The one thing that drew me to a profession in design was the absence of boundaries. You had the ability to create practically anything your heart desired, and that ability to create was encouraged. If, for instance, you wanted the Ferrari F40, a car that’s practically a hallmark in supercar history, to be revived, you could do it yourself. The F40 had a limited run from 1987 to 1992, and never saw an official revival, although fans all around the world fondly remember the iconic piece of automotive beauty.
A die-hard fan of the original F40, designer Samir Sadikhov took it upon himself to build a new variant, exploring Ferrari’s current styles and merging it with the F40’s original design to create a timely evolution. The F40 Tribute, as Samir calls it, captures the original F40’s flavor, while including a modernized blocky rectangular wing, side intakes, and vertically oriented triple exhaust — all of which were original to the 1987 supercar. Sadikhov went on to build the interiors too, with leather upholstery and carbon-fiber paneling. Even the dashboard gets a revamp with its future-friendly interface and racing-style wheel. The level of detail gone into the passion project is practically mind-boggling for something that’s essentially a fan-concept, but I imagine that if Ferrari were to revamp the F40, it should definitely take some cues from this incredible tribute!
Designer: Samir Sadikhov
