Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]

Announcements (Updated: July 11, 2018)

Welcome to Swifty's Garage!


Thanks to all of you for making this board what it is today!


Attention new members: We would like to welcome you personally, so please introduce yourself. Click here: INTRODUCTIONS


For all the latest news and announcements, please click here: PA System



Thank you - The Swifty's Garage Team




This board is best viewed at 1024 x 768 Resolution

Car of the Week:


Matchbox 1968 Ford F-100


Click Here: Matchbox '68 Ford F-100
Welcome to Swifty's Garage. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.

Thank You,
The Swifty's Garage Team


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features.

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Car Of The Day: May 1, 2017; Majorette '88 Ferrari F40
Topic Started: May 1 2017, 09:19 PM (251 Views)
Swifty
Member Avatar
The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
Posted Image

Today's Car Of The Day is Majorette's 1988 Ferrari F40.

Posted Image

Wikipedia
 
The Ferrari F40 is a mid-engine, rear-wheel drive, two-door coupé sports car built from 1987 to 1992, with the LM and GTE race car versions continuing production until 1994 and 1996 respectively. The successor to the Ferrari 288 GTO, it was designed to celebrate Ferrari's 40th anniversary and was the last Ferrari automobile personally approved by Enzo Ferrari. At the time it was Ferrari's fastest, most powerful, and most expensive car for sale.

The car debuted with a planned production total of 400 and a factory suggested retail price of approximately US$400,000 in 1987 ($840,000 today), although some buyers were reported to have paid as much as US$1.6 million in contrast to its 1999 value of £140,000. 1,311 F40s were manufactured in total.


Posted Image

For more information and pictures of the real car, please visit: Ferrari F40

Posted Image

The late '80s was the tailend of the Malaise Era. Performance was coming back, with Ford restarting the muscle car wars with "The Boss Is Back" 1982 5.0 Mustang. Of course on the other side of the Pond, perfomance cars hadn't been neutered like those here in the USA. Ferrari had their 288 GTO, and Porsche upped the ante with ther world's first 200+ MPH supercar, the 959. Enzo Ferrari was approaching the finish line on his life and he wanted to make sure his last car was epic. And the F40 was certainly that. The 959 was a civilized supercar. The F40 was anything but. With outrageous looks, it decorated everything from magazine covers to bedroom posters. And in the days before Ferrari had an exclusive license, just about every diecast manufacturer tooled one up. Majorette even did it twice (the other version being their Deluxe model which was previously run for COTD years ago).

Posted Image

Wikipedia
 
The F40's light curb weight of 1,369 kg (3,018 lb) and high power output of 478 PS (352 kW; 471 hp) at 7000 rpm gave the vehicle tremendous performance potential. The first independent measurements put 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.7 seconds and a top speed of 321 km/h (199 mph) onto the French Sport Auto September 1988 cover.

The next opportunity to reach the claimed top speed was a shootout at Nardò Ring organized by Auto, Motor und Sport. Ferrari sent two F40 but neither could reach more than 321 km/h (199 mph), beaten by the 515 hp Porsche 959 S reaching 339 km/h (211 mph) and the Ruf CTR reaching 342 km/h (213 mph). Both were limited production with only 29 built, so while the F40 never was the world's fastest sports car as self-appraised by Ferrari, it could still claim the title of the fastest with over 500 units to be built until the arrival of the Lamborghini Diablo. One year later the Italian magazine Quattroroute published a top speed of 326 km/h (202.6 mph). In tests outside of Italy the 200 mph mark wasn't reached however. Road and Track measured 196 mph (315 km/h) for both the European and US version while Car and Driver measured 197 mph (317 km/h).


Posted Image

Wikipedia
 
When the F40 was revealed in 1987 it received mixed reactions. Dennis Simanaitis praised its looks in Road & Track, but others were unimpressed. Observers considered it as a cynical attempt to cash in on speculators money after seeing how much was paid for used 288 GTOs and the high demand for the Porsche 959. Speculators were expecting Enzo Ferrari's death and to benefit from raising prices. It was estimated in 1990 that only 10 percent of the delivered F40 were used for driving.

People could watch speculators selling the cars to each other at public auctions with ever rising prices up to over 7 times the list price in 1989 (before the bubble burst) which made it even more desirable. Playing a main role in contemporary video games like F40 Pursuit Simulator (Crazy Cars II), Turbo Outrun, The Duel: Test Drive II, Miami Chase, Formula One: Built to Win and Out Run Europa also increased its fame. It appeared on many magazine covers and children's bedroom wall posters.

In 1988 Ferrari invited journalists to test at their home track Fiorano Circuit and bring a Porsche 959 along for comparison. The Automobile Magazine and Car magazine made an overall verdict, for both of them the Porsche 959 was the better car.

Gordon Murray analysed the car in Motor Trend 07/1990: "It's the lack of weight that makes the Ferrari so exciting. There's nothing else magic about the car at all...They're asking two- and three-inch-diameter steel tubes at chassis base datum level to do all the work, and it shows - you can feel the chassis flexing on the circuit and it wobbles all over the place on the road. It really does shake about. And, of course, once you excite the chassis the door panels start rattling and squeaking. Whereas the other cars feel taut and solid, this one's like a big go-kart with a plastic body on it."
He severely criticized the old racing technology: "It's not even '60s technology, from a frame point of view, it's '50s twin-tube technology, not even a spaceframe. It's only got local frames to hold the bulkhead to the dash, attach the front suspension, rear suspension and rollbar. And then you have the marketing Kevlar glues in with a quarter inch of rubber."

Car and Driver called the car a "mix of sheer terror and raw excitement". Most fun was accelerating in first gear from 15 mph, "pure terror" was driving on a busy highway. Rear vision was so bad that lane changes required "leaps of faith". It was found unfit for daily road use, "clunky and cantankerous" around town, "so mechanically delinquent that an onboard mechanic is advised", to describe driver discomfort "Bangkok debtors' prison" was used. In a comparison test the Lamborghini Diablo was found better looking by the civilians while the testers opted for the F40. When Car and Driver declared the Porsche 911 Turbo the quickest A-to-B four-wheeled transport on American highways, the "nervous" Ferrari F40 wasn't found competitive because of being a 30-minute car. "After that, you'd like a cool drink and a brief nap."

In 2011, in Top Gear series 16, episode 6, the F40 was compared against the Porsche 959. Both cars were introduced as the "greatest supercar the world had ever seen". However, they never completed a lap on the Test Track, as the F40 failed to start and the 959 had problems with the turbos.

Evo magazine's 2013 "Ferrari F40 buying guide" started with "For many it’s the greatest road-going Ferrari of all". An expert explained its popularity among the Ferrari cognoscenti: "They will never be allowed to make another F40 in today’s world of red tape and health and safety. That is what makes it so special and so desirable."

In issue 11/2013 Auto Bild Sportscars compared 7 supercars. The Ferrari F40 came last by a long way with the overall verdict boring.


Posted Image
Attached to this post:
Attachments: 0501cotd1.jpg (153.33 KB)
Attachments: 0501cotd2.jpg (160.86 KB)
Attachments: 0501cotd3.jpg (185.32 KB)
Attachments: 0501cotd4.jpg (164.11 KB)
Attachments: 0501cotd5.jpg (193.44 KB)
Attachments: 0501cotd6.jpg (131.46 KB)
Attachments: 0501cotd7.jpg (164.31 KB)
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
pjedsel
Member Avatar
Muscle Car
:wave: I may be one of the few people who have never been a big fan of Ferrari's - with that said at one time I had a sizable collection of Ferrari cars in my collection (including this one). Always liked the opening rear section on this one - another nice casting from Majorette.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
426maxwedgie
Member Avatar
Running in the 90's
I wonder if the rear window on this is interchangeable with the deluxe version. Without having the 2 in front of me I wouldn't be able to tell.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Swifty
Member Avatar
The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
426maxwedgie
May 2 2017, 04:43 PM
I wonder if the rear window on this is interchangeable with the deluxe version. Without having the 2 in front of me I wouldn't be able to tell.
I don't think so - this one's rear glass also comprises the taillights, while the Deluxe doesn't.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
craftymore
Member Avatar
Support your local demo derby.

Walgreens and I think Osco use to carry part of the Majorette line. I always loved to check out the base to read 'Made in France'. Even as a kid I thought it was cool to see a model not made in SE Asia.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ivantt
Member Avatar
New casting? Quick! Take it apart!
Wow, the wheels on this Majorette look like they came from a dragster!! Here's a Ferrarri I don't have, but there are so many I don't have!! And there are so many out there. I'll be looking....but it's tough finding something like this in my area.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · Car Of The Day · Next Topic »
Add Reply



March's Picture of The Month Contest



Congratulations DinoMom for winning March's contest!



April's Picture of The Month Contest



Congratulations carsdownunder for winning April's contest!






Powered By

This board is best viewed at 1024 x 768 Resolution


eXTReMe Tracker