VIN: the Brunei Royal Family Ferrari F40 chassis 80756
History of chassis 80756
Chassis 80756 was completed in 1989 as a standard left-hand drive Euro market F40 in the only colour that was offered by Ferrari: Rosso Corsa with seats trimmed in red fabric upholstery.
The car was subsequently sold to the Brunei Royal Family, one of around a dozen F40s they acquired, and sent to Pininfarina for some wickedly expensive personalisation.
In addition F40s, Ferraris worked on by Pininfarina for the Brunei royals included Testarossa and 512 TR Spiders, modified 288 GTOs, coachbuilt 456s with a variety of different body styles, copies of the Mythos design concept and even completely new models such as the F90 and FX. Other manufacturers such as Bentley, Aston Martin, Rolls-Royce, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Porsche, McLaren, Bugatti and Dauer benefited from similar largesse.
The Brunei Royal Family’s abilty to throw seemingly limitless amounts of cash at high ends cars came about as the result of the country’s offshore oil and natural gas reserves, the funds from which the Sultan (Hassanal Bolkiah) was broadly able to do as he pleased owing to his status as head of state, absolute monarch and head of government.
Upon delivery to Pininfarina, chassis 80756 was switched to a handsome shade of dark green metallic paint and converted to right-hand drive. The original interior was ditched and replaced with a pale green fully leather-trimmed and carpeted arrangement that comprised 512 TR / M-style comfort seats, proper door panels, electric windows, a leather-covered dash and a 512 TR / M steering wheel. A new central control panel included controls for an air-conditioning system.
Following its arrival in Brunei, chassis 80756 was registered BP77.
The stunning F40 has remained with the Brunei Royal Family ever since.
Text copyright: Supercar Notalgia
Photo copyright: unattributed
