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First Test: 2003 Ferrari Enzo

An offer we couldn't refuse

Photos By Chris Walton |   |  
With his upturned left palm, he pointed at his right hand, which had a thumb-and-index-finger grip in the rim of the D-shaped steering wheel. He delicately yet forcefully manipulated the wheel as a violin player would a bow, then shrugged his shoulders and pleaded for my reaction with a classic Italian, "Eh, eh?" What else could I say but, "Bravo, magnifico!" An entire section of a racetrack was blanketed by a plume of white tire smoke as he effortlessly drifted this macchina rossa around a corner--sprint-car style--at about 50 mph. To call what we were about to experience a normal Motor Trend "First Test" would be like calling your first sloppy, adolescent smooch a "real kiss." This was no ordinary car, nor was he an ordinary driver. This was a $650,000, 660-plus-horsepower Ferrari Enzo, masterfully piloted by Maranello's chief development driver, Dario Benuzzi. I was duly impressed by the powerful serenity exhibited by both. The goal here was simple: Learn just how fast Ferrari's most-ultimate-to-date street machine is--or isn't. Editor-in-Chief Kevin Smith initially reported on the Enzo ("First," November 2002), noting that, for all its ferocity, it's a joy to drive, beautifully turned out, and doesn't require an F1 license to handle (although one such guy--five-time world Formula One Champion Michael Schumacher--was highly instrumental in the car's development). Ferrari is, above all else, a historical manufacturer of racing cars, but it also produces an incredible stable of street cars. The two sides of the business are inexorably connected to one body, and, every so often, the two arms collaborate to embrace a single ideal. Together, they handcraft limited-edition machines that redefine extreme sports-car possibilities: the '84 288 GTO, '87 F40, '95 F50, and now the '03 Enzo. Just 399 of them will be made, one each day. All have been purchased without so much as a test drive by Ferrari's most preferred customers.
Our Enzo thrill ride came at the conclusion of a morning's testing session that began with two cars: one yellow, for instrumented testing, and one red, for riding impressions with Benuzzi. After 30 years of flogging Ferrari test mules, nobody knows the cars or the company's Fiorano test track like he does. The yellow car's young piloto was Andrea Bertolini, who's quickly making a name for himself in FIA N-GT racing behind the wheel of the number 52 JMB Racing 360 Modena. It goes without saying that he, too, knows the short way through Fiorano's 15 turns. The two cars idled up to operating temperature; $1.3 million worth of 24 cylinders and 96 valves teasing us with their mechanical harmony. The technicians finally gave thumbs up. We quickly taped the Racepak magnetic GPS antenna to the roof (the Enzo's body is carbon fiber), stuffed the recorder behind the passenger seat, and plugged the power cord into an improvised cigarette- lighter outlet (normally, there isn't one). I jotted down a list of instructions loosely based on our normal testing regimen and handed the scrap of paper to the test driver. I asked him to also drive, at speed, one hot lap of the entire course so we could record lateral-g loads in various corners and transitions. "Yes, yes." With the featherweight door closed, off he went. Andrea returned not five minutes later. He indicated he'd finished, and already the next magazine representative was attaching his test gear. After I'd downloaded the data, I answered the group of eager Ferrari representatives who'd gathered around. "First run, 3.8; second run, 3.5; and third run, 3.3 seconds," referring to the 0-60-mph times of the car, "but he only reached 97.18 mph," a tick short of giving us 0-100 times. We captured the first three, steadily improving acceleration runs of the day, and just four minutes of data. In other words: We got a lot of the important stuff, but there's no way to call it a full test. One run was on a slight uphill, one downhill. A third test started in a corner exit and finished when Andrea applied brakes for the next corner. I scanned the data to see if I'd missed anything after the acceleration, but no--no maximum braking and no threshold cornering. He used the Enzo's launch program (Race mode on, ASR off), which only allows a driver-selected-rpm clutch-drop from the six-speed F1-style sequential-manual gearbox--no fancy Formula One racing traction control. Wheelspin was evident throughout first gear. We'd have to be happy with what we'd recorded. At least, we were in a better position than one of the other magazines' representatives, whose luggage and test gear were lost enroute to Italy. As the sun reached its apex, all available track time had been eaten up by others participating in this rare, if logistically challenged, opportunity. I got the last ride of the morning in the red car, with Dario.
Does this satisfy your need to know precisely how fast the most sophisticated sports car in the world is? We didn't think so. We, too, want more, and Ferrari is in the process of planning a second test opportunity with an Enzo. We'd love to answer this question as much as you would. Do we suspect the Enzo will prove, once and for all, to be the quickest, fastest, and most nimble road car ever built? Yes. Even from the data we were able to obtain, it's clear the car named after the man is bloody, blindingly fast. With its shape-shifting aerodynamic body, gargantuan Ferrari-spec Bridgestone tires, F1-derived electronics, and brilliant engine and chassis, it'd be more than a shame to let the guessing game continue. We'll publish the next test as soon as we can. The test numbers contained herein have been shared among several magazines and with Ferrari SpA. Because no two sets of data recorded that day were alike, the results will reflect these variances. Our data has been subjected to the same SAE corrections as all our published acceleration data: 1-foot rollout, 60 degrees F, sea-level, 29.92 barometric pressure, and zero-percent humidity. Because our best run ended between 97 and 98 mph, we extrapolated the remaining data to 100 mph. Quarter-mile, braking , skidpad, and slalom figures are estimates based on our knowledge of the car and our limited experience within it.
2003 Ferrari Enzo
Valve gearDOHC, 4 valves/cyl, variable valve timing
Bore x stroke, in/mm3.62x2.96 / 92.0x75.2
Displacement, ci/cc366.0 / 5998
Compression ratio11.2:1
Max horsepower @ rpm660 @ 7800
Max torque @ rpm485 @ 5500
Specific output, hp/liter110.0
Power-to-weight, lb/hp4.56
Max engine speed, rpm8200
Transmission6-spd seqnt'l manual
Wheelbase, in104.3
Track, f/r, in65.4 / 65.0
Length, in185.1
Width, in80.1
Height, in45.2
Curb weight, lb3009
Fuel capacity, gal29.1
Acceleration, sec
0-30 mph1.34
0-40 mph1.82
0-50 mph2.31
0-60 mph3.14
0-70 mph3.73
0-80 mph4.92
0-90 mph5.72
0-100 mph6.68
Top speed, mph200+
Braking, 60-0 mph, ft95 (est)
600-ft slalom, mph72.0 (est)
200-ft skidpad, lateral g1.02 (est)
Base price$652,000
Price as tested$652,000
On sale in U.S.Currently (all 70 sold)

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