Dario Benuzzi, Ferrari’s chief test driver, led F40 development, including his relentless work with Pirelli to obtain the perfect rubber compound and tread design for the special P Zero tires created specifically for the F40. The choice of IHI turbochargers and the programming for the F40’s Weber- Marelli engine management system were also highlights of Benuzzi’s test program, which included high-speed blasts in the mountains south of Maranello, acceleration and braking runs at the Rimini air force base runways, and formal test sessions at Ferrari’s Fiorano circuit. Predictably, hordes of magazine road testers clamored for an opportunity behind the wheel, and the wait was worth it, with the F40 routinely achieving 0-60 MPH times of just 3.9 seconds, 0-100 MPH in just 7.8 seconds, and 0-140 MPH in 14 seconds. For the truly brave, 201 MPH was on tap flat out—an impressive mark even by today’s jaded standards. In fact, the F40 rewrote automotive history as the first series- production supercar capable of cracking the magical 200 MPH barrier. Regardless of the source consulted, the F40 was simply the quickest and fastest road car ever produced up to that time, and its performance remains staggering today, heightened by a totally analog driving experience without power-assisted steering and brakes isolating the driver from the road. The F40 production run was initially targeted to about 400 examples, yet demand in the heady supercar market of the late 1980s was overwhelming, despite the car’s stratospheric price tag. When production ended in 1992, 1,315 were built in all. The 19th of only 22 examples built in the final production year, this awesome F40 will be crossing the Kissimmee auction block in amazing condition, with the metric odometer reading just 14,053 kilometers (8,732 miles). Ordered by official Ferrari agent Crepaldi Auto SpA in December 1991 (Order No. 5032), this F40 entered production on June 4, 1992, and assembly was completed on June 8, 1992, with the F40 finished in Ferrari’s iconic Rosso Corsa over a red and gray-trimmed interior. Sold by Crepaldi Auto SpA on July 20, 1992, the F40 was first registered in Mantua, Italy, and then sold in 1995 to another Italian owner in Arese, who participated with this F40 at a Ferrari event held at the Mugello circuit in 1995, eventually selling the car to its next owner in Japan in June 1997 at 1,900 kilometers. Thanks to Japan’s stringent road-registration system, the Ferrari’s four owners while there are progressively documented from May 6, 1997, through October 2, 2017, when the F40 was acquired by its current owner. Set to cross the auction block at Mecum Kissimmee 2022 in January, this spectacular Ferrari F40 is one of the very last produced in 1992, and it remains accident- and damage-free, benefiting handsomely from proper maintenance and service under its roster of caring owners and collectors since new. Remaining true to its roots with original components including the potent twin-turbo engine and gearbox, the F40 was fitted with the factory-specified seatbelt update kit and sports a fantastic-sounding Tubi exhaust system specially tuned for this vehicle, with the factory exhaust properly crated for shipping and included with the sale of this exceptional F40. Factory three-piece, center-lock Speedline wheels mounting Pirelli tires provide the crowning touch. New ATL fuel cells were installed on September 2, 2018, and accompanying certificates of compliance provide documentation. An annual service was performed by the Ferrari experts at Norwood Auto Italia in Carrollton, Texas, at 14,035 recorded kilometers. Accompanied at auction by the original books and manuals in their leather case, this stellar F40 also includes a tool roll and car cover. While every F40 is indeed special with no two standing as equals, this late-production example is surely one of the finest in existence and currently available. A genuine “blue chip,” investment-quality exotic automobile, this 1991 F40 will certainly continue to top the Ferrari collector’s wish list as the final model launched during the storied lifetime of the man known as Il Commendatore, Enzo Ferrari.
