Created to celebrate the company's 40th anniversary, the Ferrari F40 was the last car to carry the founder's 'signature'. It was a definitive car, the ultimate expression of the technology thus far developed by the Prancing Horse, but at the same time it went back to Ferrari's roots when racing cars were also road vehicles. An extreme derivation of the 308 GTB and of the 288 GTO Evoluzione prototype, the Ferrari F40 is a masterpiece of engineering and style, which entered the collective imagination as a symbol of an era.
On the anniversary of the launch of this motoring legend, Ferrari has gathered together the memories of three of its creators: Ermanno Bonfiglioli, then Head of Special Projects, Leonardo Fioravanti, a designer for Pininfarina, and test driver Dario Benuzzi.
Ermanno Bonfiglioli, who as Head of Special Projects, was responsible for supercharged engines, and has not forgotten the excitement of that 21 July 1987, "I have never experienced a presentation like that of the F40. When the car was unveiled, a buzz passed through the room followed by thunderous applause. No one, except for close associates of Enzo Ferrari, had yet seen it. Indeed, the company had cloaked the development and testing of that car in unusual secrecy. And the surprise at such a stylistic leap was almost shock."
Leonardo Fioravanti was a designer at Pininfarina when he was invited by Enzo Ferrari to Fiorano to try the 288 GTO Evoluzione. He recalled, "When il Commendatore (Enzo Ferrari) asked for my opinion on this experimental prototype, which due to regulatory issues never went into production, I didn't hide my enthusiasm as an amateur driver for the incredible acceleration of its 650bhp. It was then that he first talked to me of his desire to produce a 'true Ferrari'. We knew, as he knew, that it would be his last car."
Dario Benuzzi, a Ferrari's long-term test driver, participated in an arduous and meticulous testing job, "The handling of the first prototypes was poor. To tame the power of the engine and make it compatible with a road model, we needed to subject every aspect of the car to countless tests - from the turbochargers to the braking system, from the shock absorbers to the tyres. The result was an excellent aerodynamic load and high stability even at high speed."
The F40 is on show at the Ferrari Museum of Maranello as part of the 'Under the Skin' exhibition devoted to the evolution of innovation and style in the 70-year history of the Company.
