A stark reminder of what a real supercar looks like just cost someone a staggering £3,605,000 (roughly $4,820,000). At RM Sotheby’s Woodcote Park auction, a 1990 Ferrari F40 set a historic new British auction record, proving that when it comes to the ultimate expression of internal combustion, the ultra-wealthy will gladly liquidate their portfolios.
Carrying chassis number 84642 and originally delivered by Charles Pozzi, this winged monster belonged to motorsport legend Jean Sage. Sage did not just let it sit in a climate-controlled vault to collect dust and equity. In 1994, he handed the keys to Michelotto with a simple directive: make it faster, but keep it street-legal.
The result was a GT CSAI-spec weapon that shed 136 kilograms of unnecessary weight, received a custom lightweight Maurice Chabord exhaust, and swapped its standard lungs for twin, special I.H.I. turbochargers. The intervention boosted the engine to a terrifying 527 HP, turning a notoriously violent car into something truly apocalyptic.
To appreciate this madness, look at Nicola Materazzi’s already flawless original engineering framework. The standard F40 was an 1,100-kilogram masterpiece powered by a 2,936 cc twin-turbo V8 pushing 478 HP. It conquered 0-200 km/h in a blistering 12 seconds, swallowed the standing kilometer in 21 seconds, and topped out at 324 km/h. Sage’s Michelotto weapon easily eclipses those figures. Dressed in Pietro Camardella’s iconic Pininfarina bodywork, encountering this car in traffic is a visual shock.
It stands as a spiritual testament to Enzo Ferrari, the very last vehicle shaped under his uncompromising gaze. Il Commendatore loved it so much he famously let slip an uncharacteristic compliment into an open microphone during its Maranello debut. A subsequent owner did try to “soften” the setup for daily usability later on, but its legendary status remains untouched. It is a multi-million-dollar monument to an era when cars had souls and engineering required a singular vision.
