Lee Iacocca’s 1991 Ferrari F40 Up for Auction

With radical styling, state-of-the-art technologies, go-kart reflexes and a howling exhaust note, the F40 is a genuine investment-quality supercar.
Conceived in 1986 and introduced in 1987, the F40 was built to commemorate Ferrari's 40th anniversary and was the last car Enzo Ferrari would see launched.Bridging the gap between road and race cars while further progressing the 288 GTO Evoluzione, technical specs on the F40 are the stuff of legend born from engineering where costs were no object. A carbon-fiber and Kevlar-reinforced steel space frame chassis with composite body panels was mated to a 2.9-liter twin-turbocharged four-cam V8 rated at 471hp.

With power sent to the wheels via a five-speed manual box, and weighing in at just 1,100kg, the F40 offered brutal acceleration and blinding performance. From standstill to 60mph the F40 was timed at 3.9 seconds, and from 0-140mph a mere 14 seconds, making it the fastest road car ever produced.Initial production of the car was limited to around 400 but with overwhelming market demand production continued and by the time it came to an end in 1991, 1,315 F40s had been built. American Ferrari enthusiasts had to wait until 1990 for the chance to own one and over a three-year period, just 213 examples were built for the US market.
This particular model from 1991 has covered just 300 miles and has had had three owners from new, with the original owner being none other than Lee Iococca who had the car specially built when he was chief executive of Chrysler.The car will be going under the hammer at RM Auctions in Arizona this Friday and is expected to be sold for between $650,000 and $750,000. With it will come extensive documentation confirming former ownership of Lee Iacocca, the Ferrari Certificate of Origin, and an engraved 'Built Especially for Lee Iacocca' card.Photos: Darin Schnabel/RM Auctions.