The Ferrari 408 4RM is a prototype car built by Ferrari in 1987. It was the first Ferrari to feature 4-wheel drive. The model name was linked to the characteristics of the engine, with the 40 in 408 standing for its 4.0 L displacement, and the 8 representing the number of cylinders. The abbreviation "4RM" stood for “4 Ruote Motrici”, meaning four-wheel drive.
The second prototype of the Ferrari 408 4RM s/n 78610 in front of a lineup of Ferrari F40s
The first 408 4RM was red, s/n 70183
4-litre V8 of the 1987-model 408.
Mauro Forghieri was an Italian mechanical engineer, best known for his work as a Formula One racing car designer with Scuderia Ferrari during the 1960s and 1970s. He is credited with introducing the first designed rear wings to Formula One at the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix. He oversaw numerous technical developments during his tenure at Ferrari, including the creation of the 250 GTO and P-series sports racing cars, the Ferrari flat-12 series of engines, Ferrari's first turbocharged engine in the 126 C F1 car, and a prototype semi-automatic transmission in 1979. During Forghieri's tenure with Ferrari, the company won the F1 World Driver's Championship four times and the F1 World Constructors' Championship seven times. After leaving Ferrari in 1987, he worked at Lamborghini and Bugatti then founded the Oral Engineering Group in 1995.
Forghieri (right) with John Surtees inspecting a Ferrari 1512 in 1965 at the Nürburgring
Forghieri (kneeling, right) with driver Carlos Reutemann testing the Ferrari 312 T3 at Zandvoort in 1978