For the 40th anniversary of Ferrari, the Italian brand launched, for the last time in the presence of Enzo himself, a thinly disguised race car for the road, the twin-turbocharged F40, capable of over 300 km/h. This very special car drew extensively on the technology previously developed for the 288 GTO Evoluzione group B car whose development was stopped when group B disappeared. The factory, strangely enough, did not decide to race the F40 by itself, but approved of customers doing that instead. The French Ferrari importer, Charles Pozzi, felt there was potential for the car in endurance racing, and thus the F40 LM was developed by Michelotto with just that in mind.

In order to prepare the car for a career in competition, the twin IHI turbocharger/intercooler units were enlarged, and an advanced Weber-Marelli fuel injection system was introduced, resulting in a power output of over 700 hp. The weight of the car was brought down to an impressive 1050 kg, and in conjunction with the power hike this meant some truly impressive performance. On top of that, the chassis was stiffened, a racing transmission was installed, as well more powerful brakes and modified bodywork.

This particular racing Ferrari, chassis no. 74045, enjoyed a colorful racing history, having started its life as a factory pre-production prototype. It was initially sold to former Le Mans and IMSA driver Rene Herzog in early 1992. Herzog sent the car to Michelotto for conversion to LM specification, but shortly after the completion of the work its ownership passed to another Swiss driver, Charles Zuger. In 1995, the car was sold to Stephane Ratel, one of the biggest figures in GT racing, who raced it in the European GT Championship of that year, but later sold the F40 LM mid-season to the French Pilot-Aldix team for use in the BPR Global GT Series of that same year.

Two French drivers, Olivier Thevenin and Michel Ferté, teamed up at the beginning of the car's new career which did not start very well, with four retirements in four races. Those were just teething problems, exacerbated by the fact that the car's development was not a factory program, but a private effort. Once the bugs had been ironed out, however, the Ferrari proved how much it was worth. The 74045 chassis had its body repainted in the traditional racing color of the French Republic, French Racing Blue, and in April, at the Le Mans pre-qualifying, the new color brought it luck. It ended up as fifth fastest overall, and as the fastest of all the cars in the GT1 class.

At the famous race itself, with the team augmented by the third driver, Carlos Palau, the car qualified in 7th place overall, and second in GT1, ahead of SEVEN McLaren F1 GTRs! The 24-hour race was run in the wet for a long time, and the normally-aspirated McLarens were easier to drive in those conditions, but nevertheless the blue Ferrari arrived at the finish in 12th place overall, and sixth in the GT1 class. It proved that the tales of the fragility of the F40 LM under hard racing conditions were not founded in fact, if only the car was properly developed and run by a professional team. Actually this was also the best result ever achieved by a Ferrari F40 at Le Mans!

The rest of the long 1995 season saw the car win at Anderstorp (beating the mighty McLarens again), and a second place at Silverstone, and retire at Suzuka and Zhuhai. For 1996, the same drivers stayed with the car, but the Ferrari was uprated according to what the new GTE regulations permitted. During the racing season the Italian Ennea team, running a similar car, was consistently faster, and it was a difficult year for the car with the Pilot logo. At the Le Mans 24-hour event, the blue car encountered a lot of very fast cars built to WSC rules, and Porsche's new 911 GT1. The Ferté/Thevenin/Leboissetier team could not qualify higher than 25th, and in the race the car retired after a fire in the pits. Funnily enough, I was present at that race as a journalist, and remember the Ferrari well. However, I missed the fire as this was the only hour in a 36-hour period when I tried to catch up on my sleep... The car stopped racing formally at the close of the 1996 season, and then changed hands as it passed from one important collector to another, ending up with a German, Dr Ulrich Schumacher, who has owned it since 2008.

It is one of the most significant modern racing Ferraris extant, and will represent great value to its new owner, who paid €4,842,500 for it at an RM Sotheby's auction in February, 2019 in Paris. The blue Ferrari, back to its 1996 livery, had been serviced in 2018, and is completely ready to race in appropriate historic racing events (the original gearbox and some wheels were included in the package sold at the Paris auction). There is a new official Ferrari historic GT racing program, called Club GT Competizioni, where it could race, but it is also eligible for some high-profile series, including the Masters Endurance Legends in Europe, the Global Endurance Legends, plus the HSR and the Daytona 24 hour classic racing events in the US. This car would be a worthy participant in any of these series, and with competent drivers it could make itself noticed. It could potentially also appear at the best concours-type events worldwide. Its rich and genuine racing history means that it will always remain much more than just a fun car to race. Let us hope the current owner will let it run in races at least once in a while.

IMAGES: STEPHAN BAUER ©2018 COURTESY OF RM SOTHEBY'S