Ferrari F40 market analysis

you are quoting prices from 1-2 years ago, where i was quoting the latest prices known for a car from one to sale to the next, with the latest result less than a month ago.
there is a difference.

 

Quite something to see the chassis with no panels. Yikes!

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ok. so what?

 

So there is a guy that is claiming the F40 is crappy, thought it was an interesting alternative to all the positive videos. We can consider both sides here I thought.

 

sure....and a guy who has never driven one, never even sat in one...has how much credibility?

ZERO

meanwhile, the rest of the car crazy world would give their left nut to own one, maybe even just to drive one....

 

As someone that has done many miles in my two F40s and two 288 GTOs (essentially the same car with different body panels) he was surprising close to reality in his assessment. The brakes and turbo lag are terrible and both F40s and 288s are very poor drivers cars. They are of course both beautiful and iconic and make great paperweights which is how most owners treat them.

 

doesnt make his video any more credible.
but maybe it makes you feel better.

 

Sorry you were triggered, I will only post rave reviews from now on.

 

not triggered.
dont care.
show me a guy like chris harris or harry metcalfe or henry cartchpole or jethro bovingdon or ben collins or tiff needell or or or or anybody who has any kind of automotive review credibility who doesnt like the f40, then maybe i will listen.

but presenting a video by a person who admits to not being a driver, not having driven this car, not having even sat in it, is about as worthwhile as asking a deaf person what he thought about a mozart concerto.

 

There are many people who harshly critiqued the F40, Gordon Murray springs to mind, he said the chassis was extremely poor and caused the car to “wobble all over the place”. He knows a thing or two about a drivers’ car.

Most of the people you cite above have been open about the significant shortcomings in one way or another.

Chris Harris critiqued the car, citing “significant turbo lag making the power delivery unpredictable and challenging”, he also called the interior “loud, hot and uncomfortable for long drives”, he also criticized the brakes and said the turbo lag and chassis made it hard to control the car, you can check out his F40 vs F50 video.

Catchpole described the car as “challenging and demanding … especially in less than ideal conditions”, also called the car “spartan, hot, noisy”.

Bovingdon has written about the “noticeable turbo lag, requiring drivers to anticipate power delivery”, he also criticized the noise, the brakes and the chassis flexibility.

Tiff Needell and the Stig have both done videos on the F40 as you may know and talk about the shortcomings.

Everyone agrees the car is an icon, but it’s a crap car to drive fast, believe me I have tried on both the street and especially on the track where you can literally drive the car hard for one lap and the brakes become unusable and you have to come in. The guys you cited all say different versions of the same thing. There were problems with the chassis flex, with the brakes, with the turbo lag with the handling on the limit. It’s probably iconic partly because it is such an impossible car to drive fast and safely and maybe that’s part of the appeal, but it’s not a great drivers car, I’m sorry it just isn’t and that’s ok, it’s an icon and that we all agree on.

 

lol at the out of context quotes. For what it’s worth Gordon Murray has changed his tune about the F40 in very recent interviews. He has even said it has the second best steering feel of any car he’s ever driven; even better than the McLaren F1.

Boost can be managed to properly enjoy the car. It’s one of the most thrilling cars and best drivers cars ever made, but clearly not for everyone.

A stock F40 was not made for the track, but LM brakes can easily do the job.

Here’s someone that has owned one for many years and knows a thing or two about a great car:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DE0PlO9MWYz/?igsh=amNjeXNkNWx6MHc=

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Not sure what context is needed for the quotes above, I think they stand alone. A whole host of car guys were cited and it turns out they can all see the obvious shortcomings of the car. Anyway I’ll leave you guys to keep taking the car up, don’t be nervous that it has gone up 10 times in the last 20 years, I’m sure it will keep going.

Ps Gordon Murray famously said of the F40 that it is “like a big go-kart with a plastic body on it”. Go karts do indeed have great steering feel!

 

its ok Mark, we know why you no longer like the car...... quite telling that you post all of these negative opinions in the market analysis thread......

a 35 year old supercar is hard to drive.
not really headline news is it.

btw, the 250gto is deemed hot, noisy, poorly built too....

 

Your Murray quote is stale. I have no reason to talk it up. Anyone can watch any of the videos you quoted and determine for themselves.

 

What do you mean hard to drive, I thought it was an amazing drivers’ car? Isn’t that why you are all piling on?

Anyway enough teasing for one day, I don’t want to get anyone upset. I give you the last word.

 

Roma isnt wrong about the shortcomings of the 40 but for me those are the very things which give it an x factor. My 90 z turbo doesn’t have those shortcomings and neither does an sf90, but I wldnt take either over the 40. Mark has also driven real race cars so he cant be knocked for not having real experience.

this is what I feel when i see my f40

 

Here are some other opinions of people with experience also worthy of listening to:

Good interview with Andrew Frankel who has tested 1,000s of cars and considers the F40 the greatest drivers cars of them all, including the F1. You can listen to his own words on the Intercooler podcast at the minute mark below:

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If anyone would like to hear what Gordon Murray said recently about the F40 it is on this particular episode:

No doubt he felt build quality was as he puts it “ a pile of rubbish” but he liked the drive experience and actually said Ferrari did not overboost the car. In his own words here at the minute mark below:

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Turbo lag is a fun thing in my opinion as well and part of the experience. It’s true not everyone agrees, which is fine by me. I always thought this short clip from Clarkson summed it up nicely:

 

What I can tell you guys, my own opinion, at my own driving skill level (term used loosely!!) Having driven my own F40 over a decade, and having the opportunity to drive it quite spiritedly but on the road not on the track.. and on new tires... currently the Pirelli old style look but modern compound...so lots of disclaimers..

When I was getting used to the car, I noticed at low speeds the car exhibits some understeer, especially when compared to newer cars like a 458, because look at the difference between front and rear contact patches. This is clearly the old school stability control for a wide range of skill levels. The downside is it understeers. And The brakes squeal- a lot. And this is not a car that likes a light touch at low speeds. You need to manhandle it a bit. And it needs to be warm for the transmission to move smoothly. Typical of most Ferrari manual shifts. And the steering has good feel all the time, but the downside of that is if you hit a bump, the steering wheel can shake out of your hands, you should always grip a steering wheel with as little pressure as needed, so you can enhance your sense of feel, but if you grip too light or too hard when you hit any decent bump it might hurt your hand or it might shake out. They've removed these kinds of issues on modern cars, but the modern cars have also lost the character of a car like the F40.

But!!! As I worked my way up with more speed, using more of the power, I found the F40 to be a revelation. You just have to respect and understand it. As the speeds build that feeling understeer fades away and the front end becomes very much alive- and as I began to explore the car around bends and curves I discovered it is a neutral car to drive as long as you are careful with your inputs- most notably the throttle. This means avoiding foot down throttle when you are not pointed straight ahead, keeping it on the edge of boost for corners, so you can feather in the power, and you have to put your foot into it for braking performance. But at moderate to higher speeds the car feels like they got the balance just right for people who enjoy driving with some gusto. And pointed straight ahead and its like hyperspace in the Millennium Falcon. Except this is REAL. And the car rewards you the harder you push it- however, it won't easily suffer truly foolish behavior. And at at least in street circumstances, I dont find the brakes a problem at all, you just have to put your leg into it. As the brakes warm up the squealing goes away.

When the F40 debuted many criticized it as too soft for the track and too hard for the road. But I think they missed the point, it's not a car for every day, though you really could use it all the time- some people did and still do. As long as you are judicious about how you drive, you can really really drive the F40. Thats what makes it great- the more you put in, the more you get out.

 

I came to this section of the forum having seen Jay Emm's video, not because of the accidents, but because it sparked a 'Hmm, I wonder what F40's go for now' thought in my head. I'm stunned to hear people complaining about the video. He didn't say the cars were crap. He didn't claim to have personal knowledge of driving an F40. What he said was all perfectly true. F40s, and other cars of the era, are based on 40+ year old technology. No nannies, frequently on not great tires, very nonlinear power delivery, poor ergonomics and much more. He pointed out that the cars weren't being driven particularly aggressively, and that people blasting the drivers should understand the reality and situation. These cars can catch out people who are used to more modern cars, often with higher power to weight ratios, that are much easier to drive than these older cars. He said he's always preferred the F50 over the F40, but he didn't say the F40 was crap. anyone offended by what he said either didn't listen or just likes to bash anything other than slobbering praise in all cases.

 

i may give you my right one too. lol

 

The F40 will hurt you if you're not attentive, show respect and are reasonably skilled. I consider that to be a feature, not a bug.

 

Collins was quite complimentary when he drove my F40 last year. He did think the stock brakes had more initial bite than the DK Ceramics on my car, but he (and everyone watching) had some fun, for sure.
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LOL, Collins should tote around an all white suit and helmet when he drives things like that, so people can get a pic with the 'real' stig in the car, not just some old dude named Ben!