Legends of the Meet: Episode 2 — Ferrari F40 LM

If you thought the McLaren F1 GTR from Episode 1 was mad, wait until you meet the Ferrari F40 LM — the road car that already tried to kill its owners before Ferrari decided to make it even more terrifying and stick it on a race track.

Because the standard F40 was already a lunatic. Twin turbos, a turbo lag gap the size of the English Channel, no ABS, no power steering, and more raw carbon fibre inside than a modern Formula One car. So what did Ferrari and Michelotto do? They gave it 700 horsepower, fitted a giant rear wing, and told racing drivers to get on with it.

The Birth of the LM

The F40 LM (for Le Mans, naturally) was built by Michelotto, Ferrari’s semi-secret skunkworks in Padova. Officially, Ferrari said the F40 wasn’t designed for racing. Unofficially, they handed Michelotto a wink, a nod, and a cheque book.

Only around 19 F40 LMs were made, and each was subtly different depending on when it was built and which series it was destined for. The early cars were built for IMSA in the US, with later Evoluzione versions tuned for GT racing in Europe.

Did You Know?

• The F40 LM was so powerful that it needed two turbos bigger than the ones on the road car. Boost pressure was ramped up to around 2.6 bar, producing over 720 bhp in qualifying trim.
• The LM’s turbos were so aggressive that Ferrari had to add a huge intercooler system — some cars were known to spit flames nearly 3 feet long.
• Unlike the road car’s pop-up headlights, the LM got fixed Perspex covers over the lamps to save weight and avoid the risk of the motors failing at 200 mph.
• The bodywork was Kevlar and Nomex honeycomb, so thin and fragile that leaning on the door could dent it. In period photos, you’ll often see mechanics handling them like porcelain.
• Ferrari’s original road car gearbox was too weak, so the LM had a heavily reinforced five-speed with straight-cut gears. It whined like an angry kettle at full chat.
• One LM ran at Le Mans in 1995, but retired with gearbox issues after holding 12th overall against newer GT1 machinery — an astonishing effort for what was still, fundamentally, a road car with a steroid habit.

The Racing Years

The F40 LM was entered by private teams such as Pilot-Aldix, which famously painted its car bright blue and stuck it on the Le Mans grid in 1995. It fought valiantly against McLaren F1 GTRs, Venturis, and Porsche 911 GT2s, but it was already an old design fighting newer, slicker machinery.

Still, the F40 LM earned its legend status not by racking up wins, but by the sheer savagery of the thing. Drivers described it as “violent”, with boost hitting like a train and the car twitching under power even in a straight line. In other words, it was very Ferrari: gloriously fast, slightly flawed, and totally unforgettable.

Why It Matters at Secret Meet

When an F40 LM appears at Secret Meet, it isn’t just another red Ferrari. It’s a reminder of the last time Ferrari built a race car that was basically a road car with more boost and less sanity. It is loud, uncompromising, and utterly terrifying — and that’s exactly why people adore it.

Standing next to one, you realise this was Enzo Ferrari’s final car, turned into a racing monster after his death. The LM feels less like a Ferrari product and more like a Ferrari dare. The ultimate “bet you won’t drive this flat-out” machine.

Legends Fast Facts — Ferrari F40 LM

• Built: 1989-1994 by Michelotto
• Number built: ~19
• Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V8
• Power: 700-720 bhp in race trim (road car: 478 bhp)
• Weight: ~1,050 kg (LM) vs 1,100 kg (road car)
• Top speed: Over 230 mph in long gearing
• Notable races: IMSA (late 1980s), Le Mans 1995 (retired from 12th overall)

The McLaren F1 GTR may have been the car that accidentally won Le Mans. But the Ferrari F40 LM was something else entirely: a snarling, spitting ball of turbo fury that proved racing cars could still be dangerous in the 1990s.

And if you ever hear one fire up at Secret Meet, don’t just stand there. Move closer. Feel the ground vibrate. Smell the fuel. Because this is what legends sound like when they’re trying to kill you.