Ferrari F40

The Ferrari F40 is a mid-ingine, rear-wheel drive, twa-door coupé sports caur produced bi Ferrari frae 1987 tae 1992 as the successor tae the Ferrari 288 GTO. Frae 1987 tae 1989 it held the title as the warld's fastest street-legal production caur, an durin its years o production, wis Ferrari's fastest, maist pouerful, an maist expensive caur. The caur haed nae traction control, an wis ane o the few tae utilize turbochairgers.

Ferrari F40
Owerview
Manufacturer	Ferrari
Production	1987–1992 (1,315 producit)
Assembly	Maranello, Italy
Designer	Pininfarina (Leonardo Fioravanti)
Bouk an chassis
Cless	Sports caur
Body style	Berlinetta (2-door coupé)
Layoot	Mid-ingine, rear-wheel drive
Powertrain
Ingine	2,936 cc (2.9 L) twin-turbochairgit Tipo F120A V8 478 PS (352 kW; 471 hp), rear, langitudinal, 90°
Transmission	5-speed manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,450 mm (96 in)
Lenth	4,358 mm (171.6 in)
Weenth	1,970 mm (78 in)
Hicht	1,124 mm (44.3 in)
Crib wecht	1,100 kg (2,400 lb)
Chronology
Predecessor	Ferrari 288 GTO
Successor	Ferrari F50

The caur debuted wi a factory suggestit retail price o approximately US$400,000, awtho some buyers war reportit as payin as hintle as US$1.6 million. A tot o 1,315 F40s wur producit.

Concept

Ostensibly, the F40 wis no conceivit as the successor tae the 288 GTO an designed tae compete wi vehicles sic as the Porsche 959 an Lamborghini Countach; for Ferrari management, the vehicle wis a major statement piece. Ower a period o several years prior tae the F40's conception, the company's dominance in racin haed waned significantly, an even in Formula Ane, an arena thay haed ance dominatit, victories haed acome sparse. Enzo Ferrari haed recently turned 90 year auld, an wis keenly aware that time wis no on his side. He wantit his new sports caur tae serve as his feenal statement-maker, a vehicle encompassin the best in track-developed technology an capable o bein a showcase for what the Ferrari ingineers wur capable o creatin. The company's upcomin 40t anniversar providit juist the richt occasion for the car tae debut.

As he haed predictit it wad be, the F40 wis the last caur tae be commissioned bi Enzo afore his daith.

Development

Oreegin

As early as 1984, the Maranello factory haed begun development o an evolution model o the 288 GTO intendit tae compete against the 959 in FIA Group B. Housomeivver, when the FIA brocht an end tae the Group B category for the 1986 saison, Enzo wis left wi five 288 GTO Evoluzione development caurs, an nae series in which tae campaign them. Enzo's desire tae leave a legacy in his final supercaur alloued the Evoluzione program tae be further developed tae produce a caur exclusively for road uise.

Drivetrain an suspension

V8 ingine

Pouer came frae an enlairged, 2.9 L (2936 cc) version o the GTO's twin IHI turbochairged V8 developin 478 PS (352 kW; 471 hp) unner 110 kPa (16 psi) o boost. The F40 did athoot a catalytic converter till 1990 when US regulations made them a requirement for emissions control raisons. The flankin exhaust pipes guide exhaust gases frae each bank o cylinders while the central pipe guides gases released frae the wastegate o the turbochairgers.

The suspension setup wis seemilar tae the GTO's double wishbone setup, tho mony pairts wur upgradit an settings wur chynged; the unuisually law grund clearance promptit Ferrari tae include the ability tae raise the vehicle's grund clearance when necessar.

Body an interior

The body wis an entirely new design bi Pininfarina featurin panels made o kevlar, carbon fiber, an aluminum for strength an law wecht, an intense aerodynamic testin wis employed (see belaw). Wecht wis further minimized throu the uise o a plastic windshield an windaes an nae carpets, soond seestem, or door handles wur installed awtho the caurs did hae air conditionin. The first 50 caurs produced haed slidin Lexan windaes, awtho newer windaes that coud be rolled doun wur installed intae later caurs.

Aerodynamics

An F40 on the M5 motorwey in the Unitit Kinrick

The F40 wis designed wi aerodynamics in mynd, an is vera muckle a creation o its time. For speed the caur relied mair on its shape than its pouer. Frontal area wis reduced, an airflow greatly smoothed, but stability rather than terminal velocity wis a primary concern. Sae too wis coolin as the forced induction ingine generatit a great deal o heat. In consequence, the caur wis somewha lik an open-wheel racin caur wi a body. It haed a partial unnertray tae smooth airflow beneath the radiator, front section, an the cabin, an a seicont ane wi diffusers ahint the motor, but the ingine bay wis no sealed. Nanetheless, the F40 haed an impressively law Cd o 0.34 wi lift controlled bi its spoilers an wing.

Racin

An F40 LM on display at the Goodwood Festival of Speed

The factory niver intendit tae race the F40, but the caur saw competeetion as early as 1989 when it debuted in the Laguna Seca roond o the IMSA, appearin in the GTO category, wi a LM evolution model driven bi Jean Alesi, finishin third tae the twa faster spaceframed fower wheel drive Audi 90 an beatin a host o ither factory backed spaceframe specials that dominatit the races. Despite lack o factory backin, the caur wad suin hae anither successfu saison thare unner a host o guest drivers sic as Jean-Pierre Jabouille, Jacques Laffite an Hurley Haywood takin a tot o three seicont places an ane third.

Awtho the F40 wad no return tae IMSA for the follaein saison, it wad later be a popular choice bi privateers tae compete in numerous domestic GT series includin JGTC. In 1994, the caur made its debut in internaitional competitions, wi ane caurs campaigned in the BPR Global GT Series bi Strandell, winnin at the 4 Hours of Vallelunga. In 1995, the nummer o F40s climbed tae fower, developed independently bi Pilot-Aldix Racing (F40 LM) an Strandell (F40 GTE, racin unner the Ferrari Club Italia banner), winnin the 4 Hours of Anderstorp. Nae langer competitive against the McLaren F1 GTR, the Ferrari F40 returned for anither year in 1996, managin tae repeat the previous year's Anderstorp win, an frae then on it wis nae langer seen in GT racin.

Succession

The F40 wis discontinued in 1992 an in 1995 wis succeedit bi the F50, which remained competitive till a newer generation o factory-backed GT1 caurs came alang.

Performance

Rear view o a Ferrari F40 in Melbourne, Australie

The F40's licht wecht o 1,100 kg (2,425 lb) an heich pouer ootput o 478 PS (352 kW; 471 hp) at 7000 rpm gae the vehicle tremendous performance potential. Road tests hae produced 0–100 km/h (0–62 mph) times as law as 3.8 seconds (while the track anerlie version came in at 3.2 seconds), wi 0–160 km/h (0–99 mph) in 7.6 seconds an 0–200 km/h (0–120 mph) in 11 seconds givin the F40 a slicht advantage in acceleration ower the Porsche 959, its primary competitor at the time.

The F40 wis the first road legal production caur tae break the 200 mph (320 km/h) barrier. Frae its introduction in 1987 till 1989 its anerlie competitors wur the Porsche 959 an the 1988 Lamborghini Countach (it wis later owertaken bi the Lamborghini Diablo, it held the record as the warld's fastest production caur, wi a tap speed o 200 mph (320 km/h). Durin the 2006 Bonneville Speed Week, Amir Rosenbaum o Spectre Performance managed tae tak his F40 wi sma boost an air intake modifications tae 226 mile per oor (364 km/h).

References

• Buckley, Martin & Rees, Chris (1998). World Encyclopedia of Cars. London: Anness Publishing. ISBN 1-84038-083-7.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors leet (link)
• "Ferrari F40". Ferrari Forum. Retrieved 17 Januar 2007.

External links

• www.QV500.com - Ferrari F40 Part 1: F40 Archived 2010-01-24 at the Wayback Machine