Ferrari F40: the greatest Ferrari ever?

Over the last couple of months, when the car industry has been very quiet and I have no new cars to think about and fantasise about ownership, I always think about the best cars ever. Not the newest, not the fastest, not the prettiest, but just the best. Vague, I know, but there are some cars that, to me anyway, are just undoubtably the best. Lamborghini Muira? Check. Audi Quattro? Check. Shelby Cobra? You bet. Ford Mustang Mach 1? Yep. But to me at least there is one car that I always come back to in these times of automotive pondering. The Ferrari F40. The best Ferrari accolade is a very tough one for anyone to give. Especially if they value their life. So let's consider the evidence for the F40.

The F40. The last car to be approved by Il maestro himself: Enzo Ferrari. It was also the first production car to pass the magic mark: 200mph (albeit only by 1mph). Powered by a twin-turbo V8, it generated a not-very-mighty-in-today's-world 471bhp but did have 426 torques and only weighed 1100kg's. It subsequently hit 62 in an amazing-for-1987 4.1 seconds. And had pop-up headlights. Seriously, if that doesn't change your mind I don't know what will. With a low and sexy shape and an eyebrow-raising rear wing, it's no wonder that it's value today can get to astronomical value of £750,000. That's more than a new Porsche 918. And if a car from 1987 is still worth more than a brand new hypercar, it must be good. The best? Absolutely

Nev

Mclaren P1 GTR

For those of you who already thought the Mclaren P1 was hardcore. Get a load of this. The Mclaren P1 GTR. Descendent of the Mclaren F1GTR, the car that won Le Mans on its debut in 1995. This car is the track-only version of the already hardcore P1, this car will cost double the normal car's already eye-watering price tag. Which means the GTR will cost an astronomical £1.98 Million.

So what makes it worth the price? Well, the massive rear wing replaces the "discreet" retractable one on the road car. This generates even more downforce, and coupled with its upgraded electric motor and tweaks to the engine meant that it should generate about about 986bhp, roughly the same as the original Bugatti Veyron but quite a bit lighter, equivalent of a Caterham seven lighter in fact. This means that it will obviously out-drag  the road car and sprint to 62 in under 2.8 seconds.the front of the car is wider and the body has been reprofiled for more aerodynamics. Anyone lucky enough to own one gets access to the F1 teams simulators and can take part in six exclusive track days per year. Most of the details are unavailable at the moment as it is still in development but the message still comes through. Be. Very. Afraid. Could this car be in retaliation to pictures of a Laferrari XX? Over to you, Ferrari.

Nev

The Italian Grand Prix

Last week was the turn of another historic race track to appear on the calender: Monza. With its historic banking no longer used on the track but still shows how tricky the circuit is. Qualifying on Saturday saw Lewis Hamilton edge Rosberg to take pole, with Bottas bagging Williams a second row start.

The race itself was very eventful. Ricciardo failed to gain a hatrick of victories because his Renault power unit failed to give him enough speed to catch the leaders. Surprisingly, Fernando Alonso-the only driver to have gained points in every race so far-had a power unit failure midway through the race which brought his record to an end. In the end Lewis Hamilton led the race comfortably to win the Italian Grand Prix, With Nico Rosberg finishing in second and Filipe Massa gaining his first ever podium for Williams. The next race is in Singapore, next week.

Nev