2004 Ferrari Enzo

With 75 years of racing glory shoehorned into one of the most powerful naturally aspirated supercars in the world and with technology, performance and styling adapted from its champion F1 program there’s no wonder the unparalleled heir to the 250 GTO, 288 GTO, F40 and F50’s throne took the name of the company’s creator- Enzo Ferrari.

This car, for its time and maybe even more relevantly so today, reinforces the storied Italian auto-maker’s rich tradition of turning out special edition road cars that are tantalizingly close to its competition cars. These rare Ferrari’s are produced only every few years, in tiny batches, and each one is an event.

Just 399 Ferrari Enzo’s were produced worldwide at the turn of the century coinciding with Ferrari’s return to prominence in Formula 1 with Michael Schumacher at the helm applying Enzo’s famous theory of producing 1 less car than the market would demand.

Penned by the Pininfarina design house chief engineer the Ferrari Enzo is, in former Ferrari Chairman Montezemolo’s words, “very close to Formula 1 in idea, in concept, and a little bit even in design”.

Featuring a mid-mounted, 650 horsepower producing and artfully designed 6 litre V12 that wouldn’t look out of place in the Louvre mated to a chassis hand-built from carbon fiber and aluminium honeycomb panelling beneath a full carbon fiber body the Enzo’s acceleration is more impactful than a 1 inch punch. 0-100km’h is despatched in just 3.4 seconds.

The brakes are a ceramic composite, the transmission is a 6 speed sequential-shift semi-automatic with paddles, there’s traction control, active aero-dynamics, three different driving modes and a lift kit.

The cockpit, inspired by Le Mans prototype race cars is spartan. Stepping through the butterfly-style door apertures you notice the absence of a stereo, the instrument cluster is the perfect combination of analogue and digital display, the speedometer rises to 400km/h, and the rev counter to 10,000rpm, the windows are manual and there are no carpets. Luxuries afforded simply include leather bound carbon race seats and air-conditioning. It’s straight down to business inside.

Ferrari’s passion for creating the most adrenaline inducing, toe curling, white knuckle making and sopping jaw dropping supercars displayed in 3 dimensions, within their grand sequence, the Enzo is arguably the greatest drivers Ferrari ever made as we stare down the barrel of a hybrid/turbocharged/eco automotive design future.

Totally uncompromising, if the Ferrari Enzo isn't your dream car, you're having the wrong dreams.