Irrelevant Ferrari F40 RHD question....

[richard300]

Totally hypothetical question - As i dont happen to have a massive lottery win.

But if i ever found myself in such a situation I would be buying and creating MY perfect F40, and not something to speculate with - Or appease the Classiche brigade with.
I would probably buy something that isn’t concourse, that has covered more than 5000km in its 30 years of existence, I really wouldn’t care if was an original UK car or from a foreign market.

I would address any shortcomings in ‘condition’ by having the car repainted in Tour De France Blue, and have those factory seats re-trimmed in Rosso leather. And whilst having the car mechanically overhauled. I would introduce enough modern technology so that the cars drivability was improved. But a loss to the cars character was minimised.

But the main thing I would want to do is have the car converted to right hand drive….
Now I know that technically it can be done – because of the 10 SOB cars converted by Pininfarina. And I am not aware that the conversion from left to right hand drive, has any negative affect on the feel of the car (unlike that of converting an e30 M3 or a HF Integrale).

So my (hypothetical) question is…. Have any other F40’s been converted to RHD over the last 30+ years? Would there be marque specialists in the UK that have the engineering capabilities to perform this conversion (to factory/Pininfarina) specification? And probably the biggest question – Given that pretty much anything can be done, if you have the money….. How much would you suppose a RHD conversion would cost?

Thanks in advance to anyone willing to indulge in my work time pondering.

Edited by richard300 on Tuesday 17th September 07:37

Edited by richard300 on Tuesday 17th September 07:39

[Exige77]

richard300 said:

Given in such a situation I would be buying and creating MY perfect F40, and not something to speculate with - Or appease the Classiche brigade with.
I would probably buy something that isn’t concourse, that has covered more than 5000km in its 30 years of existence, I really wouldn’t care if was an original UK car or from a foreign market.

I would address any shortcomings in ‘condition’ by having the car repainted in Tour De France Blue, and have those factory seats re-trimmed in Rosso leather. And whilst having the car mechanically overhauled. I would introduce enough modern technology so that the cars drivability was improved. But a loss to the cars character was minimised.

But the main thing I would want to do is have the car converted to right hand drive….
Now I know that technically it can be done – because of the 10 SOB cars converted by Pininfarina. And I am not aware that the conversion from left to right hand drive, has any effect on the feel of the car (like that of converting an e30 M3 or a HF Integrale).

So my (hypothetical) question is…. Have any other F40’s been converted to RHD over the last 30+ years? Would there be marque specialists in the UK that have the engineering capabilities to perform this conversion (to factory/Pininfarina) specification? And probably the biggest question – Given that pretty much anything can be done, if you have the money….. How much would you suppose a RHD conversion would cost?

Thanks in advance to anyone willing to indulge in my work time pondering.

DK Engineering is your friend.

You would also need a friend at your bank

Edited by Exige77 on Tuesday 17th September 07:49

[WCZ]

pininfarina still do conversions, an f40 won't be that expensive. I know a rhd enzo conversion was £200k+

Edited by WCZ on Tuesday 17th September 12:14

[JW82]

I like your style, excellent idea. I've had the same thought a few times - an RHD F40 would be a perfect car. I sat in one a while back and didn't quite fit but that is a separate problem. I like the rosso cloth interior though so would definitely keep that.

I know there was a RHD ex-Sultan one up at Talacrest recently for £2m.

[LotusOmega375D]

I remember seeing an ex SOB RHD one for sale I think in the old Modena Engineering East Horsley showroom. It was an inappropriate grey colour with red accents. Even I had to be convinced that it wasn’t a home-made replica. I guess you could find and buy that one and respray it in a nicer colour?

Edited by LotusOmega375D on Tuesday 17th September 16:29

[WCZ]

LotusOmega375D said:

I remember seeing an ex SOB RHD one for sale I think in the old Modena Engineering East Horsley showroom. It was an inappropriate grey colour with red accents. Even I had to be convinced that it wasn’t a home-made replica. I guess you could find and buy that one and respray it in a nicer colour?

Edited by LotusOmega375D on Tuesday 17th September 16:29

yeah I've seen that one, looked quite nasty in person

[LotusOmega375D]

Just Googled some images of it from back in the day (1990s), possibly at the same garage I saw it. Just check out that ghastly interior!

[richard300]

Yeah. That's one of the ex SOB cars.... But it was subject to a £160.000 refurb, many years ago... That now sees it looking like a regular F40 - Rosso Corsa exterior and regular (non leather) interior. Sporting F40 LM seats.
Although I think it still has AC and electric windows.

[richard300]

WCZ said:

pininfarina still do conversions, an f40 won't be that expensive. I know a rhd enzo conversion was £200k+

Edited by WCZ on Tuesday 17th September 12:14

That's very interesting that Pininfarina will still do such conversions... So they will do F40/F50 as per SOB cars? And I never even knew they had made RHD Enzo's.

I guess using Pininfarina is also the nearest one can claim the car to be 'factory RHD conversion.

[WCZ]

richard300 said:

That's very interesting that Pininfarina will still do such conversions... So they will do F40/F50 as per SOB cars? And I never even knew they had made RHD Enzo's.

I guess using Pininfarina is also the nearest one can claim the car to be 'factory RHD conversion.

yeah they'll still them, afaik the rhd enzo was never converted in the end but enquiries were made

it's something I'd look into if I could justify the expense, I hate driving lhd cars here in the uk

[LotusOmega375D]

I’d rather have any original LHD car than an aftermarket RHD conversion. I don’t find driving LHD cars any problem here. Sure you need to be extra careful when overtaking on single carriageway roads, but that’s no biggie. 99% percent of the time it’s no different to driving RHD.

[BelfastBoy]

richard300 said:

That's very interesting that Pininfarina will still do such conversions... So they will do F40/F50 as per SOB cars? And I never even knew they had made RHD Enzo's.

I guess using Pininfarina is also the nearest one can claim the car to be 'factory RHD conversion.

Just as a random observation, there's definitely at least one RHD F50. Remember seeing a photo of it once being driven through Dublin as part of an event. Think it was an ex-Brunei vehicle.

[hurstg01]

LotusOmega375D said:

I remember seeing an ex SOB RHD one for sale I think in the old Modena Engineering East Horsley showroom. It was an inappropriate grey colour with red accents. Even I had to be convinced that it wasn’t a home-made replica. I guess you could find and buy that one and respray it in a nicer colour?

Edited by LotusOmega375D on Tuesday 17th September 16:29

It had the Testarossa leather interior and was for sale through Talacrest, next to Egham station

[LotusOmega375D]

Yes that makes sense. I remember the place being next to a level crossing. I’m from the East Midlands and have absolutely no idea what I would have been doing wandering around Egham in the 1990s. Never been there before or since, but I do remember that car. They seemed to be a little bit embarrassed by it to be honest and it was tucked away behind more regular Ferraris.

[W111AAM]

Guessing you've seen this video. Not RHD but Tour du France Blu. Looks fab.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZXbv6OqFXo

[LotusOmega375D]

Slightly off topic, but the F40 came out just before the previous classic/sports car price boom reached its peak. Owners and speculators were falling over themselves to get their orders in as asking prices soared.

At the same time Bburago launched its 1:18 die cast model but then their production suddenly stopped. Everybody wanted one, but they were nowhere to be found and just like the real thing, prices skyrocketed. We got lucky when a multiple Ferrari owning family friend managed to source a couple through his contacts. We kept ours mint and boxed, but the investment bubble eventually burst for us all as Bburago sorted out their production issues and flooded the shops just like Ferrari who ended up making far more F40s than anyone expected. Oh and the global recession didn’t help either. With them now being worthless, my brother and I ended up respraying one of our Bburagos Giallo Yellow just for a change.

[jakesmith]

Is it the F40, the Enzo or something else that had really thin paint, so you can actually see the CF weave under the paint in strong sunlight? WOuldn't respray that. I know this is money no object conversation but wouldn't you get a similar driving experience out of a Noble or something very light & powerful & analogue

[PAUL500]

jakesmith said:

Is it the F40, the Enzo or something else that had really thin paint, so you can actually see the CF weave under the paint in strong sunlight? WOuldn't respray that. I know this is money no object conversation but wouldn't you get a similar driving experience out of a Noble or something very light & powerful & analogue

Both the F40 and F50 have this quirk. It's not down to the thickness of the paint, but the fact that the old school resin used back then shrinks and sinks into the weave giving the effect. The thicker the panel the less obvious the weave, especially in corners etc.

Oh and in the case of the F40 its fibreglass weave that can be seen not carbon fibre, the painted outer panels of the F40 are not structural, they are made up of fibreglass cloth outer skins, a honeycomb centre and then a carbon kevlar inner layer to try to keep it together in case of a crash . The structural bonded panels however are pure carbon and carbon kevlar. The restorers are getting very good at replicating the painted weave, so not a sure fire way of confirming original paint anymore.

[jakesmith]

PAUL500 said:

Both the F40 and F50 have this quirk. It's not down to the thickness of the paint, but the fact that the old school resin used back then shrinks and sinks into the weave giving the effect. The thicker the panel the less obvious the weave, especially in corners etc.

Oh and in the case of the F40 its fibreglass weave that can be seen not carbon fibre, the painted outer panels of the F40 are not structural, they are made up of fibreglass cloth outer skins, a honeycomb centre and then a carbon kevlar inner layer to try to keep it together in case of a crash . The structural bonded panels however are pure carbon and carbon kevlar. The restorers are getting very good at replicating the painted weave, so not a sure fire way of confirming original paint anymore.

Bloody excellent info! Thanks

[carphotographer]

LotusOmega375D said:

Just Googled some images of it from back in the day (1990s), possibly at the same garage I saw it. Just check out that ghastly interior!

I remember seeing that F40 at John Collins garage, Talacrest in Egham .
It's c/n 91283 built for the Brunei Royal family who commissioned seven RHD F40s from Pininfarina . The interior came from a Testarossa .