Ferrari’s F40 is arguably one of the greatest poster cars of all time – and one being sold at auction in a matter of weeks could be among the least used examples available.
The 1989 model has one owner from new who has put a mere 1,112 miles on the clock since taking delivery.
Not a single mile has been put on it since October 1992, when the keeper placed the stunning Rossi Corsa red F40 into temperature controlled storage, where it has remained before it heads to the auction block on 10 October, with an estimated sale value of £860,000 to £1.3million.
Time capsule Ferrari F40 to be sold at auction: This example of the iconic Italian poster car will go under the hammer later this month at a Bonhams sale – and it could exceed its £1.3million higher estimate
The Ferrari is one of a feast of ultra-exotic models being offered to collectors at Bonhams’ Zoute auction in Belgium in just over a week.
Just 1,315 F40s were built during a four-year production run from 1988 to 1992, all of which were left-hand drive and finished in the same red paint scheme when they left the factory.
This is one of the more desirable versions built without a catalytic converter or the option of adjustable suspension which was purchased by the vendor in June 1989.
The keeper is described by Bonhams as a ‘passionate motoring enthusiast and Ferrari aficionado’ who already had a collection of Italian supercars dating back to the 1970s.
The 1989 model has one owner from new who put a mere 1,112 miles on the clock in the three years he drove it before putting it into storage
It was placed into temperature-controlled storage in October 1992 where it has remained before it heads to the auction block on 10 October, with an estimated sale value of £860,000 to £1.3million
The car is one of a selection of collectible motors being offered at the Bonhams Zoute Sale in Belgium on 10 October
He ordered the motor at Belgian Ferrari specialists, Garage Francorchamps, with the optional wind-up windows instead of the basic sliding windows designed to shave weight.
He also asked for it to be fitted with air conditioning – another extra customers had to request at the time.
It was delivered and registered to the vendor’s company on 15 December 1989 through a leasing agreement, which had been cancelled by 1992 when the car was taken off the road.
The Ferrari was then placed into temperature-controlled storage, where it has remained for 29 years almost the date of Bonham’s auction.
There is a service sticker in the door opening to remind the owner to return the car for its next service at 6,000 kilometres (3,728 miles) in 1993.
It is being sold with just 1,790 kilometres on the odometer, its original tool kit untouched and as well as the service book in the current and sole owner’s name. The service book is stamped on one occasion only: at 1,226 kilometres on 11 June 1990.
The 1989 example is one of the more desirable versions built without a catalytic converter or the optional adjustable suspension
Just 1,315 F40s were built during a four-year production run from 1988 to 1992, all of which were left-hand drive and finished in the same Rossa Corsa red paint scheme when they left the factory
The F40 has a 2.9-litre, twin-turbocharged V8 engine that produces a massive 478bhp at 7,000rpm. For the seriously speed-addicted, this could be boosted by 200bhp by means of a factory tuning kit
Bonhams said: ‘Totally untouched and totally original, this ultra-low mileage and outstanding Ferrari F40 has hardly seen the light of day in 30 years making this almost certainly unique and fully documented example an incredibly rare find and worthy of the closest inspection.’
If it does sell for £1.3million, it will be around £800,000 shy of the auction record for an F40, which was achieved at the recent Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance event.
That car was one of the last F40s produced in 1994 and sold by Gooding & Company for $2,892,500 (approx £2.1million), which was well in excess of the $2.2million higher estimate.
While it was a US-spec car – and therefore appealing to the America collectors in the event’s attendance – it had 2,500 miles on the clock, suggesting the 1,112-mile Zoute F40 could also eclipse its predicted winning bid price.
The sale comes just months after a rare Ferrari F40 that was repainted in blue achieving a sale price of £1,000,500 in July on specialist website The Market – becoming the first seven-figure car to be sold on an online platform for collectible models in Europe.
This particular model is something of a worldwide social media star due to its ultra-rare paint colour and its previous influencer owner, Sam Moores, who is the a freelance photographer, creator of the popular Car Chat podcast and boasts over 67,000 followers on Instagram. He also set up a unique ‘f40blu’ Instagram account for the car, which has over 4,000 followers.
Introduced in 1988 to celebrate Enzo Ferrari’s 40 years as a motor manufacturer, the iconic F40 was the ultimate supercar and is historically significant as the first production passenger car to have a claimed top speed of over 320 kilometres an hour (199mph).
It is also the last Ferrari to be personally approved by Enzo Ferrari prior to his death in 1988.
There is a service sticker in the door opening to remind the owner to return the car for its next service at 6,000 kilometres (3,728 miles) in 1993
The F40 is still today regarded as one of the ultimate road cars, with Ferrari’s Formula 1 experience used to develop the ultra-light model
The doors, bonnet, boot lid and other removable panels were carbon fibre to trim weight, along with a stripped out interior that came with no carpets or trim – and plexiglass windows as standard
It features a 2.9-litre, twin-turbocharged V8 engine producing a massive 478bhp at 7,000rpm. For the seriously speed-addicted, this could be boosted by 200bhp by means of a factory tuning kit.
Flat out, it could hit 201mph when new – which is 17mph faster than a Boeing 747 needs to achieve to take off.
The F40 is still today regarded as one of the ultimate road cars, with Ferrari’s Formula 1 experience used to develop the ultra-light model.
A one-piece plastic moulding, the body was bonded to the tubular steel chassis to create a lightweight structure of immense rigidity.
The doors, bonnet, boot lid and other removable panels were carbon fibre to trim weight, along with a stripped out interior that came with no carpets or trim – and plexiglass windows as standard.
Penned by legendary designer, Pininfarina, the F40 incorporated the latest aerodynamic aids in the form of a dam-shaped nose and high rear aerofoil.
Bonhams says it is ‘one of the last great analogue supercars’ that was ‘designed and built at a time when the driver was expected to be in full control and before the introduction of electronic interventions in the form of anti-lock brakes, traction control, stability control, and paddle-shift automatic gearboxes, which have since become the norm’.