The Venturi 400 GT is a
sports car
A sports car is a type of automobile that is designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as Automobile handling, handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving, and Auto racing, racing capability. Sports cars originated in ...
produced by the French car manufacturer
Venturi. The coupe was produced from 1994 to 1997 with less than 100 units. Only about 15 street versions and 73 units for racing were built.
Due to its resemblance to the
Ferrari F40
The Ferrari F40 (Type F120) is a Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, mid-engine, rear-wheel drive sports car engineered by Nicola Materazzi with styling by Pininfarina. It was built from 1987 until 1992, with the LM and GTE race car version ...
, the 400 GT was often referred by automotive enthusiasts as "the French F40".
400 Trophy

The Venturi 400 Trophy, also known only as Venturi Trophy is a competition car built in 1992 specifically to compete in tourism competitions. It was powered by a V6 biturbo engine with a 90 ° bore of 2975 cm³ of displacement. The biturbo, derived
PRV / EIA engine, was capable of delivering 408 hp, with a torque of 530 Nm and acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.1 seconds.i
Much of the development of the Venturi into a racing car was funded by
Rocky Agusta
Riccardo "Rocky" Agusta (21 October 1950 in Milan – 10 January 2018 St. Moritz) was an Italian race car driver and aristocrat. He was an heir to the Agusta and MV Agusta aviation and motorcycle firms, running the motorcycle racing team in the 19 ...
.
Thanks to Stéphane Ratel, director of competition services for the French company, the Gentlemen Drivers Trophy was created, a championship created specifically to compete with the 400 Trophy (similar to what
Porsche
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Th ...
had done with
Porsche Cup).
The principle proposed by Ratel was simple, and was similarly resumed by other manufacturers (for example from
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...
with
FXX) in addition to selling the car, they were sold for little more of 100.00 Fr all the services necessary for participation in the competition. The cars had the same technical preparation, which guaranteed the same chances of winning for all the participants, beyond the financial possibilities of the same. The first edition of the trophy is a success, and the championship includes six races on as many circuits:
Le Mans
Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...
,
Pau,
Paul Ricard
Paul Louis Marius Ricard (; July 9, 1909 – November 7, 1997) was a French industrialist and creator of an eponymous pastis brand which merged in 1975 with its competitor Pernod to create Pernod Ricard. Ricard was also an environmentalist and t ...
,
Nürburgring
The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...
,
Magny-Cours
Magny-Cours () is a Communes of France, commune in the Nièvre Departments of France, department in central France.
It is the home of the ''Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours'', a famous Motorsport#Motor racing, motor racing circuit (whose name is o ...
and
Dijon
Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...
.
In total, the Gentlemen Drivers Trophy lasted for four seasons.
400 GT
From the racing version came the Venturi 400 GT, a road model whose production was definitely much more limited. It was presented by the famous French racing driver
Henri Pescarolo
Henri Jacques William Pescarolo (; born 25 September 1942) is a French former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . In endurance racing, Pescarolo is a four-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and w ...
in 1994 at the company headquarters, at
Couëron
Couëron (; Gallo: ''Coéron'' or ''Couéron'', ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. It is part of the historic French Brittany.
Couëron is one of the 24 communes of the Nantes Métropole.
History
Couëron ...
. The main differences consisted of a series of small changes aimed at road homologation, while the engine was the same as the race version, with a 5-speed manual gearbox and a top speed of 290 km/h.
The passenger compartment, which was obviously of higher quality, was very different, taking up that of the Venturi 260. The 400 GT was fitted with a catalytic converter, as in the last versions of the 260.
References
{{Reflist
400
__NOTOC__
Year 400 (Roman numerals, CD) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Stilicho and Aurelianus (consul 400), Aurelianus (or, less frequently, year ...
Sports cars
Cars introduced in 1994
Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive vehicles