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    Jun 9, 2008 6:53:35 AM

    atomic80
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    atomic80
    Loc: Bellevue, WA USA , United States
    Posts: 2596, Gallery
    Registered on: Feb 9, 2006

    Driving the F40 for the first time

    It's been a lifelong dream of mine to drive the F40. It's the first real super car that I lusted after as a kid. Imagine my shock when the generous owner threw me the key and said "you're driving the F40" with a smile. I was in utter shock at that very moment because I thought I was going to follow him in my 997TT. Well, I definitely wasn't going to waste any time. I got in the F40 which was surprisingly hard. You'd have to be very nimble to squeeze your way in. It's probably built for someone of my stature so I'm not sure how a tall person would fit. Once in the car it was very comfortable with everything within reach. The one thing I had to remember was to pull back on the gear shift to get into first. The pedals are also very close together so you need to wear narrow shoes. I was wearing my fat shoes so that made it hard. I also noticed that I could feel the steering rod turn just beyond the reach of the brake pedal. It's an incredible machine. Very direct, very powerful and definitely DEMANDS your full attention when driving. You definitely need powerful legs/arms to modulate everything in this car. My 997TT felt "cushy" compared to the raw F40. They're worlds apart, that's for sure.

    The hidden beast within


    Lightning




    Funny how my car stood out above (IMHO) his other red cars

    Jun 9, 2008 7:13:02 AM

    alexm
    Newbie
    alexm
    Loc: Southern highlands, NSW, Australia
    Posts: 26, Gallery
    Registered on: Aug 28, 2004
    Reply to: atomic80

    Re: Driving the F40 for the first time

    Your friend SURE does have some garage to cover most scenarios there!

    So it was a drive on public roads? How did you go? Was it easy to drive smoothly or was it wanting to spool up the turbos al the time and anxious to get going?

    Jun 9, 2008 7:21:05 AM

    Turbo
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    Turbo
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    Reply to: atomic80

    Re: Driving the F40 for the first time

    Very nice pictures, has some one infos about the carlift system 430/Stradale?

    Jun 9, 2008 8:47:51 AM

    boytronic
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    boytronic
    Loc: London , United Kingdom
    Posts: 961, Gallery
    Registered on: Jan 5, 2005
    Reply to: Turbo

    Re: Driving the F40 for the first time

    Amazing collection of cars - looks like something off a poster on a kids wall!

    Thanks...

    Jun 9, 2008 8:51:25 AM

    PinKchampagnE
    Pilot
    PinKchampagnE
    Loc: Fr , France
    Posts: 310, Gallery
    Registered on: Mar 10, 2007
    Reply to: boytronic

    Re: Driving the F40 for the first time

    Now that's what I call a garage... Amazing.

    Jun 9, 2008 12:15:41 PM

    RichJ
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    RichJ
    Loc: London, England
    Posts: 846, Gallery
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    Reply to: PinKchampagnE

    Re: Driving the F40 for the first time

    Cracking photos as always...

    Love the F40 one of my all time favorites and If I'm ever lucky enough to be able to afford a "super" car that will be high on my shopping list.

    Jun 9, 2008 1:09:23 PM

    easy_rider911
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    easy_rider911
    Loc: London , United Kingdom
    Posts: 22190, Gallery
    Registered on: Nov 8, 2004
    Reply to: RichJ

    Re: Driving the F40 for the first time

    Amazing garage - I'm just speechless. What does he think of your TT BTW?

    Jun 9, 2008 1:42:59 PM

    JoeRockhead
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    JoeRockhead
    Loc: Topside , Monaco
    Posts: 8033, Gallery
    Registered on: Sep 17, 2007
    Reply to: boytronic

    Re: Driving the F40 for the first time

    Quote:
    boytronic said:
    Amazing collection of cars - looks like something off a poster on a kids wall!

    Thanks...



    +1

    Jun 9, 2008 2:14:23 PM

    Heist
    Rennteam Master
    Heist
    Loc: Washington, DC , United States
    Posts: 4147, Gallery
    Registered on: Jun 15, 2007
    Reply to: JoeRockhead

    Re: Driving the F40 for the first time

    I need more toys.
    I need a new business (thanks economy and real estate for ruining mine)
    I need a new job...or at least one that pays to have more toys

    Will work for Ferrari 360 money

    Jun 9, 2008 3:28:11 PM

    nberry Offline
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    nberry
    Loc: La Jolla, USA , United States
    Posts: 13737, Gallery
    Registered on: Apr 11, 2002
    Reply to: atomic80

    Re: Driving the F40 for the first time

    This car epitomizes what raw is. No electronic safety devices of any kind. A couple of years ago a British magazine tested the F40 against the 430 at a local track. The 430 beat the F40 pretty bad because according to the magazine the F40 was too much of a hand full to drive at the limit around a track. In a straight line, it is a rocket ship but driving around a track, it is downright dangerous.

    Jun 9, 2008 4:27:13 PM

    Turbo
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    Turbo
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    Reply to: nberry

    Re: Driving the F40 for the first time

    Quote:
    nberry said:
    In a straight line, it is a rocket ship but driving around a track, it is downright dangerous.



    Straight line is the way to go with a car that has not very efficent brakes...

    Jun 9, 2008 5:27:28 PM

    atomic80
    Rennteam Pro
    atomic80
    Loc: Bellevue, WA USA , United States
    Posts: 2596, Gallery
    Registered on: Feb 9, 2006
    Reply to: Turbo

    Re: Driving the F40 for the first time

    Immediately after driving the F40, I drove my 997TT and I was acutely aware of the differences offered by a car that was the pinnacle of technology 20 years ago vs a very capable modern car from today's time. Everything felt "soft" by comparison except the suspension of course. I was amazed how well the F40 rode especially for a car of its type. Not overly harsh like I thought it would be. Very compliant and in fact corners flat and inspires confidence in the corners. It's the powerband or rather its potential that I found to be a bit unnverving. Snap oversteer at any given moment is not something I want to experience. I also noticed that this car is not easy to drive slow. The clutch is heavy, the brake pedal squeals like crazy coupled with a heavy effort and even the gas pedal was heavy. The pedals were very closely spaced together and the gated shifter didn't make changing gears very easy.

    As for the comments about the F40 being capable only under ideal conditions or in a straightline. I'm not sure I agree with those comments. I believe that under the right driver under ideal conditions, the F40 would be a much more capable car. You'd just have to work harder to get more out of it.

    I said it once earlier and I'll say it again, this car DEMANDS respect!

    Jun 9, 2008 5:53:12 PM

    roadtrip
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    roadtrip
    Loc: new mexico, usa
    Posts: 1172, Gallery
    Registered on: May 31, 2006
    Reply to: atomic80

    Re: Driving the F40 for the first time

    a couple of years ago i got to put in a couple of hundred miles in this the f40 of a friend...we were both amazed at how capsble a road car it was....relatively comfortable and roomy once you get belted in anyway...the whistling of the turbos only enhancing the fun....a real machine, detailwise i remember how much i liked the look of purposeful matt finished carbon fiber as opposed to the glossy look of todays cf.

    Jun 9, 2008 6:00:19 PM

    matdaytona
    Junior
    matdaytona
    Loc: London , United Kingdom
    Posts: 126, Gallery
    Registered on: Sep 20, 2006
    Reply to: atomic80

    Re: Driving the F40 for the first time

    Nice report Atomic80 !

    great cars for your friend, and thanks for the pictures !

    Jun 9, 2008 7:06:41 PM

    Pentium Offline
    Rennteam Master
    Pentium
    Loc: Earth , Romania
    Posts: 3055, Gallery
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    Reply to: atomic80

    Re: Driving the F40 for the first time

    Thumbs up man!

    Congratulations!

    Could you please post high-res pictures also?
    Thanks.

    Jun 9, 2008 8:05:45 PM

    Alex_997TT
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    Alex_997TT
    Loc: Reading , United Kingdom
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    Reply to: Pentium

    Re: Driving the F40 for the first time

    You luck lucky boy!! A deram of mine for sure

    Hey, I wonder if anyone has ever tried to upgrade an F40 with modern day wheels/brakes etc. Given it's weight and 480bhp it would be a match for anything on sale today.

    Jun 9, 2008 8:35:48 PM

    Crash
    Rennteam VIP
    Crash
    Loc: Never been to , Antarctica
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    Registered on: Oct 17, 2002
    Reply to: Alex_997TT

    Re: Driving the F40 for the first time

    Quote:
    Alex_997TurboRSC said:
    You luck lucky boy!! A deram of mine for sure

    Hey, I wonder if anyone has ever tried to upgrade an F40 with modern day wheels/brakes etc. Given it's weight and 480bhp it would be a match for anything on sale today.



    Redo the suspension, add CCM brakes, Cup tyres, chip the engine and add VTG turbochargers, along with a modified exhaust. That would be some serious ownage .

    Jun 10, 2008 5:40:50 PM

    vinnie
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    vinnie
    Loc: Australia , Australia
    Posts: 1005, Gallery
    Registered on: Feb 25, 2005
    Reply to: Crash

    Re: Driving the F40 for the first time

    Thanks for the write up and great pictures.

    The F40 was my dream car when I was a little boy and still is today.
    In my opinion the most pure and best looking Ferrari to date.
    Amazing to think the car is 21 years old now!
    I remember reading in several magazines demand was so high people were paying
    over 4 times the price.

    I would love to see Ferrari make a modern version, maybe in the up coming F70.

    Jun 10, 2008 5:52:58 PM

    MKW
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    MKW
    Loc: Palo Alto and North Lake Tahoe , United States
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    Registered on: Nov 22, 2002
    Reply to: atomic80

    Re: Driving the F40 for the first time

    Quote:
    atomic80 said:
    You'd have to be very nimble to squeeze your way in. It's probably built for someone of my stature so I'm not sure how a tall person would fit.



    After I drove a friend's F40 ( he is 4 inches shorter and the seat was fixed in place ) , he and a buddy had to help lift me out , as I was wedged into the low bolstered seat with barely any leg leverage to push out!

    Today, every newer " supercar" has to be human engineered to fit 300 lb sports athletes, it seems.

    Jun 11, 2008 5:33:51 AM

    denn
    Senior
    denn
    Loc: Finland , Finland
    Posts: 701, Gallery
    Registered on: Jun 27, 2004
    Reply to: MKW

    Re: Driving the F40 for the first time

    Quote:
    MKW said:

    Today, every newer " supercar" has to be human engineered to fit 300 lb sports athletes, it seems.




    Like the Shaqborghini?

    Jun 11, 2008 9:09:21 AM

    xander71
    Senior
    xander71
    Loc: Italy , Italy
    Posts: 781, Gallery
    Registered on: Dec 23, 2003
    Reply to: denn

    Re: Driving the F40 for the first time

    this is my dream car and if I get rich enough it will be my choice...to cool and good looking and a beast ...what more to desire in sportscar????

    Jun 11, 2008 12:13:04 PM

    BiTurbo
    Rennteam Master
    BiTurbo
    Loc: X , United States
    Posts: 3252, Gallery
    Registered on: Jan 27, 2006
    Reply to: nberry

    Re: Driving the F40 for the first time

    Quote:
    nberry said:
    This car epitomizes what raw is. No electronic safety devices of any kind. A couple of years ago a British magazine tested the F40 against the 430 at a local track. The 430 beat the F40 pretty bad because according to the magazine the F40 was too much of a hand full to drive at the limit around a track. In a straight line, it is a rocket ship but driving around a track, it is downright dangerous.



    Hardtop or Spider ?

    Jun 11, 2008 3:25:35 PM

    nberry Offline
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    nberry
    Loc: La Jolla, USA , United States
    Posts: 13737, Gallery
    Registered on: Apr 11, 2002
    Reply to: BiTurbo

    Re: Driving the F40 for the first time

    Quote:
    BiTurbo said:
    Quote:
    nberry said:
    This car epitomizes what raw is. No electronic safety devices of any kind. A couple of years ago a British magazine tested the F40 against the 430 at a local track. The 430 beat the F40 pretty bad because according to the magazine the F40 was too much of a hand full to drive at the limit around a track. In a straight line, it is a rocket ship but driving around a track, it is downright dangerous.



    Hardtop or Spider ?



    I believe it was a coupe. The technology prevailed.
     
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