Why This Ferrari F40 LM Is Worth Every Penny Of Its $6 Million Price Tag

The 1980s are remembered for many things. The big hair phase, with its overdone curls. Fake drum machine and synthesizer sound effects dominating pop music. Technology like the VCR, the floppy disk, and the Walkman-which seem primitive by today's standards. In the world of cars, the 1980s ushered in an age of wedge-shaped designs and a reliance on black plastic trim pieces. While ordinary 1980s cars may not be the brightest moment in automotive design,the supercars of the decade still shone, and none was more special than the last supercar that Enzo Ferrari personally approved, the F40.

And of course, the F40 went racing. The blue F40 LM you see here is one of just 19 race car specials constructed by engineering team Michelotto, and it will go up for auction throughRM Sotheby'sin Paris in 2019. The LM is not going to be cheap, estimated to sell for €5.5 million, which is equivalent to over $6 million. However, with a host of track-focused upgrades and some racing history, this F40 might just be worth it.

Michelotto's tuning brought numerous changes to the already bonkers F40. Visually, the LM is far more aggressive with an intense focus on aerodynamics-dive planes are tacked onto the front bumper while a larger two-piece rear wing is bolted in, replacing the way the F40's wing grows out of the bodywork. Michelotto also added a reinforced chassis, stickier brakes, an upgraded suspension, and a specialized racing gearbox. They also removed nearly the entire interior, leaving only the bare essentials in a bid to shed a few pounds.

Don't worry. They didn't leave the 2.9-liter V8 alone. The turbochargers were upgraded, with boost pressure now at 2.6 bar. Beefier intercoolers and a new fuel-injection setup allowed the V8 to pump out 720 horsepower, an insane increase from the standard F40's 478 hp. That is also ten more horses than the Ferrari 488 Pista, and means the LM should be able to shave quite a bit off the normal F40's 4.2 second 0-60 mph sprint.