The F40 is without a doubt one of the most important models in the history of Ferrari, if not the history of the automobile. It made it possible to celebrate a major anniversary and to cement the legend of a man. But did you know that its development was due to tragic circumstances?

If the Scuderia Ferrari, the racing team, was founded in 1929, the very first road-going Ferrari, the 125S, was not baptized on the asphalt until March 12, 1947. For Enzo Ferrari, customer vehicles were a necessary evil for be able to finance competition activities. But, over the years, he will get caught up in the game.

We are in December 1982. Fiat took control of Ferrari in 1969. Enzo is no longer responsible for the road car department. This responsibility falls to Eugenio Alzati, general manager of Ferrari, and Vittorio Ghidella, CEO of Fiat. But Ferrari still has its say and obviously remains very listened to at the factory. It was there that he summoned Angelo Bellei, the director of the design office, to ask him to develop a sportier 308 GTB. From September 1983, prototypes rolled on the Fiorano track.

If the 308 was indeed used as a base, the differences are major. The tubular chassis is lengthened, the fenders are widened to accommodate larger tires, aerodynamics are optimized and the bodywork uses materials such as fiberglass, Kevlar or carbon fiber. And then there is the main course: the 400 horsepower twin-turbo V8. Developed by Nicola Materazzi, remember this name, it has a displacement of 2.9 liters to meet Group B standards and has two IHI turbos.

Thanks to him, the car achieves 0 to 100 km / h in 4.9 seconds, 0 to 200 km / h in 15.2 seconds and it reaches 305 km / h in peak. A beast! Enzo Ferrari is so satisfied that he agrees to bring out the GTO label, used from 1962 to 1964 on a Group 3 homologated version of his 250. This legendary model was produced in only 36 copies and has long been the car most expensive collectible in the world. The 288 GTO was presented at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1984, to general enthusiasm. If Ferrari initially planned only 200 copies, the manufacturer will manufacture 272 in the end.

Group B was introduced by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) in 1982 to replace Groups 4 and 5, relating to sports cars, especially rallying. He specified that the cars in customer version had to be produced in 200 copies over 12 months in order to be approved. Once the 200 copies were built, the manufacturer could design an “Evolution” version, made in 20 copies, and only reserved for competition.

Production of the 288 GTO began in November 1984 and the model was homologated in June 1985. Then began the study of this « Evoluzione », in collaboration with Michelotto, a company specializing in the development of competition cars located in Padova. The central cell of the 288 is retained but the Evoluzione has undergone significant modifications: new front, large rear spoiler, lightened and reinforced chassis (total weight of 940 kilos against 1,160), widened tracks and recalibrated suspensions.

The engine is reviewed and the breath of the turbos increased to reach 650 horsepower. The 0 to 100 km/h is done in less than 3 seconds and the top speed increases to 360 km/h. The interior is stripped down and the leather seats have given way to racing bucket seats. Michelotto makes a test copy and five final copies before things go sour.

For several months, the FIA ​​has been concerned about the arms race that was taking place in Group B. The Peugeot 205 Turbo 16, Audi Quattro S1, Ford RS200 and other Lancia Delta S4 are close to or exceed 500 horsepower. A first accident at the Portugal rally in March 1986 resulted in the death of three spectators and put the authorities on alert. On May 2, 1986, Henri Toivonen and his co-driver Sergio Cresto, then leading the Tour de Corse in a Lancia Delta S4, went off the road. As it fell into the ravine, the tank caught fire and the two men were burned in a violent fire. On May 3, 1986, the FIA ​​decreed the disappearance of Group B at the end of the season. For Ferrari, this meant the end of the 288 GTO program and a dead loss on the Evoluzione. Unless…

Nicola Materazzi, who also worked on the Evoluzione’s engine, has the idea of ​​using this model as the basis for an extreme street version, capable of competing with the Porsche 959 (also originally designed for Group B ). He talks about it to Enzo Ferrari. « Il Commendatore » is 88 years old and knows that his days are numbered. Seduced by the idea, he sees the car as the final touch to his heritage. Eugenio Alzati, the general manager of the brand, accepts the project, but on one condition: to carry out the studies outside office hours. This is how the Tipo F120 project officially started on June 10, 1986 with a reduced team. But we will have to move quickly because Enzo Ferrari also has a request: that the model be ready for the summer of 1987, in order to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 125S.

Materazzi reworks the engine of the GTO. The displacement goes from 2,855 to 2,936 cm3, the compression ratio from 7.6 to 7.8:1 and the breath of the turbos from 0.8 to 1.1 bar. The Weber-Marelli electronic injection system is calibrated for greater ease of driving on the road. The power indicated by Ferrari is 478 horsepower, or 162.8 horsepower per liter, an impressive value for the time. But it seems that in reality, it is greater than 500 horsepower.

These are the designers of Pininfarina, the usual partner of the prancing horse brand, Leonardo Fioravanti and Pietro Camardella, under the direction of Aldo Bravarone, who sign the lines of the F40. Compared to the GTO Evoluzione, the front is thinner and the rear spoiler is better integrated. Pininfarina will also be called upon for its wind tunnel. The F40 will spend many hours there, the engineers managing to lower the Cd to 0.34. At 200 km/h, the aerodynamic downforce is 50 kilos at the front and 120 kilos at the rear. The eleven pieces of bodywork are in carbon kevlar, a first for a road car. Thanks to extensive use of composite materials, the F40 weighs just 1,100 kilos. Pirelli will create the first P-Zero for it, in 245/45ZR17 front and 335/35ZR17 rear.

The interior is largely taken from the Evoluzione. There is no element of comfort: no radio, no electric windows, no glove compartment, no floor mats or even door handles inside! And the first 50 copies have sliding windows. There’s also no power steering or brakes. Racing seats are molded to buyer’s specifications. The only concession to comfort: air conditioning.

The development team’s wager paid off and the F40 was officially unveiled on July 21, 1987, at the civic center in Maranello, thirteen months after the start of the project. The whole world is blown away by the lines of the car and its performance: 324 km/h at top speed, 0 to 100 km/h in 4.6 seconds, 0 to 200 km/h in 12 seconds and the kilometer standing start in 21 seconds at 270 km/h (according to Ferrari). Ferrari plans to produce 400 copies at a rate of 200 per year.

However, the press is not always kind to the racing car. Below 3,000 rpm, the V8 is almost civilized, but above that, the turbos go wild in the on/off and the F40 requires a lot of skill. It suffers somewhat from comparison with the technically more advanced and more docile Porsche 959. Gordon Murray, who will design the McLaren F1, will regret the lack of rigidity of its chassis. Regardless, the F40 is an exciting, visceral, even terrifying experience, and buyers are flocking to deposit checks.

Demand was so high that Ferrari eventually produced 1,311 units between 1987 and 1992, all leaving the factory clad in red and with left-hand drive (some vehicles were repainted or converted to right-hand drive). The car will experience few changes: installation of a height-adjustable front suspension in the middle of the production cycle and catalysts for the American market from the 1990 vintage (213 copies will be sold there). The F40 will also be entitled to LM and GTE racing versions, but that’s another story.

The F40 will be the ultimate Ferrari validated by Enzo himself. The latter will die a few months after his presentation, on August 14, 1988. Nicola Materazzi will leave Ferrari in 1988, following the death of the Commandatore, to go to work at Cagiva before participating in the revival of Bugatti, with the EB 110, in 1991 The F40 will mark the start, with the 959, of a new generation of rare and excessive super sports cars.

But some will criticize Ferrari for not being exclusive enough. The brand will correct the shot with its supercars by strictly limiting their production: 349 F50, 399 Enzo and 499 LaFerrari. Regardless, the F40 has now become an icon and a fine example can easily cost four million Canadian dollars. The price of history…

Editor’s note: All technical data in this article are European values.

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