and followed that up by
winning the CART Indy Car World Series in 1993, becoming the first and only
driver to hold both titles simultaneously. With 31 wins, Mansell is Britain's
most successful Formula 1 driver and ranks 3rd in fastest laps, 4th in wins and
5th in pole-position starts.
Introduced in 1988 to celebrate Enzo Ferrari's 40 years as a motor manufacturer, the F40 was the ultimate supercar and is historically significant as the last model conceived and introduced before Il Commendatore's death. A mid-engined, two-seater berlinetta, the F40 was a development of the limited-production 288GTO, and like the latter - but unlike the preceding 308 series - mounted its power unit longitudinally rather than transversely. A four-cam 3-litre V8 with four valves per cylinder, the F40 engine employed twin IHI turbochargers to liberate 478bhp (approximately 352kW) at 7,000rpm. For the seriously speed-addicted, this could be boosted by 200bhp by means of a factory tuning kit.
Autocar found the experience of driving the F40 somewhat overwhelming: 'The take-up into the next gear is flawless and, with the turbos cranking hard, the blast of acceleration just goes on again and you seem to be in a blur of time conquering distance, gearshifts and noise. It has the tonal quality of an F1 engine, if not the sheer ferocity. From outside, if you stand and listen, you hear the frantic whoosh as the turbos start to drive oh-so-hard.'
Of equal, if not greater, technical interest than this stupendous engine was the method of body/chassis construction, the F40 drawing on Ferrari's Formula 1 experience in its use of composite technology. A one-piece plastic moulding, the body was bonded to the tubular steel chassis to create a lightweight structure of immense rigidity. The doors, bonnet, boot lid and other removable panels were carbon fibre. Pugnaciously styled by Pininfarina, the F40 incorporated the latest aerodynamic aids in the form of a dam-shaped nose and high rear aerofoil. Despite the need to generate considerable downforce - and with a top speed of 201mph, higher than the take-off speed of many light aircraft, the F40 needed all the downforce it could get - the result was a commendably low drag coefficient of just 0.34. The F40's interior re-enforced its image as a thinly disguised race-car, with body-contoured seats, an absence of carpeting and trim, and sliding Plexiglas windows. When it came to actual competition, race-prepared F40s more than held their own and in the Global GT series proved quicker on many circuits than McLaren's F1 GTR.
Autocar concluded its test thus: 'on a smooth road it is a scintillatingly fast car that is docile and charming in its nature; a car that is demanding but not difficult to drive, blessed as it is with massive grip and, even more importantly, superb balance and manners. You can use its performance - the closest any production carmaker has yet come to race car levels - and revel in it. ...there's little doubt it is the very personification of the term sports car.' Even today the F40 has the power to impress. Reacquainting himself with the F40, F50 and Enzo Ferraris for Octane magazine (July 2014 edition) racing driver Mark Hales declared: 'The F40 is for me, the special one. Not just because I have spent so much time in them, but because it was such an explosive, other-worldly creation when it first appeared, and it still retains much of that character.' Enough said.
Left-hand drive chassis number '80022' was delivered to Nigel Mansell on 30th March 1989 and registered on Isle of Man plates as 'MAN 40N', Mansell being resident there at the time. Documentation relating to his ownership consists of a copy of the IoM registration book; a copy of the Calais-Dover hovercraft shipping receipt; and the warranty card in the name of Nigel Mansell dated 23/03/1989. Later that year Mansell sold the Ferrari, which passed, following a legal battle, to David McKee, who almost immediately sold it on to John Collins of Talacrest Ltd (receipt on file). The car also comes with a 1990 road test report by Maranello Concessionaires; correspondence between Messrs Collins and McKee; and a copy of the judgement in the aforementioned trial.
During the 1990s the car passed through the hands of a select group of anonymous collectors before re-emerging in 2003 in the ownership of a M Hamon in France (copy of invoice on file). In 2005 the F40 was sold to the Ferrari specialist dealer Dominique Verbaere of Seclin, Northern France. The car was registered '301 BXT 59' and, as one would expect, was fastidiously maintained and mechanically updated. There are numerous invoices on file for work carried out by Verbaere Automobiles between 2005 and 2012, including one for replacing the clutch in 2007 (at 32,419 kilometres) and another for a major service in January 2012 when the cam belts and water pump were replaced (at 35,800 kilometres). Prior to Dominique Verbeare's ownership the fuel tanks had been replaced (in 2003, invoice available). Verbaere kept the car until February 2012 when it passed to the current owner, who has driven it only 400 kilometres since acquisition. The current odometer reading - believed genuine - is only 36,435 kilometres (approximately 22,600 miles).
Accompanying Ferrari Classische certification (issued in 2008) confirms that the car retains its original colour (Rosso Corsa), chassis and body (both never repaired), engine, gearbox, wheels, Koni suspension and Brembo brakes. The only significant change in specification concerns the interior, originally trimmed in red cloth, which has been re-upholstered in beige leather. Additional documentation consists of cancelled French registration papers (2005) and the car also comes with its original tool kit. Described as in generally excellent condition and 'on the button', this beautiful F40 represents a wonderful opportunity to own an historic Ferrari, highly desirable in its own right, made all the more so by its association with one of Formula 1's most charismatic World Champions.
Introduced in 1988 to celebrate Enzo Ferrari's 40 years as a motor manufacturer, the F40 was the ultimate supercar and is historically significant as the last model conceived and introduced before Il Commendatore's death. A mid-engined, two-seater berlinetta, the F40 was a development of the limited-production 288GTO, and like the latter - but unlike the preceding 308 series - mounted its power unit longitudinally rather than transversely. A four-cam 3-litre V8 with four valves per cylinder, the F40 engine employed twin IHI turbochargers to liberate 478bhp (approximately 352kW) at 7,000rpm. For the seriously speed-addicted, this could be boosted by 200bhp by means of a factory tuning kit.
Autocar found the experience of driving the F40 somewhat overwhelming: 'The take-up into the next gear is flawless and, with the turbos cranking hard, the blast of acceleration just goes on again and you seem to be in a blur of time conquering distance, gearshifts and noise. It has the tonal quality of an F1 engine, if not the sheer ferocity. From outside, if you stand and listen, you hear the frantic whoosh as the turbos start to drive oh-so-hard.'
Of equal, if not greater, technical interest than this stupendous engine was the method of body/chassis construction, the F40 drawing on Ferrari's Formula 1 experience in its use of composite technology. A one-piece plastic moulding, the body was bonded to the tubular steel chassis to create a lightweight structure of immense rigidity. The doors, bonnet, boot lid and other removable panels were carbon fibre. Pugnaciously styled by Pininfarina, the F40 incorporated the latest aerodynamic aids in the form of a dam-shaped nose and high rear aerofoil. Despite the need to generate considerable downforce - and with a top speed of 201mph, higher than the take-off speed of many light aircraft, the F40 needed all the downforce it could get - the result was a commendably low drag coefficient of just 0.34. The F40's interior re-enforced its image as a thinly disguised race-car, with body-contoured seats, an absence of carpeting and trim, and sliding Plexiglas windows. When it came to actual competition, race-prepared F40s more than held their own and in the Global GT series proved quicker on many circuits than McLaren's F1 GTR.
Autocar concluded its test thus: 'on a smooth road it is a scintillatingly fast car that is docile and charming in its nature; a car that is demanding but not difficult to drive, blessed as it is with massive grip and, even more importantly, superb balance and manners. You can use its performance - the closest any production carmaker has yet come to race car levels - and revel in it. ...there's little doubt it is the very personification of the term sports car.' Even today the F40 has the power to impress. Reacquainting himself with the F40, F50 and Enzo Ferraris for Octane magazine (July 2014 edition) racing driver Mark Hales declared: 'The F40 is for me, the special one. Not just because I have spent so much time in them, but because it was such an explosive, other-worldly creation when it first appeared, and it still retains much of that character.' Enough said.
Left-hand drive chassis number '80022' was delivered to Nigel Mansell on 30th March 1989 and registered on Isle of Man plates as 'MAN 40N', Mansell being resident there at the time. Documentation relating to his ownership consists of a copy of the IoM registration book; a copy of the Calais-Dover hovercraft shipping receipt; and the warranty card in the name of Nigel Mansell dated 23/03/1989. Later that year Mansell sold the Ferrari, which passed, following a legal battle, to David McKee, who almost immediately sold it on to John Collins of Talacrest Ltd (receipt on file). The car also comes with a 1990 road test report by Maranello Concessionaires; correspondence between Messrs Collins and McKee; and a copy of the judgement in the aforementioned trial.
During the 1990s the car passed through the hands of a select group of anonymous collectors before re-emerging in 2003 in the ownership of a M Hamon in France (copy of invoice on file). In 2005 the F40 was sold to the Ferrari specialist dealer Dominique Verbaere of Seclin, Northern France. The car was registered '301 BXT 59' and, as one would expect, was fastidiously maintained and mechanically updated. There are numerous invoices on file for work carried out by Verbaere Automobiles between 2005 and 2012, including one for replacing the clutch in 2007 (at 32,419 kilometres) and another for a major service in January 2012 when the cam belts and water pump were replaced (at 35,800 kilometres). Prior to Dominique Verbeare's ownership the fuel tanks had been replaced (in 2003, invoice available). Verbaere kept the car until February 2012 when it passed to the current owner, who has driven it only 400 kilometres since acquisition. The current odometer reading - believed genuine - is only 36,435 kilometres (approximately 22,600 miles).
Accompanying Ferrari Classische certification (issued in 2008) confirms that the car retains its original colour (Rosso Corsa), chassis and body (both never repaired), engine, gearbox, wheels, Koni suspension and Brembo brakes. The only significant change in specification concerns the interior, originally trimmed in red cloth, which has been re-upholstered in beige leather. Additional documentation consists of cancelled French registration papers (2005) and the car also comes with its original tool kit. Described as in generally excellent condition and 'on the button', this beautiful F40 represents a wonderful opportunity to own an historic Ferrari, highly desirable in its own right, made all the more so by its association with one of Formula 1's most charismatic World Champions.
