The 'picture car' didn't have a serial number to be seen anywhere when shown to journalists in the auditorium there. Any idea what happened to that press introduction F40 Le Mans or was it used to build something else? CH
was that car & the one first shown opened to press (originally without mirrors) the same car? http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showpost.php?p=141696582&postcount=120 was is possibly a pre-protoype/production car, so no VIN & then crash-tested / crushed at some point maybe?
The other F40 *73015* without mirrors at Fiorano, which is not the picture car. They were two different complete F40 models. The paint used for the earliest F40 models had an orange tint to the color when viewed outdoors in sunlight. CH Image Unavailable, Please Login
yes, it has the extra painted piece below the headlights, i recogize, but i wondered if it was the same car? i'm not as well versed as some on these prototypes, so just trying to sort it in my mind i noticed from your earlier post 74049 also had mirrors missing at one point, but then had them later http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showpost.php?p=139683446&postcount=73 edit: answered my own question so no one knows for sure what ever happened to 73015 (the one with stensiled BEHR on ICs and welded intake)??
Yes, I agree with that. I thing there was one inside and one outside for action shooting. According to a spanish magazine published shortly after the show, there were selected clients attending that day, who had already bought the car. Here some pictures of both cars (and the invited 288 GTO) from CAR magazine September 1987. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
It's very interesting to see that 73015 had also different engine parts conformations, like exhaust, high engine parts, wastegate, different intercoolers... it seems to see a GTO Evo engine fitted in a F40. And it could be so close. Rumors said that some different engine specs were also tested before the definitive production.
Beautiful photo. Does anybody know where #79883 is today. I thought it was under Ferrari's ownership.
The Agnelli Speciale F40? The "Agnelli Speciale" F40 Valeo: One-On-One Collector's Ferrari - Rami George Holland I could be mistaken, but as of recently I thought it was privately-owned. Image Unavailable, Please Login
F40 - ALBUM -2- 1987 FERRARI F40 PROTOTIPO No.74049 https://www.facebook.com/Ferrari.Detailer.Studio/photos/pb.1488489071380005.-2207520000.1414611395./1576509529244625/?type=3&theater Image Unavailable, Please Login
F40 - ALBUM -1- 1987 FERRARI F40 PROTOTIPO No.74047 2/10 - Dalí vyjímečný pohled na tuto Rudou střelu...... Photo Credit: © Ferrari S.p.A. Image Unavailable, Please Login
MY FAVORITE FERRARI I’VE DRIVEN a goodly number of Ferraris in my life. Several of the memorable ones were classics by the time I got behind the wheel. The 212 Export Touring Barchetta was one of these a 250 GT Berlinetta SWB was another. Among those I drove as brand new cars were the Testarossa, the Enzo, the 612 Scaglietti—and the F40. Of them all, my favorite is the F40. There are a bunch of reasons for this, some aesthetic, some technical, some related to Ferrari heritage and, last, some purely personal. My favorite Ferrari: the F40. Aesthetics: The F40 is drop-dead gorgeously elegant. From any angle. Its front end is low, aggressive and purposeful. Its front three-quarter view shows the hood’s NACA ducts, a smooth transition to the cabin and its rear-flank intakes. A straight side view emphasizes compactness of the car’s 171.6-in overall length on a 96.5-in. wheelbase. The F40’s planar surfaces and proportions are pure elegance. And the F40’s rear wing is utter perfection in its height, shape and integration into the rest of the Pininfarina bodywork. Technicalities: The F40 has an optimized specification of materials in its chassis and bodywork, tubular steel, carbon fiber, Kevlar and aluminum. Suspension is typical Italian exotic, double A-arms with coil-over shocks and anti-roll bars, front and rear. Its mid-mounted longitudinal 2936-cc V-8, visible through a transparent rear hatch, features double overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder. The transparent rear hatch gives a view of the F40’s powerplant. Twin IHI turbochargers contribute 16 psi of boost; output is 471 hp at 7100 rpm. The interior is honest and stark, devoid of leather trimming, carpeting and sound deadening. If a surface looks like carbon fiber, it is—and it’s part of the structure, not F40 interior is honest—and traditional. Heritage: The F40 appeared in 1987 and celebrated the 40th anniversary of Ferrari’s post-World War II emergence as a manufacturer of automobiles. What’s more, it would be the last car introduced under Enzo Ferrari’s watch; he died in August, 1988, at the age of 90. My personal F40 encounters were memorable: I was one of the journalists at Maranello The F40’s shape was handsome, even before its unveiling that summer in 1987. After the usual multilingual speeches of welcome and prologue, the red cover was removed. Off-mike, but still audible, Ferrari himself could be hear saying, “che bella macchina.” I certainly agreed. The F40 had plenty of admirers at its 1987 introduction. Journalists didn’t get to drive the F40 then. But we were allowed to swarm around the car and, later, follow it over to Ferrari’s Fiorano test track around the corner from the factory. Name this Ferrari. At Fiorano, the F40 made wonderful noises in several hot laps. No show-off burnouts, just quick off-the-line performance. My first F40 drive came about a year later in 1988, also at Fiorano. I was impressed by the car’s combination of sophistication and raw edge. Ferraris of that pre-paddle era were shifted through a massive gate on the center console; some of these were better than others, and I recall the F40’s as being definitive in its actuation of the gearbox’s five speeds. The F40 enters Fiorano’s 1.9 miles of twisty test circuit. A full road test of the car came in Road & Track, October 1991, in which I did the driving. Because of the F40’s tremendous performance, a special test site was chosen: Orange County California’s Mile Square Park. It’s no longer evident in Google Maps, but Mile Square Park originated in 1942 as the Mile Square Naval Outer Landing Field. It contained an equilateral triangle of concrete, 2200 ft. on a side, used for carrier deck practice and qualification of naval aviators. Back in the 1990s, these wide expanses still existed (much to the delight of local radio-control aircraft enthusiasts). A Park Ranger oversaw our testing and, like us, he was much impressed by the F40’s performance. The car leapt to 60 mph from a standstill in 3.8 seconds and posted quarter-mile results of 11.8 sec. at 124.5 mph. Braking from 60 mph required only 119 ft. It circled a 200-ft.-diameter skidpad at 0.94g. And, just for fun, I took the Park Ranger for some thrill runs up and down the Mile Square expanse. Whenever I drive past Mile Square Park, today full of joggers and families, I recall why the F40 is my favorite of all Ferraris. © Dennis Simanaitis Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Joe it is great to see new images of the early F40 prototypes (both cars are pictured) and the story Dennis provides as background material. Thank you!
All these prototypes are very intriguing and interesting. Can I ask Joe do these cars fetch more than standard production cars if and when they come up for sale?
Excellent thread! The first time I saw pictures of the F40 was in a 1987 issue of the Auto Welt magazine which was published by then German Ferrari importer Auto Becker. I've scanned most of them (sorry for the poor quality, the magazine's paper quality is cause for that). First picture shows the F40 prototype with its older brother at Fiorano. Image Unavailable, Please Login
