This little gem in Muscat, Oman represents what you do when you have bodacious sums of money and time. Now we're all for having a little fun, but we're talking about an Enzo, which, while not the prettiest of Ferraris, still doesn't deserve to endure the eighth-level of Maaco paint-shop Hell. Whoever did this gets points for authenticity, even including the roof signage. If nothing else, we'd certainly go for a ride: as passenger to get anywhere in seven seconds, as driver, so we could say, imitating the voice of Blofeld, "That'll be one hundred million dollars."
Given the relative scarcity of cars like the Ferrari Enzo (349 production units built, an indeterminate number destroyed), you're unlikely to encounter one. On those rare occasions when such a thing does happen it seems even less likely that said owner will say, "Hey, wanna go for a ride?" Given the improbability of such events, it seems even more bizarre that our friend Jonny Lieberman found himself in such a situation this past weekend at the inaugural 24 Hours of LeMons in Houston, TX. It turns out that Matt Groner is the owner of the Enzo best known for being cracked up by Eddie Griffin. We reported on the car being repaired and offered up for sale a couple of months ago and it's still available on eBay with a Buy It Now price of a mere $1.2 million. So what was Groner doing at LeMons? Why racing of course. According to Jonny, he rolled up to the track in the Enzo and hopped into a Neon to compete in the crap-can "race."
We've been patiently waiting for a successor to the Ferrari Enzo for some time now, and here's evidence that development of the next supercar from Maranello is underway. Codenamed FX70, the mule is housed in the shell of an F430 Scuderia, though there are a number of clues that what you're looking at is something very special. Take for instance the wheels, which are grossly oversized for the Scuderia. The track is also much wider and out back there's a large center-mounted exhaust. Next Autos reports that Ferrari is working on two separate engine options for the FX70 including a 700-hp twin-turbo V8 and a twin-turbo V12 that could reach 800 hp. Rumors suggest that Ferrari may go with the TT V8 in deference to the climate concerns of our time, though we hardly expect Ferrari to mix in too much green with that Rosso Corsa Red.
When buying a used car, no matter what kind, a major crash is usually a big deterrent. In this case, however, it was its claim to fame. Try though you surely have to forget, you'll likely recall actor/comedian Eddie Griffin's lamentable crash of a Ferrari Enzo into a concrete barrier while promoting his then-new movie Redline. Most figured the exotic was a write off – or an accounted-for marketing expense, as some contend – but it has been given a new lease on life thanks to Matt Groner.The Texas broker deals in wrecked luxury and sportscars, and usually sells them as is. With the Redline Enzo, however, Groner decided to put in the effort to restore the vehicle. Since the Enzo's chassis is composed of separate carbon fiber sections bolted to the center tub, Groner had simply to call up the factory and order the replacement parts. Well, not so simply, as it turns out, because the parts cost $300k and took months to arrive. But the restoration has been completed, and the car is up for sale for a $1.3 million sum that's sure to cause as much whiplash as Griffin's crash did in the first place.Head on over to Jalopnik for more information, including photos (before and after), a first-hand account from the restorer and a video news segment detailing the saga. For our part, we'll be lobbying Hollywood to include "no exotics were harmed in the making of this film" disclaimers in the credits.
Edo Competition has no qualms about taking positively perfect exotic machinery and tweaking it to suit customer's tastes. And when it comes to the paragon of rolling automotive masterworks, the Ferrari Enzo is arguably King of the Hill.
While the Enzo isn't lacking in either the power or appearance department, that hasn't stopped Edo from making some subtle changes to the Enzo's exterior and powertrain. Edo began by replacing the intake with a revised ram-air system and a set of high-flow air filters, then worked its magic downstream with a set of headers similar to those in the FXX, along with a duo of high-flowing cats and a new exhaust system with remote-controlled, butterfly valves that allow the sound levels to be adjusted on the fly. All those bits are tuned through a modified ECU to produce 700 hp and 527 lb.-ft. of torque, which is sent through a heavy-duty clutch and on down to a retuned stock transmission that replicates the shift times of the FXX.
The Enzo's factory rolling stock has been replaced with 19x10-inch wheels in front and 20x13-inch wheels in the rear, wrapped in Michelin tires sized 265/35 R19 and 335/30 R20, respectively. The wheels can be custom painted to the customer's specs and a new suspension package, with adjustable compression and rebound, has been developed to mimic the setup found on the FIA GT MC12.
Edo claims that the sprint from 0 to 62 mph is estimated at 3.5 seconds and that the run from rest to 186 mph is dropped to 22 seconds flat. All the specs are available in the press release after the jump.
Following hard on the heels of the highly publicised crash in the spring that saw a Swedish businessman crash a Ferrari Enzo in Malibu, California, and wind up serving a jail sentence, and a second smash in August in the US state of Utah, another Enzo has been crashed in dramatic circumstances; this time an example belonging to a Russian Member of the Duma. This report, by Nikolai Sergeev is courtesy of today’s edition of Kommersant.
Suleiman Kerimov, the Russian businessman listed by Forbes as the 72nd richest person in the world, was seriously injured on Saturday in an automobile accident in Nice, France. He lost control of his Ferrari Enzo, which struck a tree at an enormous speed and burst into flames, as he was travelling from the local airport toward the city center. Kerimov was taken by helicopter to the regional burn center at Hopital de la Conception in Marseille. He is now on artificial respiration.
The accident occurred at about 3:30 p.m. on a stretch of the Promenade des Anglais where the speed limit is 50 km/h. Kerimov himself was behind the wheel and moving significantly faster then the speed limit when the black Ferrari unexpectedly crossed the sidewalk and struck a tree. Kerimov and his passenger were pulled from the burning car by passersby, who also tried to extinguish the flames using clothing and rugs. It took fire brigades from the Nice airport to dowse the flames, however. The accident caused a two-hour traffic jam on the busy highway.
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