F40 or Enzo Ferrari and why

Same can be said of any Ferrari built 30 or more years ago. Silly to the extreme to make such a statement. Would you do a performance comparison of a P51 to an F22 and declare the P51 substandard?

 

the whole visible weave thing is a misconception.

in 2014 i went to maranello to inspect otis chandler's former F40 that he had had an incident in at Riverside. it was at the classiche workshop being fettled and certified, and i was visiting it with an interest to buy it. ( i did not).

but during my visit i saw other F40's there, and had several conversations with the men working on those cars, and i asked them about the weave because some of the cars had it clearly visible and others not so much. they told me that the weave being visible is not a sign of anything other than the fact that they got better at making the car and painting it as they went along - and it was also somewhat dependent on who was on painting duty for which car.
they showed me a '92 car with less visible weave and swore it had never been wrecked or repainted.

fwiw.

 

Absolutely. I have wondered though why it is that F50's built a good few years later when you would think the process has improved further still, seem to more consistently display weave, unless I'm imagining. When I bought mine, I paid attention to the weave, but since have seen that most original cars have it.

 

luigi and gianni never got as good at painting as paolo and federico ?

i dunno. but ever since that visit i have tried to pay special attention to the paint on F40's and i must say that i have seen the gamut from very obvious weave, like mine, and no weave at all on cars whose owners swear were not repainted.

maybe we can do a survey of fchat f40 owners?

 

Oh boy definitely have weave on mine!!!


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One of mine did, the other didn't. Yet I was more sure of the history of the non-weave car. Someone like Joe here might have a good view as I am sure he has seen the lot.

 

Many thanks for the response - really useful advice. Despite the fact that the F40 would sell if launched as a new car tomorrow, they are nevertheless 30 years old and need to be treated with respect, I think a slightly higher mileage car might well be the thing if it’s in good order. Cheers

 

you think? whether a car has traveled 4k miles or 40k over 30 years is it really relevant to say the car driven 1300 miles a year was actually driven?

and what if the 40k mile car was 90 percent driven over 36 months and sat idle for the rest etc?

 

If you were a fighter pilot, you would surely prefer the Raptor over the Mustang... It might be an obvious statement, but sometimes people view the past through their little rose tinted glasses. Reality checks are good things to have.

 

Its just that most rational people judge things from a perspective of when they were made.

 

I have seen a great many subjected to paint correction so to judge now how they were as made is difficult. A lot of owners, even when new just could not accept the paint as delivered. As new cars I never saw one with what any normal manufacturer would consider acceptable paint.

 

Anyone who loves “weave” should take a look at an original paint black F50 if you ever get the opportunity. This spectacular example was at the FCA Concours in September. Photos don’t quit capture the amazing texture, particularly when the sun hits it. You can really appreciate the artistry of the bodywork.

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No argument about that one. We should just call things as they are, by today's standards. Would you rather cross the Indian Ocean onboard the Cutty Sark, as legendary as that ship might be, or the Queen Mary II?

 

You continue to miss the point.

 

I know the car well. Not sure this is about loving the texture however.

 

You must’ve looked at the car (#92017) back when Simon Kidston had it for sale (i.e. I believe he had it on consignment from its then-owner, a Middle Easterner from someplace like Dubai, Qatar or Bahrain).

The rear of that car suffered considerable damage when it went off an embankment in Oxnard, California (not far from Otis Chandler’s Vintage Museum of Transportation and Wildlife in Oxnard, which now coincidentally is the location of Peter Mullin‘s Mullin Automotive Museum).

Lee Brown in the San Fernando Valley repaired it. The same Lee Brown who modified Dean Paul Martin’s 1966 Ferrari 412 P #0850 so that it’d be less likely to overheat during street driving, etc.

This incident did not occur at Riverside International Raceway, etc.

 

I beg to differ.

 

Having driven both, they are great cars but is it's pretty obvious you need to get an F50!

 

yes thats the one. simon was unclear on what had happened and thought it had been at riverside. thanks for clarification.
fwiw, the classiche guys said the repairs were very well done, no structural damage, just body.

 

Otis Chandler used to exercise his Porsche 917/30 at Riverside, and even raced an enduro there in his Porsche 935 together with John Thomas.

Riverside’s final driving event was in July 1989.

 

I'm currently looking at buying an F40. The car will be kept in the UK as it's where I will be eventually be spending most of my time. It's the Ferrari I've always wanted to own but never had the opportunity to until now. I love everything about, the design, the minimalism of the interior, the sound of the engine and the way it drives. I'm still deciding on a dealer to work with in finding the right car.

 

Send you a PM

 

Go with DK.

 

We specialize in these cars and we've sold three (3) F40s in the last 30 days, 2 European cars and 1 USA car, please reach out if you'd like us to help you.

 

Seems like many people are looking to get EU F40's in the US.