Discovery Channel’s Fast N’ Loud has been one of my favourite shows since the first episode of its inaugural series. Whilst it lacks the wit and mad supercar action of Top Gear, it does provide all-American muscle and a couple of great characters doing all the dealings and restorations.
Considered as one of the best episodes, Richard Rawlings and his bearded mechanic, Aaron Kaufman took on a damaged Ferrari F-40. All looked bleak at the beginning considering the chassis and frame was borderline whether it should be repaired – when it comes to a Ferrari, a bent chassis and frame needs to be repaired to 1% of Ferrari’s strict margins. Luckily, after taking on some experts, they did it. After importing some extras (the F-40’s windshield was clumsily broken at $7000 a pop!), the guys at Gas Monkey Garage unleashed this evil Ferrari.
Kaufman didn’t take to the original felt dash and standard seats, so they upgraded them with racing bucket seats that (I think) actually suited the F-40 better than the factory ones. The factory rims look good, but to compliment the new evil demeanour, larger black alternatives were fitted to really set the car off.
So from the wreck pictured below emerged this stunning modern twist on an 80s icon.
Barrett-Jackson auctions in Scottsdale, Arizona had the car on auction, and after the hammer came down, the F-40 sold for an impressive $742,500, passing its reserve. This is a great deal considering this example had just 7,148 miles on the clock and only one previous owner.
Whilst the American crew “pissed off the purists” by spraying this sacred F-40 black, the way I see it is they saved it from being ripped apart for parts – now that twin-turbo V8 can howl again and fly the flag for Ferrari.
Other non-standard modifications included a Tubi exhaust system, rebuilt turbochargers, an aluminium flywheel and Kevlar clutch. The signature 5 spoke wheels were replaced with a set of HRE three-piece wheels, and removing some of the original suspension, the Gas Monkey crew added Penske Racing adjustable shocks. Although detracting from the stallion that originally left the Ferrari factory, the end result is a tighter and more powerful beast, it’s twin-turbocharged 2.9-L V-8 pumping out 550-bhp, around 80 up on the factory car.
I personally love what they did with this potential $1M supercar. Aside from some incredible work done by some specialists they had to hire for the job, the end result was a faster and meaner looking car.
Whilst Dennis Collins (Rawlings’ long time friend and F40 owner) “wishes it had gone for much more,” it did go to a car lover and collector. Baseball legend Reggie Jackson, a man with a great taste in automobiles, now has to make an F40 space in his garage.
Also up for auction block was a custom 2014 COPO Camaro built by Richard Rawlings and the COPO Camaro crew. Perhaps because of the personal touch and its custom status, the Camaro sold for a massive $106K.
