Sultan Of Brunei's Modified Ferrari (RHD) F40's

Any idea how many are left with the sultan ?

 

When i last spoke to PG (when he was at PF many years ago) about doing a RHD Conversion on a F40 for me, (because in South Africa they have stopped us importing LHD cars), he gave me an estimateed price of around US$500 000(i hope he doesn't mind me sharing that here with our fellow Ferrari peeps). and that's just for the conversion from LHD to RHD.

are prices still that hectic to modify/convert the legendary car?

 

Lets face it, they were never really going to be driven. How many miles on the clock? Under a 1000 I bet.

I don't understand why the LHD to RHD compromised the car, if it was done properly, but yes the trim is horrid.
Pete

 

I believe its down to pedal location, not the greatest of available space in the F40 when RHD and the use of a 328 rhd steering rack in the conversion does not help.

I have seen the moulds for a RHD F40 dash, always wondered if they were the ones used in the Sultans car.

Thats a hell of a lot of money for not a lot of work! then again when $$$$$$ comes pumping out of the ground in the form of liquid gold every day I guess he was not too bothered.

 

Yes, maybe even more today.

Should one want one done we could do it but don't have time for idle inquires.

 

You ever make something that meets the required SA/ UK safety standards? You have the required engineering certification to do it? How about the product liability insurance? You able to have the required testing done? Pass those tests? I could go on.

 

Understandable

 

Ugly interior...

 

Did PF do all that when they converted the Sultans cars? does anyone do that for one offs, I very much doubt it.

Will anyone ever again spend that kind of money to convert an F40 to RHD, I very much doubt that as well.

To answer you question, actually yes I have, I looked to import into Australia a certain type of sports car not available there, but raced there a number of years ago. The Australian design rules are some of the toughest in the world, akin to California. I met with engineers in Aus and the UK and costed out the whole process. it was in the tens of thousands of aussie dollars to do initially, but spread over a number of cars it was financially viable. The market though was not sufficient to warrant the exercise in the end.

It costs no more to convert an F40 than it does any other car from LHD to RHD as most components are reused. The key new parts would be the rack and a new fabricated bulkhead and dashboard. At the end of the day the F40 is just a fancy kit car

 

OUCH!!! BIG OUCH!!
But, if we were all the same, the world would be boring

F40 to me is still my ultimate dream supercar, pitty there is only 3 of them in SA, and i don't see the owners selling any of them anytime soon :-(

 

"Did PF do all that when they converted the Sultans cars? does anyone do that for one offs"

Yes to both.

"Will anyone ever again spend that kind of money to convert an F40 to RHD?"

We've had serious inquires and it very well could happen.

"To answer you question, actually yes I have, I looked to import into Australia a certain type of sports car not available there, but raced there a number of years ago. The Australian design rules are some of the toughest in the world, akin to California. I met with engineers in Aus and the UK and costed out the whole process. it was in the tens of thousands of aussie dollars to do initially, but spread over a number of cars it was financially viable. The market though was not sufficient to warrant the exercise in the end."

So in the end you haven't.

"It costs no more to convert an F40 than it does any other car from LHD to RHD as most components are reused. The key new parts would be the rack and a new fabricated bulkhead and dashboard. At the end of the day the F40 is just a fancy kit car"

I agree that fitting a replica F40 body to another Ferrari "is just a fancy kit car" but disagree that the One offs that PF and others have built that grace the lawn at Pebble and Villa d'Este are.

 

I never meant that in a derogatory way as I also love the F40 but it is in essence a very basic vehicle by todays standards and even when it was originally built and more akin to a kit car in its construction than a production car.

 

Jim I have built many cars over the years with my own bare hands, I do virtually everything myself, all self taught, I am not a cheque book car builder.

I wondered when you were going to take a pop at my own latest project.

In 1999 I constructed from scratch a brand new Ford Sierra Cosworth, some 13 years after the last one rolled off Fords Production line in Genk, Belgium.

I had it fully and correctly road registered in the UK with a brand new registration, something everyone at the time told me could not be done.

The car was featured in a number of magazines, and Top Gear even did a feature on me and the next project I was undertaking in I think 2003.

I will happily post copies of the articles if anyone doubts any of this.

As I stated above the way the F40 is constructed is more along the lines of kit cars than a production car, the build quality on them is shocking, but despite that I would love to own one.

I dont have the resources though, so my little project is the next best thing, and I am very proud of it, and I can assure you once completed the build quality, fit, finishes and shut lines will be to a far better standard than those you mentioned gracing the lawns of the elite shows.

 

I'm sure you are and I'm sure deservedly so. That said why not build a true one off and show the one Off's at Pebble and Villa d'Este how it should be done?

My friend Nick recently did exactly that with a Ferrari powered One Off and showed it at Amelia. Really cool but personally I still think some that PF have done over the years are of a higher quality than any other's I've ever seen.

That is what makes Horse Races and Judged Concours...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5I9oFy-22g

 

I wanted an F40 at the end of the day, as they have such an iconic look to them, I wont though ever have the funds to purchase one, especially given the recent meteoric rise in values, luckily for me given the way they were built they are not that difficult for an amatuer to reproduce and the 355 has the same basic architecture so it is the perfect base to start with.

I would also love a Mclaren F1 LM but would not even attempt to try to reproduce one of those.

The P1 is only available in LHD and again I would never suggest it was straightforward to convert one to RHD and the engineering involved and cost would be huge, the F40 however is not really that difficult to do in comparison.

 

Old thread resurfacing! Researching the cars listed in previous post, it was generally agreed there were 10 RHD cars in the Sultan's collection, and that two had returned to the UK. Much of the data was taken from a Jalopnik article that worked with Talacrest on the project. This web page below has a large collection of serial numbers, and specifically looking at the F40 list, there are several that don't match up.

http://supercars.agent4stars.com/power-cars/sultan-of-brunei-car-collection/

Three additional RHD F40 cars were identified by vin number and registration.

82825 F40 RHD Rosso Corsa, TR interior? registration KF9876 ZFFGJ34B000082825

84574 F40 RHD Rosso Corsa, TR interior? registration (none) ZFF9J34B000084574

88523 F40 LM listed as an LM unknown color, registration KF7899 ZFFGX34X0L0088523

Does anyone have insight into these serials?

 

Old thread is ooooold...

That agent4stars website has a lot of inaccuracies btw. For instance that site lists Sam Li having a 250 GTO, which he does not as confirmed by Marcel last time I asked him. He also lists GregB as having a McLaren F1 LM and he does not. There are numerous other inaccuracies. You're better off searching Marcel's old posts regarding those Ferraris as he may have already talked about them.

 

http://talacrest.com/Ferrari-Sales/Ferrari-F40/13454.htm

 

I'm surprised you 're not disturbed by the LHD as a usual RHD driver... I tried once to drive a RHD car and felt like trying to write with my left hand...

 

How money doesnt get you good tastes ... prime example)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

That reference has now been removed.

>8^)
ER

 

I've never had a problem. I drove my F50 up to Bruntingthorpe airfield last weekend for a superccar show in filthy weather. Including wet narrow country lanes with Land Rovers coming the other way (a few clenched buttock moments lol).

When I drove my RHD Speciale to Italy and visited Positano I had to allow a bus pass on a very narrow road near the coast. I was so close to the rockface I touched it with my fingers as I pulled in the wing mirror. Fortunately the bus driver was a much better driver than I

 

Ahah British phlegm at its finest... the latin that we , the french and even more the italian are would have started to insult the bus driver, the rockface and the whole planet !

 

Ahahaha.....on a tight coastal Italian road, with an Italian working hard driving a big public bus coming at you, and you're in a UK delivered Ferrari with rocks as your only run-off, it pays to be respectful