There wouldn’t be a lot of people who would argue that Ferrari’s F40 was the king of the supercar world in the 1980s. The marque made just 1,315 examples in five years, yet, despite being the fastest production car at the time of its release in ‘87, most of the hagiography came in retrospect due to its polarizing silhouette and its aggressively personal power delivery, both of which enthusiasts weren’t quite ready for back then. Hindsight is 20/20 and today we’re able to agree more unanimously on how beautiful and coveted the F40 truly is.
Though its F40 was a road-faring vehicle through and through, Ferrari saw racing potential in the cars and commissioned the preparation specialists at Michelotto Automobili to make a series of track-ready examples, with LM, GT, and GTE nameplates. The popularity of these models caused many F40 owners to convert their road cars to have racing specs. Today, a unique example of such a vehicle is up for sale via RM Sotheby’s.
This 1989 Ferrari F40, chassis number 80782, underwent complete “Competizione” conversion starting in the early ‘90s. First, it was outfitted with racing shock absorbers, a Stack instrumentation system, new brakes, and a paint overhaul. It raced in the Netherlands for a bit before having its engine reworked a couple of years later, increasing the output which now ranges from 700bhp to 1,000bhp depending on its tuning. Recently, the car was shipped to famed Italian bodywork shop Zanasi Group where it was given its current silver Grigio Nardo coat and blue fabric seats, constituting €123,000 (~$125,385) of work done from that restoration alone.
One of the most beautiful examples of the car we’ve ever seen, this 1989 Ferrari F40 “Competizione” is currently up for grabs through RM Sotheby’s private sales. No price is currently listed, but similar models have sold for upwards of $1,500,000.
