Ferrari developed and produced the F40 to celebrate their 40th Anniversary in 1987 so what better way to celebrate being 40 than to drive one?
I had a poster of a Ferrari F40 on my bedroom wall. I loved it in the 1980s and I’ve loved it ever since. It was the first production car to go over 200 miles per hour and remains the furthest evolution of no-nonsense, mechanical engineering.
With it’s lightweight carbon fibre body with only a thin coat of paint, back then, this was more like an race car with a road-going body kit and at the time was Ferrari’s fastest, most powerful, and most expensive car for sale.
In keeping with the car’s unique authenticity, it was also the last model produced that was personally approved by Enzo Ferrari himself.
Some consider it to be the best Ferrari ever made.
Just over a thousand of them came off the production line against an initial run of 400 and so they are rare now.
Nigel Mansell had one, as did Michael Schumacher – this is the calibre of car we are talking about.
I remember seeing one on a family holiday from the back of the car as it crossed over a motorway bridge behind me and I still feel lucky!
I was sure I would find one locally and if not may be I could rent one somewhere fairly easily. I hadn’t really considered their current market value.
For example, whilst not completely factory original, recently this rare 1989 Ferrari F40 was the first motor to sell for over £1million on an online-only classic car auction platform:
Alas, my dream did not come to fruition quite how I imagined it would, the end result being far more Joey Tribbiani than Michael Schumacher.
In any case, remaining grateful for getting what I want, just not in exactly the same form I anticipated or expected, I made a video to capture my experience:
Essentially, the only Ferrari F40 I could find locally was an Authentic Ferrari branded Radio Controlled car! As luck would have it, the model was also on sale so I quickly clicked and collected.
As a child, I used to enjoy racing radio controlled cars. Of all the cars I had, by far my favourite was my Schumacher Cougar 2 Team Works Specification. I still have it although it is something of a classic bordering on a museum piece these days.
This was the first time I’ve ever driven a Radio Controlled car on a treadmill and keeping it lined up and in one relatively small area was actually quite good fun. The basic steering on this model F40 is digital and not progressive whatsoever. Taking this into account and not coming off the back end of the roller was quite a challenge – it was interesting to see how the F40s performance dwindled as the batteries ran out and for sure it ended up crashing off a couple of times as a result!
I had really good fun visiting the Ferrari dealership Fast Auto Technic dressed in all my Ferrari-related merch. and I’m super grateful to Ammar for allowing me to take photos, sit in and start the incredible F8 Tributo!
https://riyadh.ferraridealers.com/en_gb/
https://riyadh.ferraridealers.com/en_gb/
https://www.rcgeeks.co.uk/products/rastar-1-14-ferrari-f40-red
As luck would have it, I would finally come face-to-face with a Ferrari F40 at the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at Jeddah Corniche in 2021. I was really made up, they are not common and obviously very valuable so to be allowed to get up close is unusual, based on my previous experiences.
