Ferrari F40 Finished Body (limited edition re-release)

JANG's Impressions

Closed-cockpit prototypes were among of my favorite racing cars to watch growing up, and unquestionably the ultimate form of this genre was the FIA Group C class. These high-powered, high-downforce hypercars exhibited unmatched performance. Who better than Tamiya to bring their likeness to RC? Ah, but by the time the chassis was designed and prepared for its first few replica bodies, Tamiya had realized that the low-slung stature opened up opportunities to create scale-realistic and high-performance versions of some full-bodied cars as well, including the Ferrari F40.

The kit I purchased is from a limited re-release in 2005. The parts seem to be identical to the 1991 original, with the notable exception that the top chassis brace is now black instead of the original red. The body arrives pre-painted and fully and expertly detailed from the factory.

The rear-wheel direct-drive setup and extremely basic front suspension (derrived from the earlier Formula 1 chassis) make this a very simple kit to assemble. At the same time, the limited number of structural & mechanical components make for a very light vehicle, just 1lb. 13oz. dry (with motor & body, but no electronics or battery). Foam tires provide predictable grip, and the extra-wide rears in particular are a boon to traction and stability. Even on an unprepared asphalt surface, the car handles predictably, giving up traction very gradually when pushed beyond its limits. The Sport Tuned motor may be an old sealed-can design, but it provides more than enough motivation for this featherweight car.

Building tips

See the Tamiya F40 Gr.C build thread on the forums for all of my comments during the build process plus a selection of photos as I went along.

• At step 7, I recommend not snapping the ball ends onto the steering knuckles yet. Leave this for the end, when the tires are mounted and you can judge and adjust the toe-in before really committing. The ball ends are a bit soft, not to mention tight-fitting, so the less you have to pop them on & off, the better.
  
• When attaching the hex hubs to the main axle shaft in step 12, take care to not tighten the set screws down until you've adjusted the placement of both hubs to leave just the slightest bit of side to side play between the bearings.
• The illustration is wrong on step 22 where they show you how to cut the front body posts down. The illustration shows that you should remove the top hole, leaving 4 holes under it. In fact, there are more holes than this illustration shows. You do need to trim it to where there are only four holes remaining, and mount the underside pins to the second from the top hole that remains, so just count from the bottom, not the top.

Photo gallery samples

Visit the full Tamiya Ferrari F40 gallery >

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