Porsche 959 s 515 hp (2.8l) Jaguar xj220 542 hp (3.5l) Lotus omega 377 hp (altough everybody says that number is really conservative) (3.6l) Etc. There were a few certainly Not saying the f40 ist awesome it certainly is But its awesome Part did Not come from their futuristic tech It was awesome because Ferrari finally build a roadcar with All Their racecar tech without any compromises to beat porsche The ahead of its time tech had its competition
The American version is almost 200kg heavier and has less hp than the European version of the F40!! The real power is ever more than the claimed by factory A curious fact is that the first units of the F40 produced in 1987 "they speak of the first 20 to 25" have the same power as the 288 GTO EVO and are even lighter!! In tests, they exceeded 370km/h but did not pass the traffic regulations of the time, so they were modified in the units produced later!! Some of the things you said that are enoing are only in the American version, including the belts on the seats, and those uglier seats, the electronic signals too!
This will always be the ultimate supercar to me. I know its not the quickest thing out there any more but I think it still looks amazing and the way its so raw and stripped out still make it a really special thing.
Fun fact. The indicator levers and wiper levers are from a Fiat Uno. My parents' Fiat Uno Turbo i.e had the same levers as in the F40. The Fiat dealer at the time was particularly proud of this detail. :-D
Quite normal back then. My ex Aston Martin V8 Vantage has the ugliest/cheapest indicatorhandles of Ford (I think even from the first Focus or something). The side blinkers are the same of the Puma and Transit and many other details. It's funny.
@@purwantiallan5089 I've been a car addict since a small boy. Became a Ferrari fan when I was 8, have like 35 scale 1:18 model Ferrari's and some are rare and worth a lot. Anyways I never played NFS 2015 so....
I agree it's an amazing car, but matt was taking rubbish when he said it was far ahead of its completion, the 959 was a million times more advanced and wrote the rule book for all modern super cars including Ferrari
The moment I saw the thumbnail, I couldn't click fast enough! I LOVE this car and was geeking out with Matt the whole time. Love how respectful he is with the cars- I see why people keep trusting him with such gems!
In front of this car, but here we must say in front of this timeless masterpiece, there is only one word to say.....WOW ! Bodywork, engine, styling, basically everything….. WOW ! When I then think that the mechanics of this car were designed by the famous engineer Nicola Materazzi, a friend of mine, who was born in the same small village of mine, in southern Italy, who unfortunately died recently, I get even more emotional !
Same. The F40 is also undoubtedly Ayumu Uehara and Shioriko Mifune's Dream Supercars, along with 1998 Viper GTS-R, 1999 Toyota GTONE ROAD CAR, 1998 TVR SPEED 12, and 2009 Murcielago LP640.
@@AndrasMihalyi IS-spec cars have aluminium fuel tanks - they split on impact - not good. See part 5 of Ian Tyrell's restoration F40 for details of the ROW fuel tanks - still need to be replaced every FIVE years, though!
WoW…. Seriously when you turned it on the sound was just the most beautiful sound I heard from an engine. It’s a piece of art ! Congrats you were lucky to drive this !
The way mat spoke to us during driving the car felt like I was actually in the passenger seat with him. I felt like a kid in a candy store. Absolutely amazing journalism. Thank you Carwow.
When this was released at the Earls Hall Motor Show in the 80’s I was like 12 , seeing this in the flesh back then is still the only time I’ve seen one , the rear end is just a sign of beauty , thanks for upload ❤❤❤
Wow! What an end to the year! This channel is growing super quick! The content is amazing! ‘Basic’ concepts but less is more. Show fantastic cars, race them against each other. Different class. Keep up the great work. Happy new year!
Actualy The American version is almost 200kg heavier and has less hp than the European version of the F40!! A curious fact is that the first units of the F40 produced in 1987 "they speak of the first 20 to 25" have the same power as the 288 GTO EVO and are even lighter!! In tests, they exceeded 370km/hor more than 230mp/h but did not pass the traffic regulations of the time, so they were modified in the units produced later!! Some of the things you said that are enoing are only in the American version, including the belts on the seats, and those uglier seats, the electronic signals too!
I'm lucky enough to see "a lot" of F40s while working in Monte-Carlo. Beyond the incredible look of this car, what still amazes me is the sound that it makes. There are a couple rolling around with straight pipes, goosebumps every single time.
20 years ago I had the opportunity to get a passenger ride in one of these and wow. My lasting impression of that experience was it felt like a very fast go kart. Up to this point in my life the quickest car I’d driven was a Toyota supra turbo but this was on an other level. The picture of that day hangs in my garage to this day.
It always comes down to the F40 being my favorite car of all time. Nothing looks like it. Back in '92 I was lucky enough to see one of the 250 or so sent to North America. My friend and I would visit a Lexus/Infinity car dealership. They dealt in some exotics so you'd never know what you would see, sometimes. We were there late at night checking out a couple 993 turbos outside on the car lot. The first production year I believe. Then this red color catches my eye. It was an F40 encased in it's own showroom with lights beaming down on it. I thought I was seeing things. We went back the next day when the dealership was open and asked if we could look at it. We went back multiple times to visit that car, the staff got to know us really well. Once every few days the salesman would start it up and roll it around the car lot to keep it in check. I was able to witness that one day and listen to that engine sing. Once in a lifetime experience.
Not really it was just a big twin turbo plastic go cart the 959 was the true unimaginable car it showed the world new ground breaking technology and engineering advancement what went on to define the modern super car and hyper cars we have today
@@JackV-tw8bw 959 was way ahead of its time with ground breaking features we nowadays take for granted, but it was just a bit too... easy to own. A bit too daily driveable. A bit too normal and uneventful. Stepping into the vehicle wasn't as much of a spectacle, it was just a thing you could do without care or fear. It lacked that emotion you get from expensive to own, unreliable death traps you're too afraid to drive apart from some very, very special occasions. 959 was special on paper, and special from engineering standpoint, but it wasn't ultimately that special to own or drive. Technically it was better than F40 in every way, but technicalities don't inspire masses as much as pure, raw emotion does.
@@TrolledBy you can get the same feeling from a classic mini with big carbs and a exhaust as what you get in a f40, you don't need to spend millions to get that knife edge raw super responsive driving experience, obviously the speed is deferent in the f40 your going 130mph in the mini it's more like 30mph but the feeling is the same, light weight no electronics and fast steering
Thank you Mr. Matt Watson, made me feel like I was in the passenger seat. There is always fun moments in your videos, but this time felt like you were a child in your dream car.
In 2012 I had the opportunity to drive a Euro-market F40 in Japan after a photoshoot with it and a Countach, and it was by far and away the most inspirational experience of my life. Pushing that rubber plunger start button and hearing the cacophony of sounds through the steel beam/carbon superstructure was something I’ll never forget. I’ve made it my life goal to own one ever since! Such an epic car!
@@CadillacDriverThe video of them getting set up for a private photoshoot that I did with them together is on my channel, lol. I literally have no reason to lie and nothing to gain from it. 🤷🏼♂️
@@39PSIOnTheDaily @39PSIOnTheDaily so you were at a photoshoot, took a video of them being set up - but DIDN'T shoot video or photographic proof you took the F40 for a drive.... Seems legit.
@@CadillacDriver I do have photographic and video proof, but I never uploaded either. Do I need to display my entire life story on RUclips for you, a stranger on the internet? No, lol. Whatever man, believe what you want. IDGAF anymore tbh. 👍🏻
These american versions are just annoying with this weird seatbelt contraption and these strange reflectors and rubber profiles. The european versions look cleaner and nicer. But still a very good presentation.
Strange enough these features are what Americans like from a Japanese car. I think it’s great they have it on the American version. Plus the American version has more HP at 500-515 HP vs to the European having about 478 HP. Finally the American has the better version in my opinion
The greatest SUPERcar even made, maybe. The greatest overall car ever made is probably a tie between the Honda Accord, VW Beetle, Ford Model T and the Ford Mustang. Ya gotta consider affordability, reliability, practicality, serviceability, etc along with relative performance...to earn the "greatest car ever made" title.
@@TucsonDudeI used to think a car was just going from point A to point B, and on weekends to point C. That man died the moment I laid eyes on the 1979 Honda Accord.
I was 17 when this car came out and had just passed my driving test. I remember going upto Earls Court car show and they had it on display, loved it then and still love it. What a car
I never seen one with that kind of seatbelt contraption, there should be a standard 3-point belt that comes trough the hole in the seat, and the receptacle is embedded in the seat! I have videos of that too
my favourite car since I can remember! I had the matchbox version, the 1:18 Burago versions (yellow and red) and of course the obligatory wall poster - just need someone to take me out in theirs now 😂
Those kinds of auto seatbelts were common in the U.S. in the late 80s and early 90s. I had an Eagle Talon TSi with those things in college, and even then in the early 2000s they felt like a silly gimmick
If I remember correctly, manufacturers could fit these *or* airbags for US regs, and the retro fit of the auto seatbelts was a lot easier (no new sensors or computers), so loads of cars got them.
The fact that Mat and his team can produce such a good quality review of a car that most likely sees for the first time in his life, all while it's so expensive and he still finds 5 annoying things about it, overwhelms me. And what genuine feeling of enthusiasm while driving it.
My dad bought me small toy of F40(shell used to give Ferrari toys for full tank petrol I guess) when I was younger, from then my obsession with Ferrari's started and depression with f1. F40 is still my favourite car!
The motorized seat belt was used on North American cars in the early 1990s. Regulations required cars to have a supplemental restraint system. Those that didn’t have a driver’s side airbag in the steering wheel had this type of motorized seat belt. My mother’s Saturn SL1 had them. They were fairly uncommon. When I used to go out on a date in the Saturn with someone new, she would invariably be freaked out by the belts (and the cheapness of the car), but would laugh when I told her to imagine that we were in a rocket ship.
I really didn't get that weird NA motorised seatbelt thing. Just looks like a pain in the ass, over-complex and does EXACTLY what a standard 3 point belt does without potentially garrotting you when you first get in.
Yes, it's really a stop-gap safety regulation that only lasted a few years in North America. Basically, if your new car was manufactured after a certain date and it did not have an airbag, it was required to have a motorized seatbelt to "force" drivers to at least have an active seatbelt at all times. It was quite common across the board for US cars from the early to mid 90's Obviously, even expensive cars were impacted since the cost to re-engineer airbags into an existing design was often not worth it.
I remember having seen this feature in the nineties in a VW Corrado in Germany. This was an unsold US car and VW was selling them back in their mainland. For me this system was worst than a regular seatbelt as a lazy driver can ignore the horizontal belt and keep only the automatic transversal one.
The F40 is undeniably beautiful, but I was always a 911 turbo fan. I’ve owned many non-turbo 911’s from the 60s to the 90s because I was always afraid of Ferrari and its reliability issues. I currently have a customer who has an 84 308 GTS with 18,000 original miles, end it always seems to need something, but it sure is beautiful to look at. Very nice to drive also. I had a 1980 911 SC, That was reliable as a swiss watch. Oil changes, brake pads and tires, that thing was fantastic and so much fun for the money. But if money was no object, I would definitely have some Ferraris in my arsenal.
Yes, it is. It looks like a supercar the moment you see it from every angle. It's my childhood dream car. Still is, and I'd lose my mind if i see one in person, let alone touch it and sit in it to drive. I'd probably get teary eyes.
1987? The F40 is born The first Supercar Where you only value performance, nothing to electronics, power and a beautiful design, it always stands out from the others, Beautiful
@@stefanomarchi3542 Oh come off it. We can all appreciate what an amazing, beautiful car the F40 is but the 959 is the better car out of the two and featured innovations we now take for granted. Be realistic.
Great vid! Closest I ever got to one was when I was minding my own business in the early 90’s dyno’ing my Mustang. What pulls up in the middle of my session? An F40!! Not only that, but it was John Carmack’s (creator of Castle Wolfenstein, Doom, Quake etc). Anyway, a few years ago another RUclips video made me dig up and post my old VHS video of it. I love that car just as much today as I did 30years ago. Thx for the great views.
Thank you MAT for this travel back in time . The F40 was the first supercar i saw . I was 27 yo when FERRARI delivered the firsts monters . In France or in MONACO , i have always seens F40 with competition harness (belt) not classic seat belt and no passengers glass windows , only a small piece of plexiglass (plastic) .
I don't think there's a US spec car out there that looks cooler than it's euro/Japanese counterpart.... clear indicator lenses and all red rear lights are the exception
I remembered a lot that i ever used this iconic Ferrari F40 in many childhood racing games like OutRun 2, Ferrari Racing Legends, GRAN TURISMO 5 PROLOGUE, GT5, GT6, and NFS 2015. The F40 in NFS 2015 tho.... Sounded BRILLIANT!
Used to have one, back in the day. The clamps broke very easily, just as the "trunk cover" and the plexiglass engine bay cover. 1:24 scale model and I was 6. Thanks for the great memory
not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet, but the reason for the seatbelt being like that is because it was a US requirement at the time. Many cars during that time frame had similar seatbelts
Still my dream car and phone wallpaper! I used to see one every Sunday night! It used to join the motorway and hammer down it flames firing out the exhaust! Just perfect I’d love to just sit in one
Was driving around this car (test driving) on the crew 2 for a while and finally bought it on the game few days ago. Now Matt the legend is reviewing it.
This was my dream car as a teenager and I remember when the posters adorned many a bedroom wall. It is a nice change to see something so raw compared to modern cars although it still amazes me you can buy a practical family saloon with better performance than an F40 for relatively little money these days.
Saw one of the going full song down a dual carriage way once, the only time I’ve ever seen one on the road, made my hair stand on end and I’ve never forgotten it what a dream car!
About 18 years ago my dad had an Italian client who invited us to Florence, he told us that he had a collection of Ferraris and told us that to surprise us we should wait for him on the bridge next to the "Ponte Vecchio" (Ponte Santa Trinita). He arrived with a beautiful F40, I remember that all the tourists began to gather around the Ferrari, my dad's client brought him to give my brother and I a ride around Florence in his F40. An experience that I will never forget. Beautiful car. Loved it!
i got to see this car in the museum when we went to the Porsche Rennion. The 1st ever ferrari made is sitting in the same section as that f40!... what a sight it was!
Been lucky enough to work closely with the owner of one in Australia. I've filmed it several times, and even guarded it at a cars and coffee event at Mount Panorama. One of my photos of it is on a Meguiar's bucket, parked next to an 812 Superfast, before doing parade laps around Sydney Motorsport Park. The overwhelming feeling of lust is the same, every time I see it.
My favorite car since I was a kid in the 80s. Still number one. I actually used to own one back in the day. It was a Tamiya F40 R/C car, 1/10th scale. Sadly, to date, that's still the closest I've ever come to owning the real thing.
Love the flat plane crank sound. The short shifting hurt me though, plus matt never got to see that engine come alive while it was out of it's sweet spot.
So much power from a 2.9L and a couple of turbos in the late 80's.
Amazing.
Wait till you see the racing versions🤣
yeah...currently they have the 2.9 v6 from alfa romeo that does about the same power and torque, so very impressive indeed.
Big turbos with big twin intercoolers.
Porsche 959 s 515 hp (2.8l)
Jaguar xj220 542 hp (3.5l)
Lotus omega 377 hp (altough everybody says that number is really conservative) (3.6l)
Etc.
There were a few certainly
Not saying the f40 ist awesome it certainly is
But its awesome Part did Not come from their futuristic tech
It was awesome because Ferrari finally build a roadcar with All Their racecar tech without any compromises to beat porsche
The ahead of its time tech had its competition
The American version is almost 200kg heavier and has less hp than the European version of the F40!! The real power is ever more than the claimed by factory A curious fact is that the first units of the F40 produced in 1987 "they speak of the first 20 to 25" have the same power as the 288 GTO EVO and are even lighter!! In tests, they exceeded 370km/h but did not pass the traffic regulations of the time, so they were modified in the units produced later!! Some of the things you said that are enoing are only in the American version, including the belts on the seats, and those uglier seats, the electronic signals too!
Dream car ❤❤❤
Hey forrest
My absolute favorite supercar of all time😍😍
Yo forrest!!!
This was on the bedroom wall in the 80s but the US federalism of this thing totally ruined the lines of it vs the euro version
@@Knightmare22for me my dream supercars lineup are: F40, F50, 458 Italia, 330P4, Ford GT 2016, McLaren F1 1994, and Cadillac Cien 2002.
Matt never dissapoints by reviewing such cars
*cough* "Lamborghini's new twin turbo Ferrari Killer" *cough*
@@Ryosucc25bruh i m not on ferrari side......i m talking abt rare cars that hes reviewing....and btw ferrari>>lamborghini
@@mirzasafwan3398 I meant that video where they made a video about a car that doesn't exist
Yes, brilliant. 4 short runs on the straight strip. Also, that’s not his content, it’s carwow, selling/buying leaches
uh, not seen the Chris Harris review of this car done many many years ago?
13:28 That moment it's quite emotional. I'm happy for your Mat and your successful career as a car reviewer. Thank you Carwow. Amazing car and video
This will always be the ultimate supercar to me. I know its not the quickest thing out there any more but I think it still looks amazing and the way its so raw and stripped out still make it a really special thing.
Fun fact. The indicator levers and wiper levers are from a Fiat Uno. My parents' Fiat Uno Turbo i.e had the same levers as in the F40.
The Fiat dealer at the time was particularly proud of this detail. :-D
🙄Controlla bene. Ti sbagli
Greets, I still have an Uno Turbo from 1984 in my garage :-*
The indicators are pretty similar but not the same...
@@thelastveightsome lambos have the same indicators as a Ford focus 🤣
Quite normal back then. My ex Aston Martin V8 Vantage has the ugliest/cheapest indicatorhandles of Ford (I think even from the first Focus or something). The side blinkers are the same of the Puma and Transit and many other details. It's funny.
@@antonwulp even normal today...the Alfa Romeo 4c got the heat control from the first Fiat Punto f.e.
I can’t get over how clean that F40 looks…..almost as if it’s been sitting in a museum for the last 30 years!
F40 is now a 29 year old supercar but still going absolutely strong.
LOL! The Petersen is great. If you visit. Get the vault tickets.
Brother in law just spent 420 hours, stripping and rebuilding an F40 for a client, added a few hundred grand to its value 👍
Cause it did. These people dont even drive these cars properly just holding them hidden u der the blanket afraid its gonna lose 5 buck value per drive
37 years old ! First models came out in 1987 @@purwantiallan5089
Without even start watching the video. I already liked the video.
Totally agree. The F40 is the best supercar. No electronic stuff, a pure car.
I remembered a lot that in NFS 2015, you cant even change tires and rims on the F40.
@@purwantiallan5089 I've been a car addict since a small boy. Became a Ferrari fan when I was 8, have like 35 scale 1:18 model Ferrari's and some are rare and worth a lot. Anyways I never played NFS 2015 so....
I agree it's an amazing car, but matt was taking rubbish when he said it was far ahead of its completion, the 959 was a million times more advanced and wrote the rule book for all modern super cars including Ferrari
You forgot to tell if we should consider it, shortlist it or just go right on and buy one?
I think you should go right ahead and buy it…
The moment I saw the thumbnail, I couldn't click fast enough! I LOVE this car and was geeking out with Matt the whole time. Love how respectful he is with the cars- I see why people keep trusting him with such gems!
In front of this car, but here we must say in front of this timeless masterpiece, there is only one word to say.....WOW !
Bodywork, engine, styling, basically everything….. WOW ! When I then think that the mechanics of this car were designed by the famous engineer Nicola Materazzi, a friend of mine, who was born in the same small village of mine, in southern Italy, who unfortunately died recently, I get even more emotional !
Ragazzi, creazione fantastica , un capolavoro !
That's about the only Italian I know !
@@gregorygant4242 I would say that what you said in this case in Italian, is perfect and that's enough. 👍😉
My all time favourite car! Just so beautifully simple and no silly gimmicks distracting from the driving experience!
Same. The F40 is also undoubtedly Ayumu Uehara and Shioriko Mifune's Dream Supercars, along with 1998 Viper GTS-R, 1999 Toyota GTONE ROAD CAR, 1998 TVR SPEED 12, and 2009 Murcielago LP640.
Ferrari: No gas struts for the engine bay, it needs to be light!
Also Ferrari: Two gas caps, one for each side of the car, and a motorized seatbelt.
it had two small individual tanks on each side, not connected to eachother. Seatbelt was a US thing, regulation and such.
True
This is an american car tho..
@@AndrasMihalyi IS-spec cars have aluminium fuel tanks - they split on impact - not good. See part 5 of Ian Tyrell's restoration F40 for details of the ROW fuel tanks - still need to be replaced every FIVE years, though!
@@tacfoley4443 I know... but what does it have to do with my previous comment ?
WoW…. Seriously when you turned it on the sound was just the most beautiful sound I heard from an engine. It’s a piece of art ! Congrats you were lucky to drive this !
The way mat spoke to us during driving the car felt like I was actually in the passenger seat with him. I felt like a kid in a candy store. Absolutely amazing journalism. Thank you Carwow.
My dream Ferrari. Imagine rolling around in this glorious motor? Incredible 👏🏼
Hey when is the last time Wu tang did an Album. Im a head frim way back and just got out of the scene
I've never even seen one of these yet. It is definitely on my list of cars that I really want to see.
F50 much prettier and sounds much better too@richardharrold9736
Man, this car is just so mesmerizing.
When this was released at the Earls Hall Motor Show in the 80’s I was like 12 , seeing this in the flesh back then is still the only time I’ve seen one , the rear end is just a sign of beauty , thanks for upload ❤❤❤
Wow! What an end to the year! This channel is growing super quick! The content is amazing! ‘Basic’ concepts but less is more. Show fantastic cars, race them against each other. Different class. Keep up the great work. Happy new year!
The first true super car…. 201mph… iconic looks…. and probably in pretty much every dream garage…
Beautiful.
Actualy The American version is almost 200kg heavier and has less hp than the European version of the F40!! A curious fact is that the first units of the F40 produced in 1987 "they speak of the first 20 to 25" have the same power as the 288 GTO EVO and are even lighter!! In tests, they exceeded 370km/hor more than 230mp/h but did not pass the traffic regulations of the time, so they were modified in the units produced later!! Some of the things you said that are enoing are only in the American version, including the belts on the seats, and those uglier seats, the electronic signals too!
Lamborghini miura
@richardharrold9736No
No the Porsche 959 was first true super car. After it was built Ferrari made the F40 to compete
@@zTimmyz0244 no the lamborghini miura was
I'm lucky enough to see "a lot" of F40s while working in Monte-Carlo. Beyond the incredible look of this car, what still amazes me is the sound that it makes. There are a couple rolling around with straight pipes, goosebumps every single time.
I am 7 seconds into this video, and all I want to say, is Matt, congratulations on finally sitting inside one of these!! ❤
20 years ago I had the opportunity to get a passenger ride in one of these and wow. My lasting impression of that experience was it felt like a very fast go kart. Up to this point in my life the quickest car I’d driven was a Toyota supra turbo but this was on an other level. The picture of that day hangs in my garage to this day.
It always comes down to the F40 being my favorite car of all time. Nothing looks like it. Back in '92 I was lucky enough to see one of the 250 or so sent to North America. My friend and I would visit a Lexus/Infinity car dealership. They dealt in some exotics so you'd never know what you would see, sometimes. We were there late at night checking out a couple 993 turbos outside on the car lot. The first production year I believe. Then this red color catches my eye. It was an F40 encased in it's own showroom with lights beaming down on it. I thought I was seeing things. We went back the next day when the dealership was open and asked if we could look at it. We went back multiple times to visit that car, the staff got to know us really well. Once every few days the salesman would start it up and roll it around the car lot to keep it in check. I was able to witness that one day and listen to that engine sing. Once in a lifetime experience.
Still #1 dream/iconic car….it looks and sounds the part after all these years.
Damn, you have reviewed many cars, and even a plane, but I wasn't expecting this! Awesome.
For it's time, it was unimaginable. Love the styling and purpose. This, the McLaren F-1 and the GT40 are in a league of their own.
The 959 is probably the far more interesting and innovative car out of them all which actually gave us some of the tech we take for granted today.
Not really it was just a big twin turbo plastic go cart the 959 was the true unimaginable car it showed the world new ground breaking technology and engineering advancement what went on to define the modern super car and hyper cars we have today
@@skylined5534 The 959 is undeniably the better car overall, but for sheer thrill, excitement and pure supercar drama you cannot beat the F40.
@@JackV-tw8bw 959 was way ahead of its time with ground breaking features we nowadays take for granted, but it was just a bit too... easy to own. A bit too daily driveable. A bit too normal and uneventful. Stepping into the vehicle wasn't as much of a spectacle, it was just a thing you could do without care or fear. It lacked that emotion you get from expensive to own, unreliable death traps you're too afraid to drive apart from some very, very special occasions. 959 was special on paper, and special from engineering standpoint, but it wasn't ultimately that special to own or drive. Technically it was better than F40 in every way, but technicalities don't inspire masses as much as pure, raw emotion does.
@@TrolledBy you can get the same feeling from a classic mini with big carbs and a exhaust as what you get in a f40, you don't need to spend millions to get that knife edge raw super responsive driving experience, obviously the speed is deferent in the f40 your going 130mph in the mini it's more like 30mph but the feeling is the same, light weight no electronics and fast steering
Thank you Mr. Matt Watson, made me feel like I was in the passenger seat. There is always fun moments in your videos, but this time felt like you were a child in your dream car.
Love the simplicity and the sound of that beauty! Who didn’t have a die cast model of an F40 as a kid? More videos like this please!
Model as a kid? Still have mine proudly on show.
@@cvwagon Hah. I'm almost 80, and I have around thirty of 'em!!
In 2012 I had the opportunity to drive a Euro-market F40 in Japan after a photoshoot with it and a Countach, and it was by far and away the most inspirational experience of my life. Pushing that rubber plunger start button and hearing the cacophony of sounds through the steel beam/carbon superstructure was something I’ll never forget. I’ve made it my life goal to own one ever since! Such an epic car!
It contained aluminium and even Kevlar! But you used the word cacophony and that alone makes this an awesome comment
Yeah, of course you did.....
@@CadillacDriverThe video of them getting set up for a private photoshoot that I did with them together is on my channel, lol. I literally have no reason to lie and nothing to gain from it. 🤷🏼♂️
@@39PSIOnTheDaily @39PSIOnTheDaily so you were at a photoshoot, took a video of them being set up - but DIDN'T shoot video or photographic proof you took the F40 for a drive.... Seems legit.
@@CadillacDriver I do have photographic and video proof, but I never uploaded either. Do I need to display my entire life story on RUclips for you, a stranger on the internet? No, lol.
Whatever man, believe what you want. IDGAF anymore tbh. 👍🏻
Looks incredible, sounds incredible, drives incredible, what an iconic piece of automotive history.
These american versions are just annoying with this weird seatbelt contraption and these strange reflectors and rubber profiles. The european versions look cleaner and nicer. But still a very good presentation.
100%
Strange enough these features are what Americans like from a Japanese car. I think it’s great they have it on the American version. Plus
the American version has more HP at 500-515 HP vs to the European having about 478 HP. Finally the American has the better version in my opinion
F40 number one dream car for 36 years . Still is.
Big thanks Chris for your effort. Greetings from Türkiye!
The greatest car ever made. And i believe the best looking car ever made also, even compared to the modern cars.
The greatest SUPERcar even made, maybe. The greatest overall car ever made is probably a tie between the Honda Accord, VW Beetle, Ford Model T and the Ford Mustang. Ya gotta consider affordability, reliability, practicality, serviceability, etc along with relative performance...to earn the "greatest car ever made" title.
@@TucsonDudehaha, good point! 😅
@@TucsonDudeI used to think a car was just going from point A to point B, and on weekends to point C. That man died the moment I laid eyes on the 1979 Honda Accord.
Congratulations for overtaking Top Gear in the total number of followers! Quite a well deserved achievement!
One of the most subscribed car channels for a reason. Constantly providing us with top tier content
I was lucky enough to get allowed to sit in one when I was 14 or 15 at the 1988 Motorshow at the Birmingham NEC. Beautiful car.
I was 17 when this car came out and had just passed my driving test. I remember going upto Earls Court car show and they had it on display, loved it then and still love it. What a car
I never seen one with that kind of seatbelt contraption, there should be a standard 3-point belt that comes trough the hole in the seat, and the receptacle is embedded in the seat! I have videos of that too
That motorized seatbelt contraption was mandated only for US versions of these European imported supercars back in the 1980s🙂
The three I've seen all have STABELT four-point seat belts.
my favourite car since I can remember! I had the matchbox version, the 1:18 Burago versions (yellow and red) and of course the obligatory wall poster - just need someone to take me out in theirs now 😂
😁
Those kinds of auto seatbelts were common in the U.S. in the late 80s and early 90s. I had an Eagle Talon TSi with those things in college, and even then in the early 2000s they felt like a silly gimmick
If I remember correctly, manufacturers could fit these *or* airbags for US regs, and the retro fit of the auto seatbelts was a lot easier (no new sensors or computers), so loads of cars got them.
The fact that Mat and his team can produce such a good quality review of a car that most likely sees for the first time in his life, all while it's so expensive and he still finds 5 annoying things about it, overwhelms me. And what genuine feeling of enthusiasm while driving it.
My dad bought me small toy of F40(shell used to give Ferrari toys for full tank petrol I guess) when I was younger, from then my obsession with Ferrari's started and depression with f1. F40 is still my favourite car!
The motorized seat belt was used on North American cars in the early 1990s. Regulations required cars to have a supplemental restraint system. Those that didn’t have a driver’s side airbag in the steering wheel had this type of motorized seat belt. My mother’s Saturn SL1 had them. They were fairly uncommon. When I used to go out on a date in the Saturn with someone new, she would invariably be freaked out by the belts (and the cheapness of the car), but would laugh when I told her to imagine that we were in a rocket ship.
I really didn't get that weird NA motorised seatbelt thing. Just looks like a pain in the ass, over-complex and does EXACTLY what a standard 3 point belt does without potentially garrotting you when you first get in.
Yes, it's really a stop-gap safety regulation that only lasted a few years in North America. Basically, if your new car was manufactured after a certain date and it did not have an airbag, it was required to have a motorized seatbelt to "force" drivers to at least have an active seatbelt at all times. It was quite common across the board for US cars from the early to mid 90's Obviously, even expensive cars were impacted since the cost to re-engineer airbags into an existing design was often not worth it.
I remember having seen this feature in the nineties in a VW Corrado in Germany. This was an unsold US car and VW was selling them back in their mainland. For me this system was worst than a regular seatbelt as a lazy driver can ignore the horizontal belt and keep only the automatic transversal one.
The F40 is undeniably beautiful, but I was always a 911 turbo fan. I’ve owned many non-turbo 911’s from the 60s to the 90s because I was always afraid of Ferrari and its reliability issues. I currently have a customer who has an 84 308 GTS with 18,000 original miles, end it always seems to need something, but it sure is beautiful to look at. Very nice to drive also. I had a 1980 911 SC, That was reliable as a swiss watch. Oil changes, brake pads and tires, that thing was fantastic and so much fun for the money. But if money was no object, I would definitely have some Ferraris in my arsenal.
Yez ze italianz are not ferry reliablen
When you drive your car do you scream sometimes
I caaaaan walk mein f...er?
f40 is definitely one of the best cars ever made
Most iconic? Absolutely. Best? No where near.
@@skylined5534what supercar have you got expert
Yes, it is. It looks like a supercar the moment you see it from every angle. It's my childhood dream car. Still is, and I'd lose my mind if i see one in person, let alone touch it and sit in it to drive. I'd probably get teary eyes.
1987?
The F40 is born
The first Supercar
Where you only value performance, nothing to electronics, power and a beautiful design, it always stands out from the others,
Beautiful
10:22 You forgot the fact you would have had an F40 for 36 years .😂
Yes, The best super car for me by a long mile. The prices speak for themselves.
then you look up McLaren F1 prices...
@@AndrasMihalyi totally different cars.
@@snbala you totally convinced me...
@@AndrasMihalyi Then you look up Ferrari 250 GTO prices...
@@gcscr we are talking about supercars, not vintage grand tourers.
Should have had the 959 to do a comparison. Both awesome machines for the time!
The 959 was more important for the future of car design but it's gets disregarded because it doesn't look the best and isn't a Ferrari unfortunately.
I hate badge snobbery in this world @@corbendavies6593
959 was a better car
@@mohamedebrahim2982Not at all
@@stefanomarchi3542
Oh come off it. We can all appreciate what an amazing, beautiful car the F40 is but the 959 is the better car out of the two and featured innovations we now take for granted.
Be realistic.
Great vid! Closest I ever got to one was when I was minding my own business in the early 90’s dyno’ing my Mustang. What pulls up in the middle of my session? An F40!! Not only that, but it was John Carmack’s (creator of Castle Wolfenstein, Doom, Quake etc). Anyway, a few years ago another RUclips video made me dig up and post my old VHS video of it. I love that car just as much today as I did 30years ago. Thx for the great views.
New Year and Christmas present. Thank You Matt. Happy New Year!!! Merry Christmas!!!
I thought Mat was lying when he said he had never driven an F40 before but he actually drove the EB110 against the F40 a while back.
That video was obviously recorded during the same session as this one!
It actually looks much larger on screen than it is in the skin. It's a sporty one indeed!😊👍
The engine sound is….wow
Not that great by Ferrari standards
You lucky (and hard-working) bastard!! Driving an F40 is a bucket-list item for me. Hope to make it happen someday!
Thank you MAT for this travel back in time . The F40 was the first supercar i saw . I was 27 yo when FERRARI delivered the firsts monters . In France or in MONACO , i have always seens F40 with competition harness (belt) not classic seat belt and no passengers glass windows , only a small piece of plexiglass (plastic) .
f40 has no competition. just the look alone...
Best car ever made! ❤ child dream for everyone of my generation!
I don't think there's a US spec car out there that looks cooler than it's euro/Japanese counterpart.... clear indicator lenses and all red rear lights are the exception
Always great to see a fellow amber-signal hater. Seems likely our numbers are dwindling lately, as the average driver IQ plummets....
I remembered a lot that i ever used this iconic Ferrari F40 in many childhood racing games like OutRun 2, Ferrari Racing Legends, GRAN TURISMO 5 PROLOGUE, GT5, GT6, and NFS 2015. The F40 in NFS 2015 tho.... Sounded BRILLIANT!
Surely still one of just a few (if not The One) most iconic and most beautiful cars ever made. Just, as Mat says, absolutely gorgeous!
F40 is truly a nice car
Definitely one of the greatest
I’ve always thought the 288 GTO to be a much more tantalising prospect.
Nice but a trifle staid. I'd sooner go further back in time and have an XKSS.
5:56
6:38
8:20
CHRIS LOL
I have always been a Porsche guy,
but F40 is F40.
The one and only. 👌⭐️
They still look absolutely amazing, I had those same seat belts in my first car a 1990 Ford Thunderbird
Hi I'm famous, I'm first. And this ferrari is a beauty and always will be.
hi famous 👋😁
You're not first. You're 5th.
@@connorobeirne934 Hey be nice 😠
F50>F40>F150
why ford is in there 😂
You are going to get hate for this but you are 100% correct.
That car has always been my dream car and always will be! Imagine taking it to a 1980's car meet-up!🤩
The F40 is an always will be a classic. Thanks for sharing Matt ❤💛💙🤎
Cover up
Used to have one, back in the day. The clamps broke very easily, just as the "trunk cover" and the plexiglass engine bay cover.
1:24 scale model and I was 6. Thanks for the great memory
i still have a mine. that's how i already knew how to open the engine bay and the frunk :P
FINALLY THE BEST FERRARI IN YOUR REVIEW
Firstly saw this car about 2 years ago, and fell in love with the last real ferarri
not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet, but the reason for the seatbelt being like that is because it was a US requirement at the time. Many cars during that time frame had similar seatbelts
Still my dream car and phone wallpaper! I used to see one every Sunday night! It used to join the motorway and hammer down it flames firing out the exhaust! Just perfect I’d love to just sit in one
should i shortlist it or just go ahead and buy it?
Was driving around this car (test driving) on the crew 2 for a while and finally bought it on the game few days ago. Now Matt the legend is reviewing it.
This was my dream car as a teenager and I remember when the posters adorned many a bedroom wall. It is a nice change to see something so raw compared to modern cars although it still amazes me you can buy a practical family saloon with better performance than an F40 for relatively little money these days.
Peak supercar....pure analogue ..... beautiful
13:23 That Vector W8 in the background, holy moly :O Only 19 units every produced, 2 of which being pre-production and 17 official ones.
Saw one of the going full song down a dual carriage way once, the only time I’ve ever seen one on the road, made my hair stand on end and I’ve never forgotten it what a dream car!
About 18 years ago my dad had an Italian client who invited us to Florence, he told us that he had a collection of Ferraris and told us that to surprise us we should wait for him on the bridge next to the "Ponte Vecchio" (Ponte Santa Trinita). He arrived with a beautiful F40, I remember that all the tourists began to gather around the Ferrari, my dad's client brought him to give my brother and I a ride around Florence in his F40. An experience that I will never forget. Beautiful car. Loved it!
That's the car that makes me definetely crazy about cars a long, long time ago. I will never forget the first time I saw it in person.
i got to see this car in the museum when we went to the Porsche Rennion. The 1st ever ferrari made is sitting in the same section as that f40!... what a sight it was!
This is the whole italian culture distiled into a machine , simply Beautiful !!!
This fabulous supercar is perfect. I think it's worth buying if you want to use your money to have lots of fun. Thanks for reviewing it. ❤❤💙💙🏎🏎
I actually really like that side repeater and black strips!
9:24 the F40 has actually two fuel tanks one on the left and one on the right side ,and they have to be fueled separately
Dream car, one of the 3 car garage question answers. Mad to think it was made in the 80’s
Wow big praise to Chris and that automotive museum for letting you give that a run out.
As a child of the 90s, grew up in Japan, next to Mobara circuit, F40 is still my favorite car of all the time.
Been lucky enough to work closely with the owner of one in Australia. I've filmed it several times, and even guarded it at a cars and coffee event at Mount Panorama. One of my photos of it is on a Meguiar's bucket, parked next to an 812 Superfast, before doing parade laps around Sydney Motorsport Park. The overwhelming feeling of lust is the same, every time I see it.
Literally my favourite car in the entire world. This blew my mind when it first came out.
Saw one in Jupiter, Florida driving in traffic. Best car I've ever seen on the road! Well... there was a Dusenberg once...
The respect you gave to the car and the owner was lovely, not to thrash it must have been tough
My favorite car since I was a kid in the 80s. Still number one. I actually used to own one back in the day. It was a Tamiya F40 R/C car, 1/10th scale. Sadly, to date, that's still the closest I've ever come to owning the real thing.
Love the flat plane crank sound. The short shifting hurt me though, plus matt never got to see that engine come alive while it was out of it's sweet spot.
Better to short shift a car that isn't yours and is worth a lot of money as opposed to shift it's engine all over the road.
My dream garage:
-F40
-Murcielago Lp640
-Model X Plaid
-992 911 Turbo
-Civic EP3 modded for track
-GR Corolla
-Koenigsegg Gemera
-Rolls Royce Phantom
-Citroen 2CV