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A group of engineers and designers who participated in the Ferrari F40 project will soon share anecdotes about the development of this classic car with fans.
WORDS：Craig Jamieson / Translation：Adrian Mak
“I’ve never experienced a launch event like the F40. When the car was unveiled, the room was so quiet that you could hear a bee flying by, and then there was thunderous applause. Except for Enzo Ferrari’s closest working partners Besides, no one has seen it. The fact that the company has kept the development and testing of that car under wraps in an unusual way is a stylistic leap that comes as a surprise, even a shock.”
That’s what Ermanno Bonfiglioli, head of special projects for Ferrari in the 1980s and one of the creators of the epoch-making F40, had to say about the launch of the F40 on July 21, 1987.
A group of engineers and designers who participated in the Ferrari F40 project will soon share anecdotes about the development of this classic car with fans.
Not long ago, Ferrari brought together the three core members who played an important role in the creation of the F40 to commemorate the history of developing and launching one of the most unforgettable cars in the world.
This article records various anecdotes and facts about the F40 – it is a car that evolved from the 288, it was the last car that Enzo Ferrari personally approved, and Gordon Murray (Father of McLaren F1) did not like it It, but Nigel Mansell (ex-Ferrari F1 team driver, 1992 F1 world champion) likes… blah blah blah.
A group of engineers and designers who participated in the Ferrari F40 project will soon share anecdotes about the development of this classic car with fans.
According to Bonfiglioli, the F40’s development process felt very short: “It’s an unusual timeline,” he said. “In just 13 months, the chassis, body and powertrain advanced at the same pace.”
It usually takes several years to create a new car from scratch. Alfa Romeo’s two-and-a-half-year development plan for the new Giulia has attracted the attention of many car fans, let alone Bonfiglioli and his team. Design, Tested and completed production Ferrari F40.
A group of engineers and designers who participated in the Ferrari F40 project will soon share anecdotes about the development of this classic car with fans.
From the start, the F40 was designed as a road-legal race car, with a space-frame chassis, bonded kevlar panels and carbon fiber doors, hood and boot cover.
The above measures keep the weight of the car at 1,100 kg, but as you smart car fans expect, “lightness” is not the only goal of the F40. In fact, its creators were so focused on everything that they seemed to be perfecting it, as explained by F40 designer (and formerly part of Pininfarina) Leonardo Fioravanti: “We kept our heads down and did all kinds of research in the wind tunnel. , constantly improving its aerodynamic design, to strive for comparable performance for the most powerful Ferrari production car ever.”
A group of engineers and designers who participated in the Ferrari F40 project will soon share anecdotes about the development of this classic car with fans.
Their persistence can also be interpreted as a relentless pursuit of speed – although this sounds very cliché, when we are talking about the world‘s first production car to break the 320km/h (200mph) mark, Nothing could be more appropriate than this adjective.
Creating a sleek bodywork is one thing, but creating something that will stick in your mind for thirty years is another level entirely. Fioravanti explains the magic behind the F40 this way: “Its style matches its performance. Thanks to my colleague Aldo Brovarone, the short front overhang, the very low bonnet, and those NACA vents on it and the rear spoiler did their job and helped make this car famous.”
A group of engineers and designers who participated in the Ferrari F40 project will soon share anecdotes about the development of this classic car with fans.
On top of that, Bonfiglioli’s team installed one of the best engines ever – Ferrari’s 2.9-liter turbocharged V8 – under the one-piece flip-up hood. “The eight-cylinder 478bhp twin-turbo is a derivative of the 288 GTO Evoluzione,” said Bonfiglioli. “Combined with other innovative technologies, the F40 became the first mass-produced Ferrari with a top speed exceeding 320km/h. In addition, the weight of the engine is also an important point. We extensively Magnesium alloy (Magnesium) is applied, such as the oil pan, cylinder head cover, intake manifold and gearbox housing. The cost is five times that of aluminum alloy, and it will no longer be found in mass-produced cars in the future So much magnesium alloy.”
A group of engineers and designers who participated in the Ferrari F40 project will soon share anecdotes about the development of this classic car with fans.
The team’s result is the light, powerful, technologically innovative and stylish F40, a success that must not forget the credit of Ferrari test driver Dario Benuzzi, who was instrumental in smoothing out the various bumps that arose during the development process.
“The handling of the first prototypes was terrible,” Benuzzi said. “In order to tame the power of the engine and make it compatible with the production model, we need to run countless tests on every aspect of the car … from the turbocharger to the brake system, to the suspension and tires.” Benuzzi with Bonfiglioli Working as a team, we tried to reconcile the F40’s dynamism, lightweight style and new-age kevlar-carbon technology. An already grim development process was complicated by the fact that the F40 had to maintain a raw, uncompromising character and strike a blow to the “too soft” approach taken by Ferrari at the same time.
A group of engineers and designers who participated in the Ferrari F40 project will soon share anecdotes about the development of this classic car with fans.
“What we ended up with was exactly the car we wanted, with very little comfort and no compromises,” he said. “Because there is no power steering, power brake (power brake) or electronic equipment, the driver needs a certain amount of technology and effort, but the experience gained is very worthwhile.” TopGear also agrees with this point.
Fioravanti remembers how eager people were to see a hard-edged Ferrari at the time: “il Commendatore (Italian for ‘commander’, referring to Enzo Ferrari) asked me about this experimental prototype. [288 GTO Evoluzione] opinion,” he said. “That’s when he spoke to me for the first time about his desire to produce a ‘real Ferrari’. As he himself predicted, we knew it would be his last car.”
The team kept their word and produced a car that is unforgettable.
A group of engineers and designers who participated in the Ferrari F40 project will soon share anecdotes about the development of this classic car with fans.
Although Benuzzi has been responsible for testing and pondering the countless cars, including BB, 288GTO, F40 IMSA, F50 (“I like the F50, it is underrated, but it lacks some power.”), 550, Enzo, 333SP, 599, 458, FXX and 599XX, FF and even F12, but he said that the F40 is still “my proudest” car model, and he quickly pointed out that the 348 is definitely not included in the list.
When it comes to the 348, this car is probably the worst rated Ferrari. Luca di Montezemolo (Luca di Montezemolo, then a Ferrari executive) once said: “In addition to the beautiful appearance, I feel very impressed with the 348. Very disappointed, this is clearly the worst product Ferrari has developed in quite some time.”
A group of engineers and designers who participated in the Ferrari F40 project will soon share anecdotes about the development of this classic car with fans.
There must be a reason for what happened. Benuzzi said that he was immersed in the F40 at the time, and happened to have a broken hand while working, so he was unable to participate in the 348 project. Later, he had to jump directly to the 355.
So, without the bleakness of 348, how can it set off the brilliance of F40?
The original text comes from the UK website of TopGear
