Mike Burroughs finally got his mock'ed up V12 into the his F40 build, and let's , those spacing constraints.
Here's the thing that's blowing our minds: "The engine protrudes through the face of the main hoop. The problem at hand is that this V12 is a very long engine. Six cylinders long. It's not small."
Getting the V12 engine in there was an adventure all by itself. Mike had considered going through the door (nope, a little too risky for those expensive panels), pulling the rear clamshell (it's a nightmare with his current setup). He ended up landing on going through the rear glass opening. "It clears the front and back of it by like an inch." That's F40 packaging for you... everything's measured in millimeters.
And here's where this F40 gets real interesting, at least from an engineering standpoint...
He had to completely rethink roll cage design because of this engine placement. Normally, you'd run a traditional X-brace from the A-pillar bars down to the bottom corners. Can't do that when there's a V12 sitting right in the middle of everything.
If you've ever wrestled with trying to get into a heavily caged car, you'll know the struggle. Burroughs learned from his previous Ferrari, the 244 GTK build, "I don't want it to be the same thing as the 244. It's a nightmare to get in and out of." Fair point. What's the point of building a street-driven F40 if you have to practically be a contortionist to drive it?
The engine serviceability question is pretty fascinating as well. He wants the engine to slide straight out the back with the rear clamshell lifted. This is a lot more civilized than some other YouTube builds we've seen. Though whether he'll have enough room to pull a valve cover... well, that's future problem to figure out (we're staying tuned).
His entire build is a truly a masterclass in automotive compromise. Every choice from where the engine sits, how the roll cage is designed, to even the door bar configuration. Burroughs has to balance safety, functionality, and the reality of working with a predefined shape that the Italians didn't design for.
We are seriously curious to see how this plays out. Will the shallow X provide enough protection? How's ingress/egress going to work in reality? And most importantly - how's it going to sound when that V12 finally fires up?
One thing is for sure... this isn't your typical F40 build, and we're here for every complicated minute of it. Check out the video for yourself here: