The Ferrari F40 is one of the most famous of all the company’s cars. It is one of those cars that really divides opinion. People either love it or hate it. In terms of performance it is one of the best cars that Ferrari has ever produced. However in order to get this performance they had to take away a lot of what makes a Ferrari a Ferrari. Regardless of your opinion on it there is no doubt that it is a legendary car.
The reason that the Ferrari F40 is a true legend is that during its production run it was the top of the line car produced by the company. It had the most powerful engine, it was the fastest and it was the most expensive. It was really a street legal formula one racing car. Ferrari took a lot of the technology that they used on their race cars and put it on the F40. The result was a very high performance vehicle. This attracted a huge following, it also helped that Ferrari are experts at marketing.
One of the reasons that Ferrari have been so successful over the years is that they really know how to market their cars. Nowhere did this show more than with the F40. Knowing full well that exclusivity is a seductive marketing tool, they strictly limited the number of cars that were made each year. Getting one was not just a matter of putting your name on the waiting list; you had to actually apply for a car. Most of them went to existing Ferrari customers and a few VIP’s. Not surprisingly the cars started selling in the secondary market for several times the original price. This provided Ferrari with great publicity.
The Ferrari F40 was different from most other Ferrari’s in a couple of ways; the biggest is that it had a turbocharged engine which was revolutionary, even for the Italian car maker. Most of the company’s cars don’t have turbos because it takes away from the distinctive sound that a Ferrari makes. However in order to produce a car that was capable of being the world’s fastest production car they had to add a turbo. The car was also designed with aerodynamics much more in mind than most other Ferrari’s. Again this was necessary to get the title of fastest car. The result was a car that a lot of people thought was rather ugly.
The Ferrari F40 has always been a bit of a controversial car. The problem for most people is that it is so different from most of the company’s other cars. A Ferrari has a distinctive look and a distinctive sound. These are missing from the F40. The result is that a lot of purists are not huge fans of the car. On the other hand when it comes to performance the car is in a class by itself. Obviously this appeals to a lot of people so opinions are very much divided on the F40.