1987 Ferrari F40
Build Sheet
| Year | 1987 |
|---|---|
| Body | 2-door, 2-seat mid-engine Berlinetta supercar; Kevlar/carbon/aluminum composite body, large rear wing |
| Engine | 2.9 L (2,936 cc) twin-turbocharged and intercooled V8, mid-mounted |
| Horsepower | 471 hp (478 PS) at 7,000 rpm |
| 0–60 mph | approx. 3.8-4.1 seconds |
| Production | 1,311 built (1987-1992) |
| Original MSRP | approx. $400,000 (1987) |
| Current value | approx. $2.0-$3.0 million (2025), depending on condition and provenance |
The Story
The Ferrari F40 was born to celebrate the company's 40th anniversary and to be, in Enzo Ferrari's own wish, the last car he personally signed off on. Unveiled in 1987, it was a raw, uncompromising machine built with one goal: to be the fastest, most visceral road car Ferrari had ever produced.
Engineered by Nicola Materazzi and clothed by Pininfarina, the F40 used a body of Kevlar, carbon fiber, and aluminum to keep weight brutally low. Its 2.9-liter twin-turbocharged V8 delivered 471 horsepower with savage turbo lag and no electronic safety nets — no ABS, no power steering, no driver aids of any kind. The reward was a claimed 201 mph top speed, the first production car to break that barrier.
Inside, luxury was nonexistent. Bare composite panels, sliding plexiglass windows, fabric door pulls instead of handles, and exposed bonded chassis tubes greeted the driver. The F40 was a thinly disguised race car you could, just barely, drive on the street.
Ferrari planned only 400 cars but demand was so intense that 1,311 were eventually built. Priced around $400,000 when new, pristine examples now change hands for two to three million dollars. Revered as the purest analog supercar ever made, the F40 stands as the definitive expression of 1980s Ferrari ambition.
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