Ferrari
F40
MunichFerrari
F40
KEY FACTS
- Delivered new to Cesare Bagni - Founder and owner of T.I.R. builders of carbon composite for Ferrari F1, F40 and F50
- Only 7500 km from new
- Retaining its original service booklet and extensive documentation
- Factory ordered and delivery - complete with original invoice
- Ferrari Classiche Certified
THE MODEL
Make: Ferrari
Model: F40
Mileage: 7485 km
Year of Manufacture: 1990
Location: Germany
Exterior: Rosso Corsa
Interior: Rosso Stoffa Vigogna
Price: SOLD
Few cars occupy as central a position in Ferrari's mythology as the F40. Unveiled in 1987 to mark the marque's fortieth anniversary, it was conceived under the direct instruction of Enzo Ferrari himself, and would prove to be the last car to bear his personal approval before his death the following year. In this sense, the F40 carries a weight of significance beyond its considerable performance credentials.
Built around a twin-turbocharged V8 derived from Ferrari's competition programmes, and clothed in a body constructed largely of composite materials, the F40 was explicitly conceived as the fastest and most focused road car Ferrari had yet produced. Creature comforts were treated as an afterthought, if considered at all: there was no carpeting, no door handles in the conventional sense, and precious little sound deadening between driver and engine. What resulted was a car of uncompromising rawness, closer in character to a thinly disguised racer than to the grand tourers with which Ferrari had built its reputation.
Nearly four decades later, the F40 remains a touchstone against which subsequent flagship Ferraris are measured—not merely for its speed, but for the clarity and honesty of its purpose. It stands as perhaps the purest expression of Enzo Ferrari's own convictions about what a Ferrari ought to be.
OUR EXAMPLE
The first owner of this car was Cesare Bagni, a pioneer in the production of composite materials. Bagni founded his company, T.I.R. (Tranformazione Italiana Resine) in 1968 following his military service. From very humble beginnings creating fibreglass dodgems for amusement arcades, his genius and ambition propelled him to create a concept for FIAT which attracted the attention of Enzo Ferrari.
Ferrari was in need of new technology for improved rigidity and lightness for their Formula 1 programme, and Bagni’s small but highly specialised team would soon be building bodywork for the top driver’s of the era, including Niki Lauda, Clay Regazzoni and Gilles Villeneuve. Soon Bagni’s composite technology was appearing in other Ferrari competition cars, including the unique 712 Can-Am, which to this day remains the highest capacity engine ever built by Ferrari, with a 6.9 litre V12, 670hp and thanks to T.I.R. a weight of just 800 kg!
As ever technology which was developed for motorsport quickly transferred to the road production cars, and by the 1980s Bagni’s company was producing body panels for the 288 GTO, F40 and finally F50.
Unsurprisingly for someone so closely tied to Ferrari, Cesare Bagni ordered his car directly at the factory, making it a rare direct factory sale. Not only do we have the original service booklet stamped ‘Diretta’ but a copy of the original sales agreement, the original invoice and deposit receipt, all remain with the car.
Given his factory and motorsport connections the car would be cared for exclusively by Michelotto for the early part of its life. In around 1993, no doubt acutely aware of the latest innovations available he requested that Michelotto using factory parts, upgrade his car to the latest adjustable suspension, creating a potentially unique non-cat, adjustable suspension example! As a final nod to Bagni’s inextricable links to the development of Ferrari’s use of carbon fibre the car was fitted with a unique carbon fibre gear knob, a little hint to those in the know of the owner’s role in Ferrari history.
By all accounts Cesare Bagni was an enormously hard-working and modest man. Many of his team spent their entire careers by his side, and he worked himself well beyond retirement. This explains in no small part why he used his F40 so little, when he passed away on the 3rd September 2014 and the only Ferrari he ever owned personally, his F40, passed to his family the car had under 4,000 km on the odometer.
Acquired directly from his family in 2018 the car subsequently came to Germany where the Schaltkulisse team first encountered this remarkable car. We are delighted to now be able to help write the next chapter in the car’s history.








