This £5m F40 LM is one of the coolest Ferrari F40s (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between Ferrari F40 and F40 LM? ›

The new version of the F40 was built two years after the original made its debut and was ordered by the French importer who wanted to field it in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In fact, the first two examples built were known as F40 LM and featured a more powerful engine, modified suspension and special aerodynamics.

According to Hemmings Motor News, the average asking price of a Ferrari F40 is around $1.5 million with some well-kept examples asking for as high as $1.9 million and sometimes even more, depending on condition.

Only 19 F40 LMs were ever built, and this particular car was used as a prototype while the road-going F40 was being designed. Michelotto did the conversion in 1992, it was bought by Michel Ferté in '94, and it finished 12th at Le Mans in '95.

The Ferrari F40 LM is the race-spec variant of the Ferrari F40 and packs more power, better aerodynamics and less weight than the car it is based on. The LM, which stands for Le Mans, was specced to satisfy IMSA regulations with the goal of competing on the world's highest stage in its performance category.

LM is an abbreviation for Le Mans. Ferrari used this term on a few of their LM-competing racing cars. LMB. LMB stands for Le Mans Berlinetta, a name Ferrari used for the 1963 330 LMB race cars.

Those of us that rocked Supercars from Ferrari were dreaming of the F40. Production of these cars was set to be rather low at 400 units. Demand for it pushed the company to produce 1300 examples. Of the 19 models produced as a Ferrari F40 LM, the Italian automaker recognizes only 18 today.

An expert explained its popularity among the Ferrari cognoscenti: "They will never be allowed to make another F40 in today's world of red tape and health and safety. That is what makes it so special and so desirable."

In 2013, Discovery Channel's hit show Fast & Loud filmed Richard Rawlings and the Gas Monkey Garage crew refurbish a totaled 1991 Ferrari F40 for $695,000.00. The Texas team later auctioned the rebuilt supercar in 2014 with baseball star Reggie Jackson placing the $742,500.00 winning bid.

The most rarest car in the world is the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé. Only two of these cars were ever built, and one of them was sold at auction in 2022 for $142.9 million (AED 524,884,561).

All F40s were street legal.

Are all F40 red? ›

There's a reason nearly every F40 you see is red: all were painted that way from the factory. Whenever you see an F40 in any other color, it's been repainted. However, hardly any F40 still has the original finish nowadays, as the quality of the factory paintjob apparently wasn't great to begin with.

The plug-in hybrid Ferrari SF90 XX Stradale has confirmed its place in motoring folklore by smashing the lap record for a road-going Ferrari at the company's Fiorano test track, with a time of 1:17.309 – shaving 1.4 seconds off the previous record set by the SF90 Assetto Fiorano package.

Michelotto turned seven road going F40's into racing versions known as the F40 GT. The F40 GT is not as mad as the F40 LM, but that was done so it could compete in the Italian GT Championship. The body was lighter and 17” magnesium wheels, bigger brakes, a race exhaust and a better cooling system were added.

- The F40 LM featured a modified 2.9-liter V8 engine that produced up to 720 horsepower, as well as a stripped-down interior, lightweight body panels, and a revised rear wing for increased downforce.

Compared to the 1,315 examples of the legendary Ferrari F40 built between 1987-92, the F50 was almost four times rarer at the time of production.

Just 32 Ferrari 250 LM were ever built with the aim of bringing prototype technology to GT racing. Motorsport is effectively a self-perpetuating arms race between manufacturers of high performance machines. Engineering and design talent is pushed to extremes in an attempt to reach ever greater speeds.