As much as we love watching exotic car videos, we have to admit that watching separate Ferrari F40 crashes that occurred about a week apart is just painful. We not-so-secretly give ourselves an undeserved pat on the back and say that it would never happen to us if we were fortunate enough to get behind the wheel of the legendary supercar, and we’d be wrong. It’s fairly well known that the F40 is a bit of a wild animal that may not always be loyal to its master.
Officine Fioravanti
One premier Swiss restomod shop claims to have modernized the F40 to make it more controllable and, thus, less likely to wreck. Hagerty reported that Officine Fioravanti managed to lessen some of the bite without compromising the F40’s impressive performance and driving characteristics. Based on the description of the modifications, it’s not a stretch of the imagination that their restomodded F40 is even better to drive than ever.
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The F40 was meant to be driven… and hard
The F40 was born out of Group B racing, stemming from the 650-horsepower 288 GTO Evoluzione. The F40 is, essentially, a race car for the street, which means average humans will find it more than difficult to drive quickly.
The folks at Officine Fioravanti stated, “The F40 is a masterpiece created to be driven, not just to be shown off… If you don’t use it, you ruin it; if you use it and you are not a real driver, you risk a lot.” One of the F40s that recently crashed was the highest mileage example in the world, meaning its owner was faithful to the car’s intended purpose. Officine Fioravanti wants to keep it that way
Officine Fioravanti
It’s clear that the F40 is a challenging supercar to drive quickly, and it lacks modern driving nannies like ABS, traction control, and stability control that generally keep current supercars and hypercars shiny side up. It was the first production car to hit 200 mph with no real electronic controls
The same ferocious race-car looks with big changes underneath
Officine Fioravanti has a reputation for improving vintage Ferraris. They’ve worked on the 512 BBi and the Testarossa. This time around, they’ve done it to an even more iconic prancing horse. The big wing, the intakes and vents, and that wonderful Lexan rear window are still present, thankfully. The F40’s famous 471-horsepower twin-turbocharged 2.9-liter V8 engine was left untouched, so it still has the turbo lag that can surprise you.
Officine Fioravanti
The chassis is where most of the changes occur. Officine Fioravanti gave their F40 Öhlins TTX36 dampers that are four-way adjustable units used in Formula 3 race cars. It also has custom suspension arms and bearings. They also gave the car powerful Brembo six-piston front calipers and four-piston rears, an upgrade from the stock four all around, along with upgraded carbon ceramic rotors. The car is also finally outfitted with its own bespoke ABS system to prevent lockup.
Officine Fioravanti
The one significant exterior styling change is also functional. It gets new one-piece 18-inch (front) and 19-inch rear wheels in the same five-spoke configuration. They’re shod with Michelin Cup 2 or Pirelli P Zero tires for increased grip. The steering setup has also been changed to include hydraulic servo assist, which should make the F40 easier to control in challenging conditions. The package is called the F40 Alte Prestazioni. Pricing has not been disclosed, but it’s probably safe to say it isn’t cheap.
Final thoughts
Few will ever get behind the wheel of a Ferrari F40. Only 1,315 were made, and it’s not known how many remain. Officine Fioravanti’s F40 Alte Prestazioni.package should increase the chances of more F40s remaining unwrecked, and we love that the restomod shop didn’t mess with the engine and only gave the F40 increased control. It’s a legend that’s worth preserving for generations to come.
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