Photo: @xMMaweoi2alzBHc (Bambi) on Twitter
The last Ferrari to be approved by the one and only Commendatore, the F40 should have been produced in 400 units. As fate would have it, the Prancing Horse manufactured a little more than 1,300 copies through 1992 due to surprisingly high demand for the V8-engined supercar.
A year after an F40 burned to a crisp in Monaco, another example of the breed went up in flames on the Hakone Turnpike in Japan. The uploader of the videos at the end of this article - Twitter user Bambi - reports that first responders have closed the traffic in order to extinguish the flaming wreck.
Not much is known about how the F40 caught fire, and the authorities haven’t released any information about the driver’s condition either. Based on the safety cell, the car doesn’t appear to be crashed, which is all the more intriguing. Given the age of the vehicle and intricate service procedures, a loose fuel hose or return line may have leaked gasoline on the hot exhaust.
Whatever happened in the engine bay, the only word that can describe this event is tragedy. On the upside, there is a chance this particular F40 may be reconditioned to its former glory at great expense for the owner, just like the F40 that caught fire in Monaco. Another example comes in the guise of the crashed F40 bought by the gearheads at Gas Monkey Garage for $400,000.
That car was reconditioned for the television series Fast N’ Loud many years ago, starting with the teardown to the bare chassis and topping with aftermarket modifications that include a Tubi exhaust, Kevlar clutch pack, aluminum flywheel, HRE wheels, and Penske Racing adjustable shocks. The car then sold at a Barrett-Jackson auction in 2014 for a cool $742,500.
Why is this carbonized F40 worth restoring, you ask? As it happens, prices have gone up through the roof since 2014. Hagerty valuates a good-condition car in the ballpark of $1.2 million while a concours-condition F40 is worth $1,650,000 according to the collector and classic car insurance company.
Not much is known about how the F40 caught fire, and the authorities haven’t released any information about the driver’s condition either. Based on the safety cell, the car doesn’t appear to be crashed, which is all the more intriguing. Given the age of the vehicle and intricate service procedures, a loose fuel hose or return line may have leaked gasoline on the hot exhaust.
Whatever happened in the engine bay, the only word that can describe this event is tragedy. On the upside, there is a chance this particular F40 may be reconditioned to its former glory at great expense for the owner, just like the F40 that caught fire in Monaco. Another example comes in the guise of the crashed F40 bought by the gearheads at Gas Monkey Garage for $400,000.
That car was reconditioned for the television series Fast N’ Loud many years ago, starting with the teardown to the bare chassis and topping with aftermarket modifications that include a Tubi exhaust, Kevlar clutch pack, aluminum flywheel, HRE wheels, and Penske Racing adjustable shocks. The car then sold at a Barrett-Jackson auction in 2014 for a cool $742,500.
Why is this carbonized F40 worth restoring, you ask? As it happens, prices have gone up through the roof since 2014. Hagerty valuates a good-condition car in the ballpark of $1.2 million while a concours-condition F40 is worth $1,650,000 according to the collector and classic car insurance company.
LATER EDIT
Yahoo! Japan reports that a couple was in the Italian exotic when smoke started coming out from the engine bay. Thankfully, they're not injured.?????????????????
— ??? (@xMMaweoi2alzBHc) May 8, 2021
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— ??? (@xMMaweoi2alzBHc) May 8, 2021
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