older but still a goody

Anybody who subscribes to R&T will recognize this instantly, but it's
still worth sharing:

On the Road
Driving Ferraris

By Thos L. Bryant, Editor-in-Chief
July 2003
 

Our cover story this month, the complete road test of the Ferrari Enzo
supercar, results from the generosity of the car's owner, Richard Losee.
Richard is a car enthusiast of the first order, coming to it naturally
because his father is too. Together they have experienced all sorts of
fascinating cars, from the James Bond Aston Martin DB5 to a Lamborghini
Miura SV to various Ferraris. In addition, Richard found time to capture
the 1997 Group 2 SCCA National Pro Rally championship in a Volkswagen
Golf GTI. This came after a number of years of racing go karts,
circle-track cars and even garnering a demolition derby championship in
a rodeo arena in Utah, his home state. In his formative years, Losee
learned from the best at the Skip Barber and Jim Russell driving schools.

When it came to the Enzo and our story, Richard graciously agreed to
drive the car around Utah with us for 1000 miles so we could produce the
fabulous photography by John Lamm that illustrates our test report. And
he was willing to share the driving with everyone, especially relishing
the time spent sharing the car with Contributing Editor Phil Hill.
Richard then drove the car down to Southern California so we could do
the performance testing at our normal venue. So, within a week of taking
delivery of the Enzo, Richard had put some 1500 miles on the odometer
working with Road & Track.

Seeing the Enzo in our parking lot this morning caused me to reflect on
Ferraris I have driven over the years. The first one was a 1958 250 GT
that was for sale at a price of about $3000, as I recall. This was in
1971 and I was living in Santa Barbara, California. Well, as I should
have expected, the car was suffering from neglect and abuse. The paint
was terribly oxidized, the upholstery was tattered, and the mechanicals
were emitting death-rattle noises. I drove it only briefly, fearing the
owner would shout in triumph, "You broke it, you bought it!"
Fortunately, I escaped that fate, and my only clear memory of the car is
that the engine ran, while the gearbox would scarcely move from one gear
to the next.

My next opportunity to drive a Ferrari was after coming to work here. We
did a comparison test in the September 1975 issue that included a Dino
308 GT4 2+2. This handsome little car, designed by Bertone, was a
delight to drive. Its 3.0-liter 4-cam V-8 produced 240 bhp, giving it
brisk performance — 0-60 mph in 8.0 seconds. (About that time, Henry
Manney, our delightful contributor, was offering for sale his 250 GTO
for the princely sum of $9000, I believe. Unfortunately, none of us had
the foresight to see that it would someday be a multimillion-dollar car.)

Then came the 308 GTB, a truly handsome car with a fiberglass body and
the 2.9-liter V-8 engine. After that came the 308 GTS, the Spider
version, and with its top down this, too, was a car that offered all the
performance and panache you'd expect.

Next up was the 512 Berlinetta Boxer with the new flat-12 engine that
boasted 360 bhp. We did a comparison test of one of these magnificent
cars with a Lamborghini Countach S at a high-speed track in Ohio
(February 1982). The Boxer turned in a stunning performance, scampering
from 0-60 in 5.1 sec. and registering a top speed of 168 mph, with
Contributing Editor Sam Posey doing the driving chores. My previously
mentioned lack of foresight surfaced again in this instance, when I
concluded the comparison story by predicting that the Boxer and the
Countach represented "the end of an era."

Of course, that was incorrect, and many more supercars have come down
the pike since then, from Lamborghini, McLaren, Bugatti, Jaguar, Aston
Martin and, of course, Ferrari. I had no idea when I began this column
that I have driven so many Ferrari models, including 328s, 348s, F355s,
360 Modenas, Testarossas, the 288 GTO, Mondials, the 456 GT and GTA, the
550 Maranello, and more. Each one had its distinctive character and
charm. Each was exciting to drive, as is any Ferrari, and one of
driving's minor thrills is the ability to make swift, clean shifts
through the metallic gates of Ferrari's manual transmissions.

And then last summer I was invited to Maranello, Italy, to drive the
Enzo, the ne plus ultra of Ferrari supercars. It has much of the Formula
1 car in its styling and in its technological features. Like every
Ferrari I've driven, the engine is the feature that grabs your attention
immediately. At the Fiorano test track where Ferrari President Luca di
Montezemolo proudly presented the Enzo to the press gathering, he made a
very strong point of attributing credit for this car to Amedeo Felisa,
now head of Ferrari's passenger-car division and former chief engineer.
Felisa is a man who feels passionately about Ferraris, and understands
the magic that emanates from a sensational engine. And with the Enzo, he
made absolutely certain that it was the best of the best. When you read
our road test and examine the performance numbers, I'm sure you will agree.
--
"Leave the gun. Take the cannoli."

Pete Clemenza<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->