Luxury Cars

In fact, the Enzo proves itself as happy trundling around town as a big-engined Beemer. With 485 ft. lbs. of torque on tap, there’s never any question of bunny hopping or hunting for the right gear. Parallel parking is a bitch, and luggage space is restricted to what you can put in your pockets, but the Enzo’s user-friendly dynamics at sub-warp speeds make it a viable – if astounding – daily driver. When Benny points at the Hutchinson River Parkway onramp, the look on his face tells me ambling time is over…

The moment I give the Enzo’s go-pedal a shove, the 660hp two-seater surges ahead with all the genetic imperative of a race horse bolting from the starting gate. The thrust is so explosive I struggle to judge my exact role in the proceedings. Instinct tells me to tap her into third gear before the 48-valve engine blows up, and avoid solid objects. Five seconds later, I’ve managed to calm things down to a subjectively sedate 150mph.

As I get used to driving in hyperspace, the traffic ahead can’t get out of my way fast enough – literally. By the time a driver clocks the Enzo’s yellow prow in their rear view mirror, I’m already waiting for them to move over. As a result, I’m driving the Enzo in a series of full-bore sprints that bring new meaning to the words “in gear acceleration”. While the engine note is nowhere near as loud as an F50′s, neither is an F14′s. Let’s just say what the Enzo’s soundtrack lacks in volume it makes up in drama. Perhaps you’d like to know how a Ferrari Enzo handles in the corners. So would I. When I ask Benny to direct me to an appropriately twisty road, he invites me for lunch. Oh well. Suffice it to say, nothing “the Hutch” could throw at the Enzo – off camber bends, broken pavement, lunatic SUV drivers – could disturb the car’s sure-footed poise, at speeds that defy both law and logic. It feels light, tight and right.

As we head back to Villa Caiola, I try to make sense of what just happened. I’m elated to have scored major seat time in an Enzo. But more than that, I’m relieved that the supercar lived up to my every expectation. The Ferrari Enzo is both beauty and the beast.