COMPOSITE DESIGN (Auto&Design n.46/1987)
Desired by Enzo Ferrari to celebrate forty years of activity as a Grand Touring manufacturer, the F40 is mainly the result of lot of thought put into the automobile and the relationship between shapes, spaces and volumes. A way of reproaching the relationship between men and technology. The objective was to create a car that would offer everything a fast cars lover’s heart desires; a product for those who love driving like uniting a high level of individual control to an incredibly high level of design and technology.
With a limited production of 400-500 units, the car is a high performance two seater sports berlinetta, propelled by a V8cylinder (90°), 2936 cc. midengine, supercharged through two IHI turbochargers with intercooler. The bodyshapes frames uses tubular parts in alloyed steel, integrated with carbon fiber, Kevlar and honeycombed sandwich structure cells, made with the wide use of vinylester or expoy and para-aramidic honeycombed matrix fabrics.
The bodywork is keeping with the car’s strikingly sporty spirit and sophisticated mechanical assembly. The design in unequivocally Pininfarina. Wind tunnel tested, the car reveals considerable downforce, sough for perfect roadholding. Aerodynamics thugs gave the car an exceedingly gutsy look. The large rear stabilizer (in carbon), that extends the entire length of the tail end has the tasks of flattening the rear axle tubing the threads with the aid of lateral lips.
The line of the side maintains the by now characteristic groove on all of the latest Ferrari-Pininfarina creations: it surrounds the shape giving the impression of two overlapping shells. The profile is highlighted by two fins and by the wide wrapping rear window that connect the roof to the cut-off tail. On the hood, constructed in a sigle piece, lie retractable headlights and two NACA-design air intakes for the passenger compartment air conditioning. On the dashboard the carbon and aramidic fibers of the composite fabric it is made up of show through. The instrumentation is reduced to the bare minimum with a classical round-dial design and air vents.
