The Curious History of the 408 4RM: Ferrari’s First AWD Supercar
It almost looks like a Subaru XT coupe mated with a Mosler Consulier GTP; but looks aside, the Ferrari 408 4RM is as much a curiosity as it is an example of how executives make decisions within a corporation. It was the ’80s, a time when Ferrari’s road cars weren’t in the highest of order. Though Ferrari’s lead engineer, Mauro Forghieri, was the man responsible for the race cars, limited success on the track saw him assigned to the road car division, to see if his ideas could become a reality.
One must remember this AWD supercar concept pre-dates the long standing Ferrari F40 and Porsche 959. That said, the idea of an AWD, mid-engine car was more of a fascination than real-world ready. AWD systems weren’t nearly as advanced as they are now. One could assume a pretty big deficit of acceleration and overall performance just by the weight alone.
But still, some folks are allowed to think outside of the box. The 408 RM is the perfect illustration of that. Some engineers were told to see if it worked. It didn’t. And so, the F40 was born.
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Via [Petrolicious]
