For a man who once had a garage filled with some of the world’s most desirable cars, Lewis Hamilton’s latest acquisition is surprisingly personal. The seven-time Formula One world champion has finally bought the Ferrari F40, the car he has dreamed about owning since childhood. The timing is especially fitting after Hamilton sold his entire road-car collection in 2025, reportedly valued at around $18 million, shortly after beginning his Ferrari stint in Formula One. At the time, he insisted there was one car that could still tempt him back into ownership, and it was the F40.
Hamilton took to Instagram to announce the news, sharing a series of photographs showing his particular F40 before and during its revival at Maranello. The pictures show the car covered in dust after reportedly spending more than 30 years inside a garage, followed by images of Hamilton examining it and Ferrari’s engineers working on the car, including an engine-out mechanical overhaul.
The revelation comes only months after Hamilton turned heads in Japan by arriving at Tokyo’s famous Daikoku Parking Area in another red F40, a car belonging to Japanese collector Takeshi Kimura. Hamilton said at the time that he loved the model, but that particular F40 was not his. Now he has one of his own.
The Ferrari he always wanted
The choice could hardly be more appropriate for Hamilton. The F40 was unveiled at Maranello on July 21, 1987, to celebrate Ferrari’s 40th anniversary, with Enzo Ferrari himself presenting the car at the age of 89. It would become the last new Ferrari launched in his presence before his death the following year. Enzo had famously challenged his engineers to build the best car in the world, and what emerged was an unapologetically raw machine that prioritized speed and weight reduction over comfort.
Under its iconic Pininfarina body sits a 2,936cc twin-turbocharged V8 producing roughly 471 horsepower in European specification, paired with a five-speed manual transmission. The car weighed around 2,765 lb and used lightweight Kevlar, carbon-composite, and aluminum construction. There was no ABS, traction control, or power steering, while features such as carpeting and a radio were treated as unnecessary luxuries. Ferrari initially intended to build only 400 examples, but ultimately produced 1,311 road cars by its own count, helping turn the F40 into one of the world’s most coveted modern classics.
From childhood fantasy to Hamilton’s garage
What makes Hamilton’s purchase particularly compelling is that his fascination with the F40 has been remarkably consistent. In 2025, after selling his collection, he said that if he ever bought another car, it would be an F40, describing the machine as a piece of art. Earlier that year, he had also floated the idea of creating an F40-inspired Ferrari called the F44, combining the legendary supercar’s character with his racing number 44 and, importantly, a manual gearbox.
His newly acquired car may now make that fantasy considerably more tangible. Hamilton says he discovered the F40 covered in dust after its extraordinary period of storage and took it to Maranello, where Ferrari’s engineers and mechanics spent weeks bringing it back to life. The car’s chassis number, mileage, previous ownership and purchase price have not been revealed, leaving plenty of unanswered questions about its history. For now, however, the most important detail is simple: after years of dreaming about the F40, Lewis Hamilton finally has one sitting in his own garage.