Ferrari F40

The Ferrari F40 is a mid-engine, rear-wheel drive, two-door coupé sports car built from 1987 to 1992, with the LM and GTE race car versions continuing production until 1994 and 1996 respectively. The successor to the Ferrari 288 GTO, it was designed to celebrate Ferrari's 40th anniversary and was the last Ferrari automobile personally approved by Enzo Ferrari. At the time it was Ferrari's fastest, most powerful, and most expensive car for sale.

The car debuted with a planned production total of 400 and a factory suggested retail price of approximately US$400,000 in 1987 ($840,000 today), although some buyers were reported to have paid as much as US$1.6 million in contrast to its 1999 value of £140,000. 1,311 F40s were manufactured in total.

The F40's light curb weight of 1,369 kg (3,018 lb) and high power output of 478 PS (352 kW; 471 hp) at 7000 rpm gave the vehicle tremendous performance potential. The first independent measurements put 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.7 seconds and a top speed of 321 km/h (199 mph) onto the French Sport Auto September 1988 cover.

The next opportunity to reach the claimed top speed was a shootout at Nardò Ring organized by Auto, Motor und Sport. Ferrari sent two F40 but neither could reach more than 321 km/h (199 mph), beaten by the 515 hp Porsche 959 S reaching 339 km/h (211 mph) and the Ruf CTR reaching 342 km/h (213 mph). Both were limited production with only 29 built, so while the F40 never was the world's fastest sports car as self-appraised by Ferrari, it could still claim the title of the fastest with over 500 units to be built until the arrival of the Lamborghini Diablo. One year later the Italian magazine Quattroroute published a top speed of 326 km/h (202.6 mph). In tests outside of Italy the 200 mph mark wasn't reached however. Road and Track measured 196 mph (315 km/h) for both the European and US version while Car and Driver measured 197 mph (317 km/h).