There are reasonable purchases. And then there are the decisions that define a life. In 2004, Charles had no house, no assets, no long-term financial plan. He simply had a cheque for £163,000 from an unexpected dividend, and a dream that had been hanging on the wall since childhood: a Ferrari F40. «It was all I had,» he sums up today. And he put it all in this car.
163,000, not a penny more
At the time, Charles was earning £3,000 to £4,000 a month. Nothing to contemplate buying an F40. Then came the surprise dividend: £163,000. Exactly the amount he decided to take to British specialist DK Engineering, in the form of a cashier's cheque. Two Ferrari waiting for him: an F40 and a 288 GTO, both priced at £170,000. The 288 may be more elegant, but the F40 is more radical, more intimidating, younger too in Charles's mind. He makes a simple offer: £163,000. «I'm not negotiating. That's all I've got. Either you accept, or I'll go back.» The offer is accepted. Charles drives off in a yellow F40... without a house. «I had an F40, but no roof of my own.»
A relationship, not a property
Twenty-two years later, he still owns the same car. And more importantly, he drives it. In all weathers. In the rain, in winter, on the road and on the track. «If it's too clean, I'm almost afraid of getting it dirty. So sometimes, I prefer to take it out when it's already covered in salt and dust.»
Unlike many examples that have become objects of investment, his lives on. It now has just over 22,000 kilometers on the odometer, including some 20,000 driven by Charles himself. He took it on a road trip to Valencia in Spain. So much so that he considered sleeping in it, so as not to leave it alone at night. He took it to the track, drove it at Donington in the snow, and even dared the Nürburgring in the pouring rain. «The wet Nürburgring is probably the slipperiest bit of tarmac on the planet.»
This is where he discovers just how much the F40 “speaks” to its driver. No power assist, no power steering, no modern ABS. Just the driver, the steering wheel, and 500 to 600 horsepower coming on all at once when the turbos wake up. «It goes from 100 to 500 horsepower in an instant. At any moment, you know it can either go up in flames, or send you off the road». And that's precisely what he likes.
A transformed but respected F40
The car is no longer completely original, although almost everything remains reversible. Charles gradually stiffened the chassis, inspired by the competition versions prepared by Michelotto. LM-type rear spoiler, GTE diffusers, additional reinforcements, freed exhaust, reworked turbos: the aim is not to outdo one another, but to be consistent.
Power output is around 550 hp, adjustable up to around 600. But the number doesn't matter. What counts is the feeling. «Nothing puts that level of fear and adrenaline into you. Even faster cars don't do that.» He says it without hesitation: after a hard session, he still gets out of the car with trembling hands. Twenty years later.
Two F40s, then one choice
The story could have ended there. But a year after the yellow one, Charles bought a second F40, this time red. He would own two of them for almost eight years. The red one, more “concours”, would eventually be resold for well over the purchase price. In his mind, this resale “paid” for the yellow one. «This F40 is free,» he says, almost smiling. It's a way of putting into perspective the current value of these cars, which today fetch well over three million euros for the most beautiful examples.
Yet, even aware of the amounts at stake, he continues to ride. «Sometimes I tell myself I'm putting an awful lot of money at risk. Then I go for a ride... and come back thinking it was worth every second.»
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