Ferrari’s road cars and its Formula One racing effort have been inseparably linked since the day Enzo Ferrari produced his first model. Now the Italian carmaker intends to expand its current Formula One domination to the road with its newest supercar, the Enzo Ferrari. According to the company, the Enzo Ferrari represents the ultimate expression of technological transfer from F1 to Ferrari’s road-going GT cars.
The Enzo Ferrari made its debut at the “Artedinamica” exhibit at the Contemporary Art Museum of Tokyo on April 26. Why Tokyo and not Maranello? Japan has always been a strong market for Ferrari cars as well as official merchandise, so it won’t hurt to pique the Japanese public’s interest a few months before the car officially debuts at the Paris Auto Show in September. Another factor may be the car’s designer, Japanese Ken Okuyama, who formerly worked for Pininfarina and who is the new chairman of the Transportation Design department of the Art Center College of Design, Pasadena. Mr. Okuyama previously penned the striking Ferrari Rossa concept car in 2000.
The car has a huge name to live up to as it is named after the former Maserati racing car driver and founder of Ferrari himself, the late rate Enzo Ferrari. This is a huge departure for the Italian sports car maker who’d usually name their cars corresponding to the anniversary of the famous marque.
While the F40 and F50 look quite like brawny road cars, the Enzo Ferrari looks conspicuously similar to its open-wheeled cousins. The car’s styling bears strong Formula One styling cues. The front features an F1-like tapering center section, which plunges down to the front air dam, mimicking the way an F1 car’s nose connects to the front wing.
The bulging front fenders end abruptly at the cockpit section, which is considerably narrower. The cockpit doors have a pronounced ledge, like a Le Mans racer’s. Then gaping air intakes lead to the pronounced rear fenders. The four taillamps are mounted blister-style, protruding above the body, similar to the Rossa concept car’s. Based on the Enzo Ferrari’s shutlines, the engine cover and rear fenders will open together clam-shell style, just like a racing car’s.
Overall, it looks like a two-person road-car cockpit was grafted onto an F1 car’s front and rear ends. It is an undeniably stunning design, but not exactly beautiful in the way that some of the 1960s Ferraris were. A topless version will surely be in the works too. While it does have the large air intakes, it noticeably does without the biplane-sized rear wings of the F40 and F50. As in the 360 Modena, a ground-effect tunnel will generate enough aerodynamic downforce to keep the Enzo Ferrari glued to the pavement. The 360’s aluminum space frame chassis was initially thought to be the basis of the Enzo Ferrari as well, but apparently even that would not be light enough. This work of automotive sculpture will be rendered in carbon fiber. The Enzo Ferrari weighs in at a bantam 1365 kilograms (a Toyota Revo 1.8 GL weighs just as much).
Whatever the debates about the looks, there will be no arguments about the performance. Ferrari will pull out all the stops in transferring its F1 technology into this car, beginning of course with the normally-aspirated V12 engine. The 6.0-liter unit pumps out 660 bhp, supposedly exceeding the output of Ferrari’s 1989 Formula One car. The new powerplant will weigh 30 percent less than the F50’s 4.7-liter V12.
The midmounted engine will channel its power to the rear wheels via a 6-speed semi-automatic transmission controlled by paddles mounted behind the steering wheel. Top speed will be a well-rounded 350 km/h, not quite enough to topple the penultimate McLaren F1, but certainly close.
Blasting from 0 to100 kph will take just several eye-blinks: 3.6 seconds, while 0-160 will be in the region of 6 seconds, about a second quicker than an F50. Cornering capabilities will be just as dramatic, with double uneven-length wishbones at all four corners. The dampers are electronically-controlled to actively control the car’s attitude.
The price will be as stratospheric as the performance, with showroom tag in the region of USD 600,000. Only 349 will be built. The first 60 off the production line have already been snatched up by ‘loyal’ Ferrari owners.
According to reports from Europe, the Ferrari’s development has not been without difficulties. In the most serious incident, a prototype was destroyed by fire as it was being tested at the Fiorano test track. Even with the car’s on-board extinguishers, and the presence of a fire engine, flames reduced the carbon bodywork to ashes in minutes.
Still, the development continues and customer cars are expected to be delivered a few months after its official debut. Ferrari president Luca di Montezomolo said that four-time F1 World Champion Michael Schumacher was deeply involved in the car’s road development. The last time we remember that kind of involvement taking place, the result was the NSX, which is still a brilliant car 11 years from its introduction. A certain Mr. Senna tuned that chassis, and in that light the Enzo Ferrari may just be Herr Schumacher’s legacy to the world of road cars.
Despite those astounding performance figures, the exotic Enzo Ferrari may not be in a class of its own when the final version goes on sale. Archrival McLaren Cars Limited will be producing the SLR supercar for Mercedes-Benz. Porsche will have the V10-powered Carrera GT and Honda its new NSX. Even Ford may be ready with the GT40, its classic Le Mans Ferrari-beater reinterpreted for the 21st century. Still, the Enzo Ferrari not only out-exotics those marques, it stands alone as the most direct translation possible of the Formula One racing experience.
By Jason Ang | Photos Courtesy of Ferrari
Originally Published in the August 2002 Issue
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