Rare Ferrari F40 Auction: #19 of 22 Goes to Auction

And now the rest of the world has a chance at owning one of these rare stunners when one of this most rare of high performing breeds -- #19 of 22 manufactured -- hits the auction block January 6 – a confirming data point that 2022 will begin with the kind of bang that only Ferrari can create.  

As the last car Enzo Ferrari commissioned for production, he did it in fittingly operatic fashion, proclaiming his wish to “produce (the F40) as a car which could remind us of Le Mans and the GTO” – adding to the visionary industrial designer’s talents those of a wordsmith.

Ferrari put those words to action, designing in the F40 a once in a century high performance showpiece encapsulating the timeless essence of what car enthusiasts dream of – look, feel and speed.  Ferrari’s personal lead tester Dario Benuzzi worked tirelessly with legendary racing tire producer Pirelli to develop a whole new compound for better grip at high speeds. (To this day the P-Zero model tire is among Pirelli’s most popular.) 

The engine in this beast is the twin-turbocharged 3.0-Liter V8 from the 80s GTO, another outright classic, which, according to Ferrari, produces 478-Horsepower. During testing the F40 is reported to have hit 0-60mph in just 2.9 seconds consistently, a HUGE deal at the time, ramping up to 140 mph in just 14 seconds for the intrepid. It’s heightened minimalist design in the genre’s optimal form: With an interior racing motif and utilitarian angles, it’s just you, the car and the road.  That’s all there is folks – no infotainment system to play with or iPhone connection to make dinner reservations. Simply put: the F40 forces you to be a lot like the car - your best self. 

In the end, it’s the chassis that hung on our walls, the F40’s red aerodynamically optimized curves, and a spoiler so big it would give an airplane wing-envy that cemented the F40 as the sports car that all sports cars aspire to be. The design has a timelessness to it that transcends any vehicle in its class   today – regardless of attempts to replicate the F40’s seamless execution, nearly 40 years later the car remains a temporal paradox integrating that has defied time and space so to speak not only today but for generations  

MECUM AUCTIONS
Car Model: 1992 Ferrari F40
Date: Jan 6th - 16th