Sound piece, 2000

Recording of a test drive in a Ferrari F40

'Celebrating Modernism - The Pure Sound of Ferrari F40'

The Ferrari F40

 

Enzo Ferrari (1898-1988) who was a former race driver and Alfa Romeo dealer stepped into history in 1947 as a car manufacturer with his 125 S. This open sports car was equipped with a 1,498-cc twelve-cylinder engine (72 horsepower) and was built exclusively for racing. The results are well known: Il Commendatore, as he was called, shared many victories with his men, from the very first Grand Prix of Monte Carlo in 1948 until his death in 1988. Enzo Ferrari died however a month too early to celebrate the double victory of Berger and Alboreto in the Italian GP. Since the first Ferrari, many legendary types have galloped out of the stables with the Prancing Horse, such as the F40, which marked Ferrari's 40th birthday.

 

The F40 was a car with a mission. In 1987 Enzo Ferrari was in his 90th year, and celebrating his 40th anniversary as a car-maker. He was growing frail, and knew this would be his last major milestone. He could look back on almost a hundred GP wins, eight Fl world championships, nine Le Mans wins and 5,000 other victories. With undimmed pride, he planned to crown it all with the undisputed king of road cars, the fastest Ferrari of them all. In his own words "the best Ferrari ever" The F40.

Ferrari, quite magnificently, stage-managed its launch at the Maranello factory in July 1987. There was, however, substance behind the showmanship. The F40 was a genuinely great car, and it put Ferrari back where he believed he belonged...