In February, 2020, a devastated Ferrari F40 owner watched as their example of one of the most iconic supercars of all was destroyed by a blaze. Fire raged throughout the Rosso Corsa painted machine, a valuable asset as well as an important and rare model, leaving the rear end in particular a tangled mass that was reported as beyond repair.
Now, photographs have emerged of the wreck sitting patiently in the service area at Ferrari Monte Carlo, apparently awaiting a full restoration. The pictures show the rear end is a blackened mess of molten body and engine parts, and clearly too far gone to salvage, but despite the reports at the time the front appears to be ripe for a rebuild ahead of the doors. As the leading experts in the region, Ferrari Monte Carlo is the place for this forlorn beauty to be, and there are rumours that Ferrari itself is getting involved.
New Panels from Maranello
If this were an ordinary car the insurance company would already have written it off and paid up, but at what cost do you write off a Ferrari F40? Official accounts state only 1315 F40’s were built, and while they come up for sale quite often, you can expect to pay upwards of £1million ($1,260,000) for a well-maintained example.
That value is not going to fall as these cars are among the most sought-after in the classic car world, so restoring this Ferrari makes financial sense. The story goes that Ferrari will supply not only new carbon-fibre doors and the other necessary body parts, but will also send a team of Ferrari Restoration Technicians to ensure the job is done to perfection. Ferrari is well-known for helping keep classic models on the road, and this is a prime model in its long history.
As for the engine, that’s clearly beyond repair. The question is whether the owner will be able to source a used replacement – some F40’s have been scrapped as they were damaged beyond repair – or whether Ferrari will hand-build a one-off example of the legendary 3-litre twin-turbo V8 – named Tipo F120D – that was developed for the F40? That would make this Ferrari F40 a very special example indeed.
