Photo: Bonhams
As far as British motorsport icons are concerned, Nigel Mansell is up there with the best of the lot, including Jim Clark, Colin McRae, Stirling Moss, Jackie Stewart and Graham Hill. Similar to Nigel, the Ferrari F40 is considered by many gearheads to be one of the best of its kind. Heck, the Italian twin-turbocharged redhead actually started the whole hypercar craze.
As you might've figured out by now, Nigel Mansell plus a Ferrari F40 equals a match made in heaven, and it's so easy to understand why. When Mansell jumped ship to Ferrari, he became the last Ferrari F1 driver to be personally selected by old man Enzo. The tifosi even nicknamed Nigel Mansell "il leone" (the lion) thanks to his super aggressive driving style.
Being a Scuderia Ferrari driver and the highest paid British sportsman at the end of the 1980s, Mansell was given a super neat F40 because why not? The McLaren F1 and the Jaguar XJ220 weren't around at that time, while driving a Lamborghini Diablo would've been problematic considering his F1 commitment.
Fast forward nearly 25 years since that particular F40 was built and here we are today, an era where such a magnificent ride previously owned by an F1 star has changed hands for a mere €690,000 (£543,375 or $870k) at a recent event organized by British auction house Bonhams.
That price is dirt cheap if you take into consideration this car has special touches here and there and it's one of only 1,315 units ever made. To boot, that 3-liter twin-turbo Tipo F120A V8 motor and its 471 ponies it's as crazy as a bedbug. Couple that mill to a 1,100-kg (2,400 lb) curb weight, no ABS or ESP and a five-speed manual tranny and you'll get a glimpse why the mid-engined berlinetta is such a coveted car.
Being a Scuderia Ferrari driver and the highest paid British sportsman at the end of the 1980s, Mansell was given a super neat F40 because why not? The McLaren F1 and the Jaguar XJ220 weren't around at that time, while driving a Lamborghini Diablo would've been problematic considering his F1 commitment.
Fast forward nearly 25 years since that particular F40 was built and here we are today, an era where such a magnificent ride previously owned by an F1 star has changed hands for a mere €690,000 (£543,375 or $870k) at a recent event organized by British auction house Bonhams.
That price is dirt cheap if you take into consideration this car has special touches here and there and it's one of only 1,315 units ever made. To boot, that 3-liter twin-turbo Tipo F120A V8 motor and its 471 ponies it's as crazy as a bedbug. Couple that mill to a 1,100-kg (2,400 lb) curb weight, no ABS or ESP and a five-speed manual tranny and you'll get a glimpse why the mid-engined berlinetta is such a coveted car.
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