1991 Ferrari F40 Berlinetta
Coachwork by Carrozzeria Scaglietti
Registration no. Not registered in the UK
Chassis no. ZFFGJ34B000089460

This European specification, left-hand-drive Plexiglass sliding-window model Ferrari F40 was ordered by Fabrizio Violati on October 15, 1987, at the official marque dealership Sa.Mo.Car SpA in Rome, Italy. His order number for the car was '11146' and on July 8, 1991 the finished car's Certificate of Conformity (No 205) was issued by factory engineer Corrado Cinghi.

Factory invoice No 2141/A was issued for the car on July 15, 1991 and on the 23rd of that month this F40 was sold by Sa.Mo.Car SpA of Via Salaria, Rome, to Leasing Sanmarinese SA of Via 5 Febbraio, Domagnano, San Marino for the declared purchase price of Lire 305,000,000. On July 29 the F40 was formally leased to Stelabar SA of Via Paina, San Marino, and on August 13 it was formally sold to Fabrizio Violati. He promptly drove the car as race number '82' in the September 28/29 III Historic Grand Prix of the Republic of San Marino, at the Imola race circuit nearby.

Fabrizio Violati retained the car as a prime exhibit within his Collezione Maranello Rosso displays in San Marino and latterly at Falciano, still within the Republic, but on the road eastward towards Rimini.

As offered today this Ferrari F40 Berlinetta has the correct chassis and engine numbers, the correct chassis tag and assembly number tag. The car also features the optional Uniball-jointed suspension system, and its odometer upon delivery to Bonhams showed 5,350kms – this modest figure (as with so many others amongst these Maranello Rosso cars) again being considered probably genuine. As with all the Maraneloo Rosso Collection cars being offered here we obviously recommend the closest technical inspection and any required recommissioning before the car is used again in earnest. However, this low-mileage, long-preserved example is clearly worthy of the most serious consideration...

The Ferrari F40 Berlinetta was first conceived in 1986 and was intended to celebrate Ferrari's imminent 40th anniversary in the coming year. Mr Ferrari's friend Gino Rancati is said to have come up with the idea, 'The Old Man' having functionary G.B. Razelli write to him accompanying a silver plaque commemorating the event, as follows: "Dear Rancati – With this plaque I want to commemorate our meeting on the 4th of June when you kindly contributed to the choice of the name for the GT car we presented at the Frankfurt motor show. Your contribution has produced excellent results – the 'F Forty', based on the idea of forty years of Ferrari cars, identifies and personalizes the fastest Ferrari GT...".

The F40 really embodied the next logical evolutionary step forward from the turbocharged Ferrari 288 GTO of the earlier 1980s. The new car was based upon a frontier-technology carbon-composite and Kevlar-reinforced steel frame chassis with composite body paneling. Power was provided by a twin-turbocharged, intercooled, 4-cam V8 engine with an advanced Weber-Marelli engine management system and developing close to 500bhpin an overall package weighing barely 1,100kg – 2,425lbs.

A road test in the British 'Fast Lane' magazine highlighted a 0-60mph acceleration time of just 3.9 seconds, 0-100mph in 7.8secs and 0-140mph in 14secs. At the time the Ferrari F40 was the fastest road car ever produced in series. There was talk upon its introduction of production being limited to 400 examples but by the time that production finally ceased in 1991 it is believed that the actual total produced was no fewer than 1,315.

There is a story of an immensely experienced purveyor of highperformance cars to the nobility and gentry who in one day collected a well-known German- manufactured contemporary supercar from its manufacturer in Stuttgart, and then drove it down to Milan for delivery to a customer. He then made his way to Modena, where he was to collect another customer's brand-new Ferrari F40 for delivery back in the UK.

First, his friends at the Maranello factory insisted that he should sample the F40's full performance upon the factory test track at Fiorano. As he told the story, "Having parked the German supercar in Milan I locked it up and walked away, and forgot totally what it had been like to drive. But with the F40, after three laps at Fiorano my mind was seething with impressions that will live with me for the rest of my life. The Ferrari F40 does more for the senses, and has more character, than any other supercar I have ever driven...". The voice of experience there – an experience which the highest bidder for the late Fabrizio Violati's '89460' offered here can shortly share...

Please note this vehicle is subject to import tax should it remain in the EU.