If you think you’re having a bad day at the office, think again. A junior employee of Mechatronik, a high-end car restoration shop and dealer in Germany, has crashed the poster boy of ‘80s supercars: a Ferrari F40. The 24-year-old was behind the wheel, transporting the legendary supercar to Motorworld, a nearby car show when the accident reportedly took place.
The mishap occurred in a tunnel with the front end of the car showing the most damage, though it isn’t certain yet what caused the accident: mechanical failure, or just driver error. Whatever the reason, it’s going to be an expensive fix to get this Ferrari F40 back on the road.
The Ferrari F40 is one of just over 1,300 units produced between 1987 and 1992. It was the first production car to heavily use composite materials in its production. The F40 used a 2.9-liter, twin-turbo V8 with 478 horsepower and did the 0-60mph run in just 4.1 seconds, with a top speed of 201mph — the first production car to break into the 200mph club. Impressive, but not nearly as impressive as the lead times on this project; the Ferrari F40 went from brief to road in just one year, tasked with bringing contemporary Formula 1 tech to the road. Its name itself is an ode to the company’s 40th anniversary — the F40 is a special Ferrari by every metric.
This particular 1990 Ferrari F40 was also reported to have been advertised on sale before the crash, with the shop intending to drum up attention at the car show. Unfortunately, not all publicity is good publicity, and this F40’s expected $3.2 million price tag has certainly taken a dive already.
