Jean Sage—a figurehead in French motorsport throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s—made his competitive debut at the age of 20, when he co-drove with André Simon aboard a Ferrari 250 GT in the Mont Blanc Rallye. After racing in Formula 3 during the early 1960s, Sage—alongside Gérard Larrousse and Paul Archambeaud—founded the Écurie Elf team in Switzerland in 1973. The outfit focused on the European F2 Championship, guiding driver Jean-Pierre Jabouille to the title three years later. When Larrousse was hired by Renault at the end of 1976, he brought Sage with him to run the manufacturer’s newly created F1 team in the flame-spitting turbo era that notably gave rise to the topflight career of eventual three-time F1 Drivers’ World Champion Alain Prost.

Leaving Renault in 1987, Sage went on to join Ferrari France (operating as Charles Pozzi SA) in 1989. He would run the F40 IMSA programme in the United States for the subsequent two seasons. This period coincided with the 40th anniversary of Ferrari, for which company founder Enzo had sought to create a car that represented his firm’s racing legacy. Thus, the F40 was born. Giuliano Michelotto had helped fellow engineer Nicola Materazzi construct the 288 GTO Evoluzione, and both parties became deeply involved in the F40 project.

When the road car was announced to the public, Charles Pozzi commissioned Michelotto to develop a competition version—the F40 LM—for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Eventually, Ferrari sanctioned the project and Michelotto went on to prepare and modify a total of 18 F40s to LM specification. The two Ferrari France IMSA cars were piloted by Jabouille, Jean Alesi, and Jean-Louis Schlesser. Of the five races entered, they took home five podium finishes.

Sage, understandably enamoured from running the IMSA programme, acquired a 1989 model-year F40 via his employer Charles Pozzi. Supplied as a highly desirable “non-cat, non-adjust” example, chassis number 84642 was issued with its factory warranty in April 1990 and registered to Sage’s Annecy address in May. Clearly enjoying his latest Ferrari, by July 1992, Sage had already covered over 9,000 kilometres, according to the service book on file.

In 1994, Sage commissioned Michelotto to modify his car, taking inspiration from the CSAI GT specification, which importantly maintained the F40’s road-legal status. It should be noted that Sage’s time as head of the Ferrari France race team placed him in a unique position to commission such modifications to his F40, utilising both his direct expertise and the suite of developments Michelotto had achieved through its F40 association. A copy of the original upgrade summary is on file, denoting all that was done in evolving chassis 84642. The odometer was noted as reading 16,203 kilometres at the time of these changes. The power rating sheet importantly differentiates chassis 84642 as the “F40 Jean Sage Michelotto”.

Michelotto rebuilt the original engine with two I.H.I. special turbochargers and fitted a lightweight exhaust system crafted by specialist Maurice Chabord. This raised output to 527 horsepower (an increase of 49 horsepower) at 7,000 rpm, with a peak torque reading of 626 foot-pounds (a staggering jump of 200 foot-pounds over the quoted factory figure). The car was equipped with lightweight front and rear clamshells plus sliding windows to save 30 kilograms. The air-conditioning system was removed and special, F40 LM-type carbon fibre seats were mounted and neatly trimmed in red cloth with an attractive quilted pattern to the centre. New safety fuel tanks and filler necks were installed, along with a plumbed-in fire extinguisher system.

The car rode on special OZ Racing 17-inch monoblock wheels, an important size as this allowed for either racing or road tyres to be fitted. These were complemented by aluminium Koni adjustable shock absorbers, an F40 LM braking system (including uprating the pedal box with twin master cylinders), a cockpit-mounted brake bias adjuster, and cooling ducts for the front and rear brakes. A chunkier, United States market-style front splitter was fitted to improve downforce. As per the Michelotto build sheet, this F40 was a car to be used on the track or the road. When it left the workshop, Michelotto had achieved a total weight saving of 136 kilograms. That meant the Jean Sage F40 was not only lighter than a standard F40 or F50, but also more powerful. There is a comparative document on file between this car and the standard F40 and F50.

Sage continued driving his upgraded F40 on the road. He loaned it to Pozzi manager Daniel Marin to compete in the October 1994 Ferrari 348 Challenge finals—the F40 wore race number 26 for this event. In March 1995, the car took part in the official qualifying rounds of the BPR Global Endurance GT Championship at Paul Ricard against no fewer than four McLaren F1 GTRs. Achieving the best time in the GT4 category, chassis 84642 posted a lap good enough for 21st out of 38 entries on the grid and was just six seconds slower than the full-fat F40 LM entered by Pilot Aldix Racing. Not bad for what was still essentially a road car.

After returning to Michelotto in June 1995 for a complete check over, this F40 had its 15,000-kilometre service undertaken by Charles Pozzi Lyon on 28 October 1995. Remaining in Sage’s ownership until 1996, the F40 was imported into the United Kingdom and sold to its second owner in October that year. They placed the apt private registration number “40 F” on the car. Of note, it was at this time that the Chabord exhaust system and roller bearing turbos were removed to make the vehicle slightly more amenable.

An MoT certificate on file shows that, in December 2003, the car had covered 16,979 kilometres. Additional certificates from the past 20 years track the usage up to current 22,699-kilometre figure (approximately 14,105 miles) displayed at the time of cataloguing. UK service invoices date back to 2012 and, in October 2025, new aluminium fuel tanks (supplied by Maranello Classic Parts at a cost of £37,000) were installed. From its most recent service in February 2025, the car benefits from new cambelts, spark plugs, and fuel filter, plus an engine oil and filter service.

Upon inspection, the car was found to retain its matching-numbers engine and gearbox. Looking at the Michelotto tuning sheet from 1994, it is noted that the engine is fitted with I.H.I. type-B52 turbochargers, which Cristiano Michelotto confirmed are of the correct specification. The current exhaust fitted is a Tubi system, and the air conditioning system is still not present from when Michelotto first removed it. The car retains a fire extinguisher system, the special carbon fibre bucket seats, alongside the lightweight Koni adjustable shock absorbers and bronze suspension sleeves. The braking system and pedal box are still in the same specification as installed by Michelotto, as is a US-specification splitter. The F40 proudly remains on the OZ Racing monoblock wheels.

Sage was a passionate authority on Ferraris, known for his high standards and no-nonsense opinions. He was a genuine enthusiast who always sought the best examples for the events he organised in period. It is fair to say that any Ferrari owned by Sage would have to have met his rigorous expectations or it would have not remained in his garage for very long.

The Ferrari F40 ‘Jean Sage’ by Michelotto could arguably be regarded as the most significant French-delivered, road-going example of its kind, courtesy of its prominent ownership and highly specified Michelotto tuning package. For those seeking an F40 that stands out from the crowd and has supreme performance to boot, then look no further than chassis 84642.