Friday, May 22, 2009

One Fast Car, The Enzo Ferrari

The Fast, Enzo Ferrari
-The Enzo Ferrari-

The Enzo Ferrari was one of the fastest car model on any automotive production line when it was first put into production. Today, The Enzo is still very fast for what it is, it still tops about 95% of cars in speed and 99.5% in luxury.


-A Brief History-

The Fast, Enzo Ferrari was first built in 2002 and displayed/announced first at the 2002 Paris Motor Show as a luxury car with speed to match. It's design was derived from 3 "mule" prototype cars created in 2000. These cars were quite fast but did not match the speed of the Enzo, their names were; the Ferrari M1, the Ferrari M2, and the Ferrari M3. An interesting fact about the Enzo is that this car was named after the Creator of Ferrari, Enzo Ferrari himself.


-Performance Features-

The Enzo Ferrari incorporates many top of the line automotive performance technologies which give it its speed. Some of these features being; a carbon fiber body, a Sequential Shift System, a 5998CC V12 Engine, and Variable Valve Timing. Now I bet you're wondering what some of these technologies are? Well, then I think it's appropriate to explain each of them further.

Carbon Fiber Body- The Enzo's exterior is made of an extremely light weight material called carbon fiber. This is one of the cars properties that make it so fast. This lighter body improves the speed of the Enzo simply because, a lighter car means the engine doesn't have to work as hard to maintain or increase its speed quickly.

Sequential Shift System- A Sequential Shift System uses a shifting lever where a normal manual "stick" would be. When you push the lever Up, your transmission shifts up one gear, when you pull the lever down, your transmission shifts down one gear (The concept is similar to shifting in a racing arcade game, if you have ever played one) This form of gear shifting was incorporated into the Enzo Ferrari to contribute to quick gear shifting. (The Enzo Ferrari can shift from any gear to another in about 0.2 seconds, which is another property that makes it so fast)

Variable Valve Timing- Variable valve timing is Ferrari's version of Honda's VTEC. You can learn more about Variable Valve Timing here: VTEC Explanation

5998CC V12 Engine- What makes the Enzo such a fast car, is its engine. The Enzo Ferrari's engine is a V12 engine with each cylinder angled at 65 degrees, each cylinder has a capacity of 5998CCs. Each cylinder contains 4 valves, 2 intake valves, and 2 exhaust valves. The valves are operated by 4 overhead camshafts. The engine also has direct valve control and hydraulic tappets. The camshafts, valve control, and hydraulic tappets are all chain-driven. The 5998CC V12 Engine is built with forged pistons, rods, camshafts, and crankshaft. The engine redlines at 7,000rRPM.

You can see a video of how a Ferrari engine is built, below (I'm sorry that the video is in another language, however; it is still easy to understand what is going on):





-Pricing-

The Enzo Ferrari sells for a ridiculously expensive, 1,000,000. Yes that is ONE-MILLION-DOLLARS OR MORE. I'll put this price into perspective for you... 80% of everyone in the world doesn't even make this much money in their lifetime... Obviously, this car is made for only the top tier of the class pyramid, people with high government power, or people large sums of money. Is it really worth a million dollars to go fast in a car?

-My Rating For The Enzo Ferrari-

If I were to rate the Enzo Ferrari on a scale of 10 (1 being an awful overall car, 10 being a great overall car) I would give it an 8/10. I mean, this is a top of the line car and all, very fast, top-notch luxury, but it's WAY to expensive in my opinion. Honestly, If I really wanted a Ferrari that was fast and had quality luxury, I could get a used 1994 model for 25,000$-50,000$, But If I wanted an Enzo Ferrari, I would have to shell out a MASSIVE 1,000,000$+!!!



(All images within this blog belong to their respected owners and will be removed upon request)