2003 Ferrari Enzo

Jan 25

Written By Katelyn McSherry

Formula 1 inspired, fastest Ferrari ever in 2003, built to honor company’s founder. Is it Super?

Upon the release of the Ferrari Enzo – the fastest car the company had produced up until that point – Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo stated, “I wanted to go a little bit too far in every element to build a super extreme car.” When building a car to honor the company’s founder, Enzo Ferrari, this is exactly the mantra necessary. The Enzo combined Formula 1 derived advancements with more road usability than previous exclusive Ferraris, introducing the company into a new millennium with components still utilized on supercars today.

After the great success of the F40 and F50, Ferrari once again looked to tackle the top tier of automotive performance with the Enzo. The six-liter naturally aspirated V12 engine (codenamed F140 B) was an all-new engine for Ferrari, specifically designed for the Enzo by Ferrari’s race division, Scuderia Ferrari. The Enzo represents a significant performance leap forward from the F50 of the mid-90’s, offering more than 130 horsepower more than the already potent 4.7-liter V12 in the F50 built less than a decade prior.

Every aspect of the Ferrari Enzo seems to be a reminder about the company’s Formula 1 heritage, though what is immediately eye-catching is the F1 style nose of the car. The nose was polarizing upon its debut in 2002 as some loved it and others hated it, though the nose is completely purposeful as well, channeling air to the radiators as well as using downforce to keep the front end planted. The Formula 1 aesthetic continues after climbing into the interior.

Like a Formula 1 steering wheel, Enzo’s wheel is the first Ferrari steering wheel to utilize shift lights, letting the driver know where they are in the RPM range as redline quickly approached. The wheel also houses several buttons including turn signals, driving modes, traction control, and cruise control, also a first for Ferrari, allowing the driver to keep both hands on the wheel as much as possible. Carbon fiber is abundant throughout the interior, which was not an easy material to source two decades ago. Column-mounted carbon fiber paddle shifters allow the driver to shift the semi-automatic in .15 of a second and make the car much more usable around town than previous Ferrari supercars.

The Enzo is the supercar that brought Ferrari into the 21st century, with usable road performance never before seen on a Ferrari, and considering the car is nearly two decades old, its performance still measures up to many newer supercars today.