One very lucky collector is set to get their hands on a unique example of one of Ferrari’s greatest supercars this weekend. And it could be you.
RM Sotheby’s will take bids for the 1991 Ferrari F40 “Minty Forty” during its annual Monterey Car Week sale. The stunning speed machine is the only example of the legendary car painted in the striking hue.
The F40 needs no introduction. It’s an era-defining supercar depicted in posters that graced thousands of childhood bedroom walls during the 1980s and ’90s. It was also the final model that founder Enzo Ferrari signed off on before he died in 1988. The was designed to celebrate the marque’s 40th anniversary—hence the name—and was unlike anything else the brand had built, combining an aggressively modern design with a Formula 1-derived powertrain. It wasn’t powered by a V-12, but that didn’t stop it from becoming the first Prancing Horse to break the 200 mph barrier.
1991 Ferrari F40 “Minty Forty”
Zach Brehl/RM Sotheby’s
Any F40 is special, but this example, chassis no. 88538, has the distinction of being the only one finished in Mint Green. It didn’t start life that way, instead leaving the factory, like all F40s, in that most famous of Ferrari colors, Rosso Corsa. It would remain that color until this decade when its current owner had it repainted in tribute to the Ferrari chassis 3505 GT, the Verde Pallido 250 GTO that was built for Stirling Moss and would race at Le Mans in 1962. The interior was also retrimmed in blue to better complement the new hue.
The rest of chassis no. 88538 is preserved in the same configuration as when it was delivered to Dieter Wolf of Wölfersheim, Germany, in the spring of 1991. The supercar features a matching-numbers twin-turbo 2.9-liter V-8 and five-speed manual gearbox. The longitudinally mounted mill pumps out 471 hp and 426 ft lbs of torque. Those numbers may look quaint today, but they were wildly impressive at the time. When it was brand new the F40 could sprint from zero to 60 in just 4.7 seconds, while its 201-mph top speed briefly made it the world’s fastest production car.
Inside the F40 “Minty Forty”
Zach Brehl/RM Sotheby’s
In the market for something rare for your collection? The F40 “Minty Forty” just might do the trick. Be prepared to spend big, though. The auction house expects the car to sell for between $1.9 million and $2.5 million. The car will cross the block during RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale, which runs through Saturday, August 17.
Click here for more photos of the 1991 Ferrari F40 “Minty Forty.”
Zach Brehl/RM Sotheby’s
