Ferrari F40
I have been wandering through muscle cars and hot rod
history for the most part so far. Hot Wheels were founded on muscle cars. Hot
Wheels started in 1968 and that was the muscle car era. Let us not forget another
part of Hot Wheels, showcasing and immortalizing revolutionary cars modeled in
miniature to create dreams with. The fastest and, the loudest cars available or
imaginable. And this one fits right into that mold, Hot Wheels needed one and
got one.
The Casting
So, let’s get
this out of the way first off. It was very disappointing news (in my own
opinion) to hear that Ferrari and Hot Wheels were parting ways. I have
collected many of the Ferrari releases over the years and they were always my first
pick above all other models on any store peg. The 312P was the first Ferrari
casting and debuted in 1970. The last castings were to be released in the
Ferrari 5 pack of 2014. The end, at least for now.
The F40 model was released in 1989. 1989 was an evolution
in Hot Wheels history. There were older models that would soon be phased out
and some updated newer cars added to the lineup. This casting had a consistent
run of releases, showing up every year from 93 – 2002. One odd fact about the early
years is that the livery from its first release in 89 was brought back in 95
and remained the same for 2 years. After that, the liveries are fairly plain
but who needs a fancy paint job on one of these beautiful Italian sports cars?
All of this icon’s features are included. The opening rear
end, the side scoops, headlights and taillights are all key features of this
car and they are all there. I was never fond of the larger rear wheels but that
is a minor detail that I can overlook on this one. When opening the rear hatch,
there is a cast motor represented but it is not nearly as impressive as say the
cobra engine bay. The F40 also never made its way into the treasure hunt line
but mainline versions are still a great addition to any collection. What exotic
garage would be complete without an F40? The F40 was never the top performer on
the orange track, I think the massive rear hatching flapping on some models
slowed it down. However, for the final run of these cars, Mattel released a
second version with a closed hatch and these versions are very fast on the
track.
Interesting side note
is that Ferrari Hot Wheels castings are very slowly picking up collectability
and carry a slight collectors upcharge but not as inflated as I thought after
the cancellation news in 2014. Ironically, it seems to be newer Ferrari
castings that are going up in value and not the older versions. The F40 is still
easy to pick up at a decent price if you want to add one to your collection. I
highly recommend the 2012 Boulevard edition, the details and wheels op the
Boulevard editions are very nice. Unfortunately, I do not currently own one to show off.
On the Pavement
Much like the casting, this
era of automotive history was not prepared for the explosion in reverse that it
caused. The late 80s became an exciting time as companies like Ferrari took
leaps backwards into the futuristic designs of the late 50s and combined that
with power and plastic to create some wild cars. That is one introduction that
the F40 would fit into. It was Ferraris 40th anniversary and Ferrari
had grown stale with designs. Many argued that Ferrari were more focused on the
luxury and had completely lost the performance aspect that it was founded on.
Ferrari needed something special. In the background, a predecessor to the 250
was being cyphered. In with the F40 for Ferraris 40th (clever play).
The F40 was a stripped down, no frills, all excitement, exotic looking
powerhouse. It featured a twin turbo V8 that put out close to 500 horsepower on
a platform that weighed in right around 3000 lbs. [2] Weight was reduced by
eliminating luxuries like radio, carpeting, door handles and even interior door
panels. Clearly a statement was made to those who thought Ferrari had focused
on just the frills.
On the racetrack,
Ferrari was found at a crossroads. Changing specs in the series they typically
ran in cam at a time where Ferrari was making some design changes (for the 40th
anniversary). There were some good runs for the F40 on the track and it proved
to be competitive against other manufacturers that had been dominant in the GT
and IMSA series racing.
No matter what
your opinion is of the F40, it was a venture into a new era of automotive
history and helped fuel what we see today in the horsepower supremacy wars. The
F40 also provided a new direction for Ferrari that continued into several
Ferrari models that followed. I have never witnessed one up close and never had
the opportunity to ride in one. From what I have read and seen; it appears that
this could be a ride that most do not forget.
Happy peg hunting - the holidays are here and the bins are usually full of cheerful surprises. Already got lucky myself. Enjoy and see you next issue!
Although I own all of the actual diecast pictured in these
posts, all original packaging artwork, Hot wheels and Mattel logos, car names,
paint descriptions and wheel descriptions in regard to the Hot Wheels versions
are copyrights of the Mattel toy company.
Ferrari and F40 are trademarks of Ferrari S.p.A.
Awesome 😁
ReplyDeleteWorking on some picture upgrades. Got a lot more cars to review.
DeleteThank you for the comment.