To Be OFFERED AT AUCTIONEstimate:
£900,000 - £1,100,000
- Offered from the Collection of former Scuderia Ferrari Formula
1 driver Gerhard Berger
- Certified by Ferrari Classiche in December 2019 as a
matching-numbers car retaining all of its major original factory
components
- Fewer than 30,000 km indicated since new
- Wears its original paint and interior; converted to
non-adjustable suspension in 2017
- Accompanied by proper manuals, Ferrari Classiche documentation,
service records, and history file.
Please note that this lot will need to be collected from Karlskron,
Germany.
In any discussion of automotive icons, the Ferrari F40 is surely
amongst the first cars to be mentioned. Celebrating the company's
40th birthday, the F40 was the pinnacle of what Ferrari could
create as a company. At the cutting edge of performance, it handily
put Lamborghini's Countach and Porsche's 959 in its rearview
mirror, claiming title to the fastest production car in the
supercar-crazed world of the 1980s. Unfortunately, with Enzo's
passing, the F40 was also the last car to receive the blessing of
il Commendatore, bringing about the end of an era for one of the
most storied marques in automotive history.
While the 959 achieved its top speed through pioneering several
innovative technologies, the F40's relentless pursuit of
performance was achieved through the tried-and-true method of less
weight and more power. Ferrari made prolific use of fiberglass and
carbon Kevlar for both its chassis and bodywork, with the F40
tipping the scales at a svelte 2,400 pounds. Its imposing shape was
designed with aerodynamics in mind, providing for excellent
high-speed stability and plenty of airflow to the engine to prevent
overheating. The interior made no compromises in the pursuit of
performance, as well. Fitted with lightweight bucket seats and
devoid of creature comforts, the F40 was equipped with either
roll-up or fixed windows, no carpeting, and featured simple door
pulls instead of traditional handles.
Equally as impressive as its approach to weight savings was the
F40s powerplant. The twin-turbocharged 2.9-litre V-8 was based on
that found in the 288 GTO, but featured bigger bores and a shorter
stroke. Producing 478 bhp, the F40 could rocket to 60 mph in just
3.8 seconds, leading to a quarter mile of 11.8 seconds. Should the
driver have the courage to keep accelerating, the F40 would easily
pass the 959 at 197 mph, ultimately reaching 201.4 mph. This was a
monumental milestone as it was the first production car to break
the 200-mph barrier. Ferrari had originally planned to build just
400 F40s, but demand far outweighed the intended production run,
pushing the total number built to 1,311.
This example was completed in Maranello on March 27, 1990 and
delivered new to Ferrari agent Lightspeed S.r.l of La Spezia,
Italy. Shortly thereafter it was sold to a Mr. Lebee, and exported
to his native Singapore via Ferrari's sole authorized dealer on the
island, Hong Seh Motors Pte. This chassis would remain in
Singapore, sparingly driven, until February of 1993 when it was
acquired by a second owner and moved to Japan.
Accompanying testimony from marque expert Marcel Massini cites this
chassis on-display at the much acclaimed Retromobile event in
Paris, France in 2015 and 2017. During the interceding year, this
chassis was sold to its third owner and imported to Germany from
its long time residence in Japan.
Through 2017, the previous owner commissioned Official Ferrari
Dealer Penske Sportwagen of Hamburg, Germany to comprehensively
service this F40 - insisting that anything requiring attention
should be attended to. After dropping out the engine, Penske's
expert staff quick set to work upon this chassis, resetting it to
the highest mechanical standards. Accompanying invoices show that a
major belt service and replacement or refurbishment of various
powertrain accessories was followed by the fitting of new Brembo
rotors and calipers. Originally specified as an
adjustable-suspension model, Penske converted this chassis to run
the earlier-style non-adjustable suspension setup using all-new and
correct components. The presently mounted set of 17-inch,
lightweight alloy 'Ferrari by Speedline' wheels and Pirelli P Zero
tires were acquired and fitted at this time. In all, the previous
owner incurred nearly €80,000 with this dealer to refresh the
chassis and bring it up to a mechanical state befitting its
presentable and superb cosmetic condition.
This F40 was acquired by the former Ferrari Formula 1 driver
Gerhard Berger in May of 2019. Berger, who competed in 210 Formula
1 races and won 10 GP's between 1984 and 1997, remains one of the
longest tenured drivers in the history of the series. Since its
inaugural season of 1950, just 13 individuals have taken part in
more Formula 1 races. Along with Clay Regazzoni, he is also notably
the only other pilot to have driven for Scuderia Ferrari twice;
Berger started for the "Italian National Racing Team" in 1987-89
and then returned to their roster for 1993 - 95, achieving a pair
of World Championship podiums for Ferrari in 1988 (3rd) and 1994
(3rd), respectively. He famously joined the McLaren Formula 1 Team
for the 1990 through 1992 seasons as the teammate of Ayrton
Senna-forming a potent and threatening combination which secured a
pair of coveted constructor's titles in 1991 and 1992. Though he
retired from Formula 1 after the 1997 season, Berger has always
remained very active in the motorsports community-he currently
serves as President of the ITR (Internationale Tourenwagen Rennen
e.V.), the organization which runs the German touring car
championship. Simply put-there are few people in the world who
understand what it means to enjoy a Ferrari, at-the-limit, better
than the esteemed owner of this well presented chassis.
Berger registered this F40 in his native Austria shortly
thereafter, and this highly original car was successfully submitted
for Classiche Certification under his ownership in December of
2019. The accompanying 'red book' attests to the continued presence
of all pertinent original equipment and factory finishes. As with
all examples preserved to the highest degree, this chassis'
original Rosso Corsa paintwork displays a clearly evident 'weave'-a
phenomenon attributed to the texture of model's carbon fiber
bodywork and very thin layer of factory-provided paint. The sole
modification noted (sans the suspension conversion), is limited to
the fitment of an uncatalyzed and unsilenced 'Le Mans Quicksilver'
titanium sports exhaust system.
This is a unique chance to acquire a fully serviced, Ferrari
Classiche certified F40 directly from the provenience of one of
Ferrari's Formula 1 icons - Gerhard Berger.
To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction,
please visit the RM website at
rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/lf20.
