This Ultra-Rare Ferrari F40 Berlinetta Could Fetch $1.7 Million at Auction This Weekend

For a not-insignificant number of auto enthusiasts, no vehicle—supercar or otherwise—can compare to the Ferrari F40. If you’re among them, you might want to figure out a way to get to Belgium this weekend.

On Sunday, Bonham’s will offer a barely touched, one-owner 1989 F40 Berlinetta as part of the Zoute Sale auction in Knokke-Heist. The gorgeous speed machine has spent much of the last three decades in dry storage—meaning you’d be hard-pressed to find a better-preserved example of the car on the secondary market now … or ever.

Introduced in 1988, the F40 was meant to be a celebration of Enzo Ferrari’s 40 years at the automaker. And sure enough, the supercar, which turned out to be the last vehicle he signed off on before his death, was something truly special. The Prancing Horse’s designers managed to perfectly blend a road vehicle with a race car, resulting in one of the era’s most striking models. Just as impressive, though, was its mid-mounted 2.9-liter twin-turbocharged V-8. Mated to a five-speed manual transmission that sends power to the rear wheels, it’s capable of generating up to 471 horses and 426 ft lbs of twist. It could also rocket the car from zero to 60 in 4.2 seconds and to a top speed of 201 mph, which briefly made it the fastest production car of all time.

This example is from the car’s second year of production and is finished in the brand’s trademark Rosso Corsa. At its core, the F40 was really a street-legal racer and had the stripped-down interior to prove it. Its owner opted for a couple of creature comforts, though, like air conditioning and roll-up windows. Despite this, they didn’t drive the car all that much, putting just 1,112 miles on the odometer before it was put into storage in 1992. As strange as this may sound, it also means the winning bidder will end up with an F40 that’s about as close to new as possible.

Bonham’s expects the F40 to sell for somewhere between $1.2 million $1.7 million, which is in line with the car’s recent sales figures. Classic.com, which tracks sales of rare automobiles, estimates the average auction price for this model at $1.6 million. Still, because of its reputation and condition, don’t be surprised if it goes for a lot more.

Check out more photos of the F40 below:

Authors

• 

  Bryan Hood

  Senior Staff Writer

  Bryan Hood is a digital staff writer at Robb Report. Before joining the magazine, he worked for the New York Post, Artinfo and New York magazine, where he covered everything from celebrity gossip to…

  Read More