Monday, August 8, 2011

Ferrari Enzo

The Enzo Ferrari is a 12 cylinder mid-engine berlinetta named after the company's founder, Enzo Ferrari. It was built in 2002 using Formula One technology, such as a carbon-fibre body, F1-style electrohydraulic shift transmission, and Carbon fibre-reinforced Silicon Carbide (C/SiC) ceramic composite disc brakes. Also used are technologies not allowed in F1 such as active aerodynamics and traction control. After a downforce of 775 kg (1,709 lb) is reached at 355.6 km/h (221 mph) the rear wing is actuated by computer to maintain that downforce. The Enzo's V12 engine is the first of a new generation for Ferrari. It is based on the architecture of the V8 found in sister-company Maserati's Quattroporte, using the same basic architecture and 104 mm (4.1 in) bore spacing. This design will replace the former architectures seen in V12 and V8 engines used in most other contemporary Ferraris. The 2005 F430 is the second Ferrari to get a version of this new powerplant. The Enzo, named after the founder, was established to commemorate Ferrari's first formula one title of the new millennium. The Enzo was designed by Ken Okuyama, the Japanese former Pininfarina head designer, and initially announced at the 2002 Paris Motor Show with a limited production run of 349 and at US $659,330. The company sent invitations to existing customers, specifically, those who had previously bought the F40 and F50. All 349 cars were sold in this way before production began. Later, after numerous requests, Ferrari decided to build 50 more Enzos, bringing the total to 399. Before being unveiled at the Paris Motor show, the Enzo (that was used in the show) was flown from Italy to California to be filmed in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. It was driven on a beach by actress Demi Moore. After filming was complete, the Enzo was flown to France to be in the Motor Show. Enzos are listed as being built in 2003. In 2003 an Enzo Ferrari delivered to Houston, Texas attorney Joe D. Jamail, Jr. was involved in a driving mishap and was totally consumed by fire. Ferrari made an additional vehicle for Mr. Jamail that carried the same serial number as the destroyed car. This kept the number of Enzo Ferraris at 400. Ferrari built one more Enzo — the 400th car — and it was auctioned by Sotheby's Maranello Auction on June 28, 2005, to benefit survivors of the 2004 Tsunami for €950,000 (US$1,274,229), almost twice its list price. This sum was presented to Pope Benedict XVI, while former Ferrari Formula One driver Michael Schumacher gave the pope a steering wheel to commemorate the donation. This wheel included a plaque which read, "The Formula 1 World Champion's steering wheel to His Holiness Benedict XVI, Catholicism's driver. The Enzo Ferrari typically trades above $1,000,000 (£800,000) at auction. Three prototype "mules" were built, M1, M2, and M3. Each was bodied to look like a 348, even though the mules were built in 2000. The third mule was offered for auction alongside the 400th Enzo in June, 2005, bringing €195,500 (US$236,300).



The Enzo is a mid-engined car with a 43.9/56.1 front/rear weight distribution. The engine is Ferrari's F140 65° V12 with 4 valves per cylinder, dual overhead cams and variable valve timing. Bosch Motronic ME7 fuel injection is used and the engine is naturally aspirated. It displaces 5998 cc (366 in³) and produces 660 PS (485 kW; 651 hp) at 7800 rpm and 657 N·m (485 lb·ft) at 5500 rpm. The redline is 8000 rpm. The Enzo has a semi-automatic transmission (also known as the F1 gearbox) using paddles to control an automated shifting and clutch mechanism, with LED lights on the steering wheel telling the driver when to change gears. The gearbox has a shift time of just 150 milliseconds. The transmission was a first generation "clutchless" design from the late 1990s, and there have been complaints about its abrupt shifting. The Enzo Ferrari has 4 wheel independent suspension with push-rod actuated shock absorbers which can be adjusted from the cabin, complemented with anti-roll bars at the front and rear. The Enzo uses 19-inch (483 mm) wheels and has 15-inch (381 mm) Brembo disc brakes. The wheels are held by a single lug nut and fitted with Bridgestone Potenza Scuderia RE050A tires. The Enzo can accelerate to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 3.14 seconds and can reach 100 mph (160 km/h) in 6.6 seconds. The ¼ mile (~400 m) time is 11.0 at 136 mph (219 km/h) and the top speed has been recorded to be as high as 350 kilometres per hour (220 mph). It is rated at 12 miles per US gallon (20 L/100 km; 14 mpg-imp) in the city and 18 miles per US gallon (13 L/100 km; 22 mpg-imp) on the highway. Despite the Enzo's extraordinary performance and price, the Ferrari 430 Scuderia (an improved version of Ferrari's standard F430 production car) is capable of lapping the Ferrari test track just as quickly as the Enzo. Evo magazine tested the Enzo on the famed Nordschleife Circuit and ran a 7:25.21 lap time. The Enzo in the test had a broken electronic damper. In 2004, American magazine Sports Car International named the Enzo Ferrari number three on their list of Top Sports Cars of the 2000s. American magazine Motor Trend Classic named the Enzo as number four in their list of the ten "Greatest Ferraris of all time". However, the Enzo was described as one of the "Fifty Ugliest Cars of the Past 50 Years", as Bloomberg Businessweek cited its superfluous curves and angles as too flashy, particularly the V-shaped hood, scooped-out doors, and bulbous windshield.


As the result of the Enzo, Ferrari has decided to use some of the technology developed for it in a small-scale program to get more feedback from certain customers for use in future car design as well as their racing program. The core of this program is the Ferrari FXX. It is loosely based on the Enzo's design with a highly-tuned 6.3 litre version of the Enzo's engine putting out roughly 800 PS (590 kW; 790 hp). The gearbox is new as well as the tires (custom-designed for this car by Bridgestone) and the brakes (developed by Brembo). In addition, the car is fitted with extensive data-recording and telemetry systems to allow Ferrari to record the car's behavior. This information will be used by Ferrari to develop their future sports cars. Like the Enzo, the car was sold to specially selected existing clients of Ferrari only. The initial price was €1.3 million. Unlike the Enzo, the clients did not take delivery of the car themselves. Rather, it is maintained by Ferrari and available for the client's use on various circuits as arranged by Ferrari and also during private track sessions. The car is not expected to be street-legal or suitable for road use. The Ferrari FXX program will continue until 2008/2009 with the Ferrari FXX Evoluźione. The car will continue to be improved under the Evolution kit, which will continually adjust specifics to create more power, change gearing, and remove drag. The 6262 cc V12 engine will be pushing out 860 PS (630 kW; 850 hp) at 9500 rpm. There will be gearbox changes so that shift time will be reduced to 60 milliseconds per shift, a reduction of 20 milliseconds. The car will also undergo aerodynamic changes and improvements to the traction control system. Its top speed is 227 miles per hour (365 km/h). Pininfarina had wanted to do a special one-off Enzo-based supercar and was looking for a backer. After sending out feelers to its clients, American Ferrari collector, James Glickenhaus eventually agreed to back the project by commissioning the car as a modern homage to great Ferrari sports racing cars such as the 330 P3/4, 512 S, 312 P, and 333 SP on the last unregistered U.S.-spec Enzo chassis. The car was dubbed the Ferrari P4/5 by Pininfarina, and retains the Enzo's drivetrain and vehicle identification number. The car was unveiled at the 2006 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and appeared in the September issue of Car and Driver. The "photos" previously shown in AutoWeek and Octane were not close to what the car looks like. After its unveiling at Pebble Beach, the P4/5 returned to Europe for high speed testing, press days, and an appearance at the Paris Auto Show in September. Upon seeing P 4/5, Luca di Montezemolo felt that the car deserved to be officially badged as a Ferrari and along with Andrea Pininfarina and James Glickenhaus agreed that its official name would be "Ferrari P 4/5 by Pininfarina". Ted West wrote an article in Car and Driver about how this came to be: "The Beast of Turin".



The Maserati MC12 is a two-seat mid-engined sports car derivative of the Enzo Ferrari developed by Maserati while under control of Ferrari. It was developed specifically to be homologated for racing in the FIA GT Championship, with a minimum requirement of 25 road versions to be produced before the car could be allowed to compete. Maserati built 50 units, all of which were presold to selected customers. A further variation, the MC12 Corsa is a track day car, similar to the Ferrari FXX.
The Maserati MC12 has the same engine, chassis and gearbox as the Enzo but the only externally visible component from the Enzo is the windshield. The MC12 is slower accelerating (0–100 km/h in 3.8 s) and has a lower top speed (330 km/h) or 208 mph and less drag coefficient (due to sharper nose and smoother curves) than the Enzo due to engine tuning. However, the MC12 has lapped race tracks faster than the Enzo before, specifically on the UK motoring show Top Gear, and the Nurburgring Nordschleife (at colder outside temperature). However this could be attributed to the MC12's Pirelli PZero Corsa tires which have more grip than the Enzo's Bridgestone Scuderias. Millechili (Italian for one thousand (mille) kilograms (chili)) is the code name for a sports car, to be manufactured by Ferrari, that will borrow features from Formula One race cars. It will be a lightweight version of the Enzo Ferrari, using the F430's aluminum space frame on a 104.3-inch (2,650 mm) wheelbase. The V10 engine will exceed 600 hp (447 kW). Production of around 300 cars was slated for 2010, with a base price of around US$500,000. Millechili is developed in collaboration with University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Millechili Lab is a cross-project in which students are working on light-weight car design. The Ferrari FXX program would continue until 2009. The car will continue to be improved under the Evolution kit, which will continually adjust specifics to create more power, change gearing, and lower the aerodynamic drag. The V12 engine will generate 860 PS (630 kW; 850 hp) at 9500 rpm, which boosts the top speed to 387 km/h (240 mph), and the acceleration to 0–100 km/h in 2.5 seconds. There will be gearbox changes so that shift time will be reduced to 60 milliseconds per shift, a reduction of 40 milliseconds. The car will also undergo aerodynamic changes and improvements to the traction control system. The FXX program also gave rise to the 599XX program in late 2009. The 599XX, a racing version of the 599 GTB, borrows technology which was developed from the FXX. The 599XX is faster than the Enzo and is able to lap the Fiorano circuit 1.2 seconds faster than the Enzo.

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