LENSPEED

By James Wong

Lovingly named after the founder of Ferrari, the Enzo is Ferrari’s hyper of hypercars.

Producing approximately 651hp and 657Nm from its 6.0-litre V12, it weighs in only at a ridiculous 1365kg, thanks to its extensive use of carbon fibre in chassis construction.

Yesterday, while on my way to the Wilton Supercar Sunday event (pictures here), perfect timing brought an Enzo alongside my very humble Clio. Naturally, he went on the overtaking lane and, after acknowledging our mere presence, proceeded to blast towards his redline as it disappeared into a spec in the distance. Never have I felt more hopeless in my car before as redlining every gear only inches us closer by useless metres.

He then exited the motorway to the services, and we thought the experience was over.

But then he came back again, as quickly as he went, and all the remaining miles towards Wilton House he was with us. It was intriguing to watch as there are some things others can see while you drive your car, that you simply can’t see. For example, the glorious aerodynamics working right in front of our eyes. The car’s rear squatted a fraction as it accelerated, as a swirling of road grime and debris below the rear diffuser spitted out to the back showed all of the air sucked up from the front of the car, pushing the car towards the ground in a heady mix of downforce.

And there is the turn-in too. While we experience body roll in our cars as standard, and even if we experience minimal roll, nothing can compare to the razor sharp turn-in of that Enzo. It literally just darts into corners and before we knew it he was gone. Somehow, the rolling sensation in the Clio felt so much more ungainly when we did the same corner ourselves.

Then there is the mid-range performance that clearly shows this car can achieve its top speed and annihilate the normal speed driving as well. At 80mph going to 120mph, the car isn’t even trying. It is at its cruising norm, while other cars have to work hard to accelerate at those speeds.

Stunning car and stunning drive. I’ll remember this for life.