It’s now August, and if you’re a regular reader of this site, you probably know what that means: Monterey Car Week. Old, new, and lemony jalopies will be on display. And, likely, another rare red Ferrari will be sold for millions at auction. But MCW won’t be for another couple of weeks. Until then, we’ve found another rare red Ferrari you can make a wild bid on: a factory-backed V12 F40.
Whoa, there. The first-ever production Ferrari to top 200 mph didn’t have a V12, as you might recall. The F40 had a twin-turbo V8. Well, you’re not wrong. But this example does, in fact, have a V12. The engine is sourced from a 550 Maranello, and the entire project actually got what amounts to a thumbs-up from Ferrari itself.
The Simpson-Ferrari V12 GTR started its life as a test car for the Maranello factory. Through a previously established relationship between the U.K.-based Simpson Motorsport, race car driver Stefano Sebastiani, and former Ferrari boss Amedeo Felisa, the Simpson team snagged a post-crash-test F40 chassis. Then the magic began.
Rather than rebuilding the F40 to factory spec, a 550-sourced V12 found a new home in the F40. The naturally aspirated 5.5-liter V12 produces 478 horsepower. On paper, that doesn’t sound a whole lot better than the stock 2.9-liter V8 which already made 471 hp. On the ears, though it literally sounds a whole lot better.
The chassis has been reinforced to FIA spec and also features a roll cage. Still, Simpson Motorsport says the car weighs just 2,370 pounds and produces closer to 542 hp. In 2005, a Hewland six-speed sequential gearbox was added.
According to the auction listing, the Simpson-Ferrari mashup competed in several races between 2002 and 2006. Its best race result came in 2006 when the driving duo of Jacopo Sebastiani and Anthony Mott finished second on the Britcar Oulton Park circuit. After retiring from racing, the Ferrari was dry-stored and thoroughly maintained. The vehicle was taken out last year for a proper racing shakedown at Turweston Airfield.
The Simpson-Ferrari V12 GTR is being sold through Iconic Auctioneers as part of the Iconic Sale at Silverstone Festival. The one-of-a-kind race car will be auctioned off on August 23 and has an estimated value of around $640,000 to $770,000. With this sort of pedigree, maybe the sale will give those Monterey-auctioned Ferraris something to talk about.
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