Ferrari F40 prototype burns to a crisp

BRITISH real estate billionaire Jon Hunt endured a day to forget last month as his Ferrari F40 prototype burned to the ground during a cavalcade of Ferraris passing near Villanova d’Albenga, Italy.

One of just eight such cars built, the F40 was on its way to Maranello to pick up Hunt’s latest vehicle, a LaFerrari Aperta.

You might well be acquainted with Hunt’s irreverent ‘Tax The Rich’ videos on Youtube, but there was little to laugh about as the F40 display car from the 1987 Frankfurt Motor Show went up in smoke.

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This car was the sixth of the F40 prototypes that were used by the factory for testing, each with an individual purpose or application. Original Michelotto build sheets indicate that 74047 was upgraded prior to its public displays, receiving extensive GT modifications between May and July of 1987, where it was, in fact, referred to as an F40 LM.

The car was returned to Michelotto in 1991 for further race-oriented improvements; the first of seven F40 examples to receive such conversions. These upgrades included lowering the ride height by five centimetres, tuning the engine for an increase to approximately 590 bhp, upgrading the Brembo brakes, installing a racing uniball suspension, a quick-fill fuel system, extra NACA cooling ducts, a fire system and wider Speedline wheels.

Hunt acquired the car at a Sotheby’s auction in 2012 and returned to its original Rosso Corsa colour scheme. It’s not his first run-in with a self-immolating Italian icon either. In 2013 his Lamborghini Miura SV went up in flames while being serviced, leading to a lengthy legal dispute.

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