Towards the end of the last night at the RM Sotheby’s Auction in Monterey, I had the sense that Beau might bid on something. He had that look in his eyes. I also had a good sense of what it would be and, also, what it would not be. Beau has exactly one Italian car in his collection, so there was little chance of him bidding on the ‘Minty F40’ Ferrari F40.
That didn’t mean I couldn’t take some time to lust over the car. I, like all good people of the world, love an F40. It was the last supercar built while Enzo Ferrari was still walking this wet rock we call home and it’s one of the all-time great Ferrari designs. The Fioravanti-supervised aesthetic is somehow both scientific and organic, tactical and beautiful.
The one on display at RM had its kevlar-carbon body panels splashed in a color I’d never seen before on a Ferrari, thus earning the nickname the ‘Minty Forty’ as there are few F40s in the world and, understandably, most of them are rosso.
I had assumed this was some Radwood-inspired aesthetic, perhaps done by a newly minted Crypto bro before the FTX crash. I was wrong. From RM:
One glance at chassis 88538 shows the path its owner took—and its head-turning new look was a key step in giving this F40 an identity all its own. Its paint is a clear homage to Ferrari chassis 3505 GT, the famous Verde Pallido 250 GTO built for Sir Stirling Moss and eventually raced at the 1962 24 Hours of Le Mans by Innes Ireland and Masten Gregory.
The 250 GTO is, much like the F40, most often seen wearing classic Ferrari red; chassis 3505 GT’s unique livery sets it instantly apart from its distinguished peers, and the beautiful pale green shade has inspired paint colors on subsequent Ferrari models—though never, until now, on an F40. To complement the exterior color, the interior was expertly re-trimmed in blue by one of the most talented trimmers in the region, more used to refitting aircraft interiors than cars. His work is exceptional, and brings a new coherence to the “Minty” concept.
Historical context aside, it one look is all it takes to see how this machine got its enduring nickname: the “Minty Forty.” Chassis 88538 has been in effect a one-car show since its debut in this form, turning heads and appearing in countless posts on social media.
It wasn’t clear to me, but here’s a photo of that car:
I love an obscure Le Mans racing tribute, so this makes me like the car even more.
While the ‘Minty Forty’ has a tinge more blue, it is indeed a tribute. It also reminds me that in the early aughts, I drove a Ford Escort I nicknamed ‘Innes’ in honor of the great British driver who, in spite of his last name, descended from a Scottish family.
It was quite the night and I wanted to make sure to get a photo of these four cars as it greatly amused me that in a square with three historic Italian cars and one historic German car, the BMW was the only one wearing red paint.
As for the tease above, please feel free to guess what Beau bid on and if he actually won it.
The Brits would call that color “nimbus white”
Well, on a Tr2 or 3 anyway. Jags were more what you would expect.
The 250 GTO is absolutely gorgeous in this color, or pretty much any color (see David Piper green). With its performance and its history, I can see why they command such enormous prices.
The Minty 40 reminds me of a factory Cadillac color from the late 70’s called “Seamist Green”. There was a perfectly-kept ’77 Fleetwood ordered in that shade which used to run around locally – the owner referred to it as “The Mint Julip”.
Never pictured seeing an F40 in that color, but I like it – just needs a set of Vogues.
Cadillac has had some fantastic un-saturated colors over the years. They’re famous for the pink ’59 caddy, but some of my favorites that I’ve ever seen are Colonial Yellow DeVilles. Really lovely color, and I’m not normally a yellow car person.
There is a 250 Testa Rossa in that color. I remember having to do a double take when I saw it, during the vintage event at Elkhart Lake, sometime in the mid 90s. Somewhere in a semi-organized file drawer filled with slides, I have photos…
https://www.supercars.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Ferrari_250_Testa_Rossa_Bj._1958_2009-08-07-2048×1365.jpg
So did Beau buy anything?
And that 250 GT is beyond sweet in the green.
Much better shade than what is on the F40.
And I’ll fight anyone that disagrees with me.
STFU Adrian. /s
Totally agree. It’s like they weren’t actually brave enough to stand behind their convictions.
I too prefer the extra saturation of the 250 and it could have worked just fine on the F40.
Though it strikes me as the kind of color more suited to a Fiat 500 or Bugeye Sprite, I like that shade of coolth light green. 😉
If I was Beau it would be the Glas. Is it a 1300 or a 1700? My guess is 1700, I don.t think the 1300 was sold in the US. Lovely thing to drive anyway.
I can’t hear the phrase “mint green paint” without recalling My Cousin Vinny.
The F40’s paint isn’t metallic though, and that’s okay. Probably even preferable.
Ok, Where’s Torch?
Hospital again, he’s probably fine.
Oh crap. Like JFC crap.
So sorry to learn this.
And appreciate the heads up Matt.
Be well Torch.
Sorry to hear about the hospital part. I hope he is ok.
And this is a shade of green that I cannot see at all as someone with red-green color deficiency. it looks very light grey.
Fellow red-green challenged guy here and ditto. I can only discern any green hue on that F40 in the lighting shown in the 2nd picture.
At least you got something. All I see is a white F40 in every picture.
Unsure if this helps but it’s to green what Tamiya Pearl Light Blue (TS-58) is to blue?
This is what happens when a Ferrari cosplays a bicycle:
https://www.bianchi.com/celeste/
Be still my beating heart. I love this.
That F40 looks to be in mint condition.
I guess the Lambo, and that ya’ll are going to do some sort of Cannonball Run tribute.
“Are we all in? Are we all done? Last call on the 1973 Plymouth Satellite Sebring Plus?”
*BANG*
“Sold! To the gentleman in the ponytail!”
Beau: “YES!”
Nobody’s guessed what Beau bid on yet? The BMW (nee Glas?) and yes, he got it.
1966 Chrysler 300L
Mint with a Blue interior?
That’s awesome!
The more that I see this color, the more I like it just because it’s so different than the usual Ferrari colors.
And DGAF what the rest of you all think…Fight me you losers. /s
And have a happy Labor Day.
That blue interior is awful. Especially next to the green paint.
And this is coming from someone who owns an early 90’s GM car that is red on red on red on red on red. So I’ve gotten used to garish interiors.
Love that blue TR!
I’ve honestly never been a fan of the F40. Love the amazing capability but always looked like the body is too big for the chassis and fits like a David Byrne suit. But damn that 250 GTO… give me it!
I respect the throw back color to the old one, but it just doesn’t look right to me. Sorry
It looks like it tried to be the same color, but it got washed out by sitting under florescent lights for too long. Either way, it hasn’t seen much sunlight. To each their own, though.
So, I like the color, but I don’t think it fits right on the F40. I think it could look good on a 348 and would likely look great on the 90s Ferraris with softer body lines like the 355 and 456.
Same. When I see an F40, I expect it to be Rosso Corsa. Anything else looks wrong to me.