Ferrari Enzo: the Schumacher-honed hypercar that got better the faster you went

What it promised

The Enzo is approaching 25 years old and yet still wears its F1 inspired body like some time travelling V12 powered psychobot. Designed by Ken Okuyama, it remains one of Pininfarina’s most extraordinary designs, and perhaps marks the point at which Ferrari abandoned beauty as a key brand precept in favour of an unambiguously technical approach.

What it got right

It’s a fantastically advanced machine, even now: an ultra stiff carbon monocoque, brutally aero efficient, with a chassis honed by Michael Schumacher in his championship winning imperial phase. The clincher, if you need one, is a nat-asp 650bhp, 6.0-litre V12, sitting in the middle of that remarkable body exactly where nature intended.

The further away we travel from that golden era, the more amazing it looks in the rearview mirror. Unless you’re actually in an Enzo, in which case you can see absolutely nothing behind you.

Now, of course, the world is awash in electric cars that have the equivalent of 650bhp. But the Enzo is a reminder that, as delirious as its 6.0-litre V12 is, it’s not just about power, it’s about how it’s transmitted into the driver’s hands and backside.

There’s not much to the Enzo’s interior so you’re keenly aware of all the activity that’s going on around you. And its carbon tub communicates a whole bunch of frequencies, zings and buzzes. This is another Ferrari that gets better the faster you go, serves up a level of involvement that’s difficult to articulate.

What it got wrong

Ferrari’s top executives have become weary of discussing a possible return for the manual gearbox (never going to happen), and say quite simply that anyone who wants one is welcome to buy a classic Ferrari. Though not this one. The Enzo was cutting edge in the early 2000s in every domain, but its semi-auto F1 box is its Achilles’ heel.

Although you learn how to drive round its imperfections, it’s still a reminder that this sort of tech has a sell by date that a conventional manual simply doesn’t. Then your mind wanders... ‘imagine an Enzo with a trad Ferrari open gate manual shift’. Listen, don’t torture yourself.

How history has judged it

It might just be the outlier in the quintet. But as the focus shifts from the 1990s to the next decade, its aggressive shape and attitude suddenly look fresh all over again.

Ferrari Enzo

Prices then (2002)/now: £400,000/£3m+
Spec: 5,998cc V12, 650bhp @ 7,800rpm, 485lb ft, 1,255kg (dry), 0–62mph in 3.2secs, 218mph

Photography: John Wycherley