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As the iconic Ferrari F40 turns 30, a look back at its development

July 21, 2017 marks the 30th anniversary, to the day, of the Ferrari F40's debut. The F40 is easily one of the greatest Ferraris ever produced: It was one of the first road cars to have a top speed of 200 mph, it celebrated the company's 40th anniversary, and it was the very last model that founder Enzo Ferrari was able to see to completion. To celebrate this historic car's anniversary, Ferrari collected some anecdotes from people who worked on the F40 project, and they reveal some interesting details about the car's development. Among these details was the timeframe for creating the car. Ermanno Bonfiglioli, Head of Special Projects at Ferrari at the time, said that the car was developed in just 13 months. That means everything from the styling to the engine were taken from an idea to a production car in barely over a year. The engine wasn't quite a from-scratch design, though, since it was based on the unreleased 288 GTO Evoluzione's 650-horsepower engine, but it still received many updates to become the 487-horsepower engine we know today. Bonfiglioli highlighted the engine's weight savings due to using magnesium for the oil sump, cylinder head covers, intake manifold, and transmission bellhousing. It was after driving one of those 288 GTO Evoluziones that Pininfarina designer Leonardo Fiorvanti learned about Enzo Ferrari's plan for the F40. He said that after telling Enzo his thoughts on the 288, Enzo told him he wanted to make a "true Ferrari." Fiorvanti also revealed that everyone, including Enzo, knew this would be the last car for the founder. From what Ferrari test driver Bario Benuzzi said about the F40, it certainly didn't start out as a "true Ferrari." He said, "The handling of the first prototypes were poor." But in the short development time, the F40 became the car Enzo wanted, and Benuzzi credits plenty of downforce and the light, stiff chassis. It didn't make the car easy to drive, though. Benuzzi said, "With no power steering, power brakes or electronic devices, it demands the skill and commitment of the driver, but generously repays it with a unique driving experience." Related Video: Featured Gallery Ferrari F40 Ferrari Coupe Supercars Classics ferrari f40

Petrolicious goes running up that Hill in a Ferrari 250 GTO

We might not ordinarily run a seven-minute clip of in-car footage. But this is no ordinary car, it's not being driven by any ordinary driver, and it wasn't put up by just any YouTube user. This is video of a Ferrari 250 GTO once raced by Phil Hill, being driven by his son, Derek Hill, in a hillclimb for Petrolicious. The footage was captured during the making of a previous clip, entitled The Ferrari 250 GTO Speaks for Itself and released over a year ago. Since it was left over after production, the Petrolicious uploaded it here for our enjoyment. Of course the GTO should require no introduction, being one of the most sought-after classics the world has ever known. And neither should Derek Hill. While the former's clout goes without saying, Hill's skills warrant repeating. The late legend Phil Hill was one of the few Americans to succeed in European racing in the 1960s, with a Formula One World Championship title and three Le Mans wins to his name. Derek may never have reached his father's level of success, but he's won races and titles in both formula and sports-car racing, and was among the last to professionally race a Bugatti when he campaigned an EB110 at Daytona back in 1996. The point is, the guy can drive, and you can see that much for yourself from the video above. Related Video:

Jock Clear, Lewis Hamilton's race engineer at Mercedes, moves to Ferrari

The HR office at the Ferrari Formula One team has been exceptionally busy this year, and the churn hasn't ceased. Just this month under new team principal Mauricio Arrivabene – the third team principal in 2014 – lead designer Nikolas Tombazis and engineering director Pat Fry were let go, and tire performance expert Hirohide Hamashima will leave the team at the end of the year. Now there's another batch of HR paperwork to be completed, but this is a new hire to join Sebastian Vettel and Esteban Gutierrez: Jock Clear, Lewis Hamilton's performance engineer this season at Mercedes AMG Petronas. Clear will take over Pat Fry's vacant role as head of engineering, and brings a Driver's World Championship pedigree with him, having helped Hamilton to his second title and Jacques Villeneuve to his sole title in 1997 with Williams. He hasn't joined the Scuderia yet, though; Ferrari is still negotiating with Mercedes to "secure his services as soon as possible." Clear will work in a totally revamped engineering department and report to technical director and ex-Lotus F1 man James Allison. The last time Ferrari went an entire season without a win was 1993. The team has attempted to hedge expectations for 2015, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne saying, "I think hopefully within the next 12 months we will remove all the baggage of uncertainty that is going to plague at least the initial phase of 2015." Hope springs yet, though: when Arrivabene was asked what he'd be happy with next year, he said, "two or three wins." News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Motorsports Ferrari F1