How do you make the ultimate 80’s supercar even better? Why of course, by creating an epic racing version, and that’s just what Ferrari did with the F40 LM.

The normal Ferrari F40 was already the fastest production car in the world in 1989 with its 3.0L turbocharged V8 (And has been our Car of the Week before), but that same year, Ferrari launched a car that they thought would be more adequate for their most demanding and exclusive consumers.

The F40 LM was intended exclusively for track use and as such had a slightly different design from the normal F40, improved aerodynamics and bigger headlamps for endurance racing. It also weights 50 kg less than the standard model at 1050 kg (2310 lbs).

The V8 was tuned to give around 700 hp, and along with these changes came lower suspension from Koni, Brembo brakes and OZ 17-inch competition wheels. The whole car was sold through Ferrari’s racing divisions in individual countries. It debuted at Laguna Seca in 1989 and managed a 3rd place finish.

In 1994, 2 years after the last standard F40 was produced and with 17 LMs produced, Ferrari decided to end sales of the model. Despite this, it kept on racing until 1996 when the McLaren F1 GTR deemed it obsolete.

If you can find a F40 LM for sale be prepared to pay around twice the market value for a standard F40 because of rarity and collector value.

This car is an excellent example of how to make great things even better. I give you our Car of the Week: The Ferrari F40 LM.

Image Credits (From top to bottom):

Image 1: James Tworow / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Image 2: Grantuking / CC BY-NC 2.0

Image 3: James Tworow / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0