Ferrari F40
1987-92 // £500,000-800,000
every car nut I know wants to own an F40 at some point in their life. That’s a fact and I reckon it’s because the F40 was an instant superstar from the first moment it rumbled through the famous Ferrari arch back in 1987. Okay, Ferrari got over-excited and ended up building 1315 of them rather than the 400 they initially suggested but, even so, this is both an iconic Ferrari and one of the greatest, most exciting road cars ever made. So it’s actually brilliant news for potential buyers that they made so many, otherwise an F40 would be valued in the millions by now. At around £500,000-800,000 today, depending on mileage, it actually offers great value. Yes, really.
Here’s some man-maths to prove it. Adjusted for inflation, the F40’s original list price of £163,000 in 1987 becomes £417,000 today, so values haven’t gone up as much in percentage terms as you might think.
Looking at it another way, to my mind the McLaren F1 is the world’s greatest supercar ever made but that doesn’t make the F1 worth 12-15 times more than one of the greatest Ferrari supercars ever made. But it’s not all good news, as potential F40 buyers should be aware that the F40 delivers one of the rawest driving experiences of any recent roadgoing Ferrari and, on a long trip, an F40 can soon become a complete pain in the backside. Literally.
They’re noisy and completely impractical, there’s no real boot to speak of (unless you jettison the spare wheel under the front hood), they’re impossible to park, LHD only and the easiest car in the world to a hit a kerb with. But an F40 is also one of the most aggressively beautiful supercars ever built, and today’s draconian legislation means there will never be another Ferrari like it ever again. That’s what makes the F40 such a great supercar buy today.