Ferrari F40 goes for $1.8m

How much would you pay for one of Enzo Ferrari's most iconic supercars from the later 1980s? Well, a German buyer has plonked down €1.12 million ($A1.8 million), at an auction held by UK firm Coys at the Nurburgring in Germany.

Originally owned by an Italian family, the Ferrari F40 is said to be in perfect condition although it's not clear how much the vehicle has been used.

The F40 as extra appeal as it was the last Ferrari approved by company founder Enzo Ferrari, who died in 1988.

In its heyday it was the wildest car Ferrari had ever built, with a 2.9-litre, mid-mounted twin-turbo V8 transferring 352kW to the rear wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox.

A handful to drive, the supercar was also very light at around 1100kg, allowing it to accelerate from 0-100km/h in less than 4.0 seconds.

Its Pininfarina-sculpted body shell comprised then space age materials including carbon-fibre and Kevlar while plastic windows and a general lack of convenience features, such as a stereo, kept weight down.

Road Test Editor at motoring.com.au, Matt Brogan, had the good fortune to briefly drive an F40 in Australia in 2011 when he described the steering as "vague".

"It scraped on everything it was so low, too low for public roads, but the power delivery was really sharp. It felt like a proper supercar – it wanted to kill you. I kinda liked that about it."

Although $1.8 million is believed to be a record for an F40, the highest amount achieved for a Ferrari at auction is $40 million for a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO Berlinetta in August 2014.