erraris have a way of gaining popularity with just about any group of people. From auto enthusiasts to movie stars, billionaires to academic gurus, the love of a Ferrari doesn’t discriminate. Apparently, dictators’ offsprings are not left out of the loop. Uday, son of Saddam Hussein, had a love for fancy automobiles and owned quite a few including a Ferrari F40.
In fact, it turns out that Uday was the owner of an extensive collection of exotic and rare cars including hundreds of Rolls Royces, Ferraris, and Porsches. That is until his father torched most of the vehicles as punishment. The punishment stemmed from the fact that Uday had murdered his father’s personal valet at a dinner party in 1995. So, to teach him a lesson, Saddam torched his son’s prized possessions, apparently delighted to do so.
Uday’s Collections
The lesson did not stop Uday’s hobby, and by 2003 when Uday was shot and killed, he still owned rare cars like the Lamborghini LM002 and the legendary Ferrari F40. The F40 is one of the most beautiful Ferrari models yet made. It has a twin-turbo V8 that sends it from 0 to 60mph in 4.5 seconds. Also, the F40 has a top speed of 201mph. Had this been a well-maintained car it could fetch up to $1.5 million.
Saddam Hussein’s son also owned a Ferrari Testarossa, a number of Porsches, a Plymouth Prowler and at least five Excaliburs at the time. He was also rumored to own a very rare Iraqi McLaren F1.
Ferrari F40 Left Abandoned
Years after the death of Uday Hussein at the hands of the U.S. Special Forces, his prized F40 is still abandoned in Iraq. The car was reportedly getting some work done in a garage in Erbil just before the U.S. invaded Iraq. It seems to be the only supercar of Uday to survive the Gulf War 2.
Sadly, the Ferrari F40 was never picked up from the garage and was still spotted recently by an Instagram account holder, abandoned in Erbil. What a shame to see this iconic supercar just rotting away in Iraq! Check out the pictures of Uday’s F40 below.
