Michelotto's work resulted in the F40 LM, which first took to track for testing late in 1988. Interestingly much of the speculation before the F40's launch suggested that it would be called 'Le Mans', which now proved to be partly right. The differences between the road and racing cars were subtle with the carbon fibre splitter, rear diffusers and adjustable rear wing as the most obvious. Furthermore the pop-up headlights were replaced by two big perspex covered units and additional NACA-ducts hinted at an increased cooling capacity. A new engine management system and increased compression saw the power increased to at least 720 hp, but for qualifying the boost could be increased to yield in excess of 900 hp. The interior was stripped even further and the dashboard was replaced by a state of the art digital setup.
Like many of the F40 LMs, chassis 88522 was sold immediately to a private collector; in this case cartoonist Albert Uderzo of Asterix fame. He used the car several times in private track sessions before he sold it in 1993. One of the later owners had Jacky Ickx drive it on the Nürburgring Grand Prix track in 1998. The multiple Le Mans winner clocked a time considerably faster than the contemporary Formula 1 racers also present. It is seen here at the Bonhams' Gstaad Ferrari Auction in 2005, making its second appearance at the exclusive sale after it was offered in 1998. A Far East collector jumped on the rare opportunity to obtain one of the F40 LMs and coughed up CHF 844,665 or $654,615 USD to take ownership of CN.88522.
Specs:
- Ferrari F40 LM '89 specs.png (5.76 KiB) Viewed 2424 times
