‘BLU’ Ferrari F40: Sacrilegious or Stunning?
Impressive history ranging from a Liberty Walk LM conversion to full Classiche certification, this Ferrari F40 is truly a standout example.
Few cars can evoke the emotion a Ferrari F40 can in person. There something of a magical aura about this particular Ferrari that forces itself to be the center of attention no matter where you are.
Without a doubt one of the most extreme vehicles to leave Maranello, the F40 has cemented itself as an undeniable icon. It now represents a reminiscent era of automotive engineering that will never be returned to.
Many Ferrari enthusiasts believe the F40 to be the greatest road-going offering the brand has ever created. Others believe the car was unrefined and outdated compared to its contemporaries.
While that may be a debate in its own right, what about taking a car that was specifically only painted in the symbol of your brand, Rosso Corsa, and painting it blue! On top of that, a Porsche color code.
That in itself might set the purist Ferrari fan’s hatred ablaze, however, the explanation is more much complicated than that. This car has a particularly interesting history even amongst other F40s, one we will dive into.
The origins of “F40 BLU”
The owner of this special F40 is Sam Moores, a popular automotive personality in the UK who has a serious obsession with the color blue. Moores has made his name in international commercial photography and has had the privilege of owning this “F40BLU” example for the last 6 years.
However, like all things in life, there is a time to move on. Thus, just this week, this one of a kind Ferrari was placed for sale on The Market, a popular collectible car auction site in the UK. With 5 days still left on the auction, it’s current bid stands at about $900,000 USD.
It is believed the car should sell within the current price and about $1.2 million USD, as the low end average price for an F40 is about $880,000 USD.
This 1989 F40 is a “non-cat, non adjustable” model, which is known to be the more desirable spec. Remember, the rawer, the better with the F40. While it began its life in the hands of a Swiss owner, in 2004, popular bodywork shop, Liberty Walk, purchased the car.
While in Japan, the car was painted white and converted to a unique LM-style body with couple of Liberty Walk specific touches. Four years later, the car would make its way to Joe Macari Performance Cars in London.
Handled exclusively by Ferrari royalty
As part of the purchasing deal, the car was returned completely to factory specification. This work was to be done by a very particular workshop located in Maranello, named Carrozzeria Zanasi.
Zanasi is known as Ferrari’s exclusive body shop and restoration center, where the only official certificate of authenticity, known as the Classiche program, is given to particular Ferraris that meet the standard.
After this particular example received its certification, it was masterfully painted in Porsche’s Aqua Blue Metallic by the Zanasi artisans.
We believe if Ferrari’s personal workshop was willing paint an F40 blue, we have no right to think its wrong. Plus, it’s evident the car looks gorgeous in this shade.
Take loud, make it louder
The F40 was already Ferrari’s representation of turning the dial to 11 and then breaking it clean off. However, this particular example is also fitted with a bespoke Tubi straight pipe exhaust.
The sounds released by this vehicle now are undeniably intoxicating to any automotive enthusiast- turbos screaming and fluttering with constant pops and bangs from the overrun.
The pure visceral experience that is an F40 is what makes this car so standout amongst its peers. It is far from perfect, but it makes up for that in inarguable character.
A rambunctious race car for the road, it simply was engineered for nothing more than sheer unadulterated performance. We hope that the new owner believes the same, as this is not one to be a garage queen.
Rather, we believe the car should be enjoyed to its fullest potential at any given moment. That would showing respect to both its nature and lineage.
