Image via Scuderia Ferrari
There’s no doubting the greatness of Lewis Hamilton, a man who has won the Formula One championship seven times, but some will question his desire to design an analog Ferrari supercar. We think his idea, which would be based on the legendary Ferrari F40, sounds intriguing enough, but we wonder if Maranello agrees.
This is how Lewis Hamilton enjoys his free time in Monaco.
It was at the Australian GP that Hamilton gave voice to what’s apparently a dream of his, designing a Ferrari supercar, reports Motorsport. He, like so many of us, absolutely loves the F40, so it makes sense he would want to use that as a basis for his own creation.
And the name, F44, is a tribute to his racing number. Plus, it would give the new supercar a nomenclature connection to its predecessor. That’s a nice touch.
Like the F40, the Ferrari F44 would be an analog car, not some technological wonder like what we have today. As Hamilton told the adoring crowd, the modern supercar would have an “actual stick shift.”
See, Hamilton is just like us. He wants to do heel-toe shifting in a modern supercar, to feel one with the machine instead of just flipping some paddles or having the computer decide when to shift. Sure, an automatic might be faster, but the visceral experience of shifting makes driving infinitely more enjoyable.
What’s more, the F40 was created using Ferrari’s F1 technology of the time. Enzo Ferrari himself oversaw the project, making it his last great work. Some think trying to one-up what the man who started the company did is a little much, but Hamilton isn’t known for his humility.
For now this is the idle talk of an F1 driver who’s struggling with his start at Scuderia Ferrari. But if Maranello gets enough feedback that enthusiasts with plenty of cash like this idea, maybe it could see the light of day in a few years.
Image via Scuderia Ferrari
