1996 Ferrari F40 GTE #59
Pilots: R. Donovan, P. Nappi, T. Ota
Team: Ennea SRL / Ferrari Club Italia
Race: DNF (GT1 class) at Le Mans in 1996
Tecnomodel - TM43-63A (resin)
Published 09/26/25
In 1984, Ferrari engineer Nicola Materazzi received permission to develop a Group B rally car. However, he could only work on the car on weekends; despite that, the 288 GTO Evoluzione was ready in 1986. Unfortunately, though, that same year FIA abolished Group B racing, so Ferrari was stuck with five prototypes that couldn’t race. Enzo Ferrari, at 88 years old, wanted to sign on one last “extreme car”. So, he asked Materazzi to develop the Evoluzione into a road car, and in 1987 the F40 was ready. The F40 was a very simple car, with nothing out of the extraordinary, yet it was brutishly fast. Called at the time a “cynical money-making exercise aimed at speculators”, brutish was a good term to define it. Though with a sleek body designed by Pininfarina, the F40 was raw and uncomfortable; a true racecar for the streets.
Powering the F40 was a 2936 cm³ twin turbocharged and inter-cooled V8 derived from the 288 GTO. At 7000 rpm it delivered 352 kW (471 hp). Connected to a 5-speed manual gearbox, that allowed 324 km/h and a 0 to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds. The suspension was a very basic double wishbones with coil springs over telescopic shock absorbers system. To keep weight down, the highly aerodynamic body (drag coefficient of 0.34) consisted of Kevlar, carbon fiber and aluminum panels. For the same reason windshield and windows were made of polycarbonate plastic. The interior was absurdly spartan – no sound system, door handles, glove box, leather trim, carpets, or door panels. Ferrari personally revealed the car on July 21st 1987, at the Civic Centre in Maranello. That was just in time to celebrate the brand’s 40th Anniversary, hence the name “F40”.
The F40 was nothing but a racecar in a street-legal disguise. And customers immediately realized that. So, what do you do with the street-legal racecar you just bought? You take it racing, of course. In 1989 US customers wanted to race the F40 in IMSA. They approached Ferrari which then asked Michelotto to modify the car, producing the F40 LM IMSA GTO. The IMSA GTO was an IMSA-certified 574 kW (780 hp) beast. The IMSA GTO looked awesome, and some customers wanted a street version, so in 1989 Ferrari produced the F40 Competizione. The Competizione was the street version of the race car derived from a passenger car that was initially a racecar 😵. Flabbergasted yet? Italians can be a bit wacky sometimes… Then, in 1993, Michelotto released the F40 GT, for the Italian GT Championship. And in 1994 came the F40 LM, for international competitions, like Le Mans.
In 1995 Michelotto released the final version, the F40 GTE. The biggest difference was the bigger engine: 3.5 liters and in 1996, 3.6 liters, capable of 474 kW (635 hp). And to make it even faster, the GTE also counted on better aerodynamics. It received a new rear wing, front splitter, and rear diffuser. Moreover, it had air intakes on the rear fender instead of the side-skirt and air extractors on the front fenders. This F40 GTE #59 (chassis #ZFFGJ34B000088779) raced at Le Mans in 1996, however a faulty clutch caused a DNF.
I’m a big fan of Tecnomodel, and as I’ve said a few times before, it has some seriously good models. Just as good as a Looksmart yet for a better price, the detail level is outstanding. Unfortunately though, F40 GTE #59 here does not have the same quality of my other models from them. The side decals are a bit off and one Italian flag has a small defect. Nothing major, you have to look for the issues to see them, but they’re there 😣. If it wasn’t for that, I would be raving about it. Looks like I got unlucky, nonetheless the model is fantastic.