Hot Rod Heaven: Speeding for Charity On a Utah Highway..Another Enzo Done!

As State Troopers Looked On,
A Supercar Flew Off Road;
Questions About Next Year
By NEAL E. BOUDETTE
August 19, 2006; Page A1

MILFORD, Utah -- On a hot Wednesday morning earlier this month, Richard Losee floored his bright red Ferrari Enzo on a desolate stretch of Utah's Route 257 north of here. His plan was to zoom to more than double the posted speed limit of 75 miles per hour. Cresting a rise in the road, Mr. Losee lost control, and his $1.3 million supercar skidded and tumbled several times. The car's carbon-fiber body splintered in a hail of debris and its 650-horsepower, V-12 engine went flying. Mr. Losee suffered a serious concussion, a broken sternum and broken vertebrae in his neck.
[FastPass wreck]
Thanks to his Ferrari Enzo's roll cage and airbag, as well as his helmet, Richard Losee survived his accident, with a concussion, broken sternum and a cracked vertebra in his neck.

Mr. Losee, the 50-year-old son of a wealthy Utah businessman and owner of an upscale drug and alcohol rehabilitation clinic, wasn't out hot-rodding alone. He was one of about 25 owners of super-fast cars participating in a three-day rally organized and coordinated by the Utah Highway Patrol. On this day of the inaugural event, the Highway Patrol had closed down 15 miles of 257 to let the drivers go as fast as they wanted.

Called the Utah FastPass, the rally is one of an increasing number of driving events staged in Colorado, California, Oregon and other Western states in which owners of elite high-performance sports cars can run their machines on public roads at race-track speeds. In some, police merely tolerate the action -- and turn a blind eye if the Ferraris or Porsches tear down a stretch of open road.

The Utah FastPass goes a step further. While cruising Utah's highways, drivers were accompanied by a dozen motorcycle patrolmen, the head of the Highway Patrol and the state's public-safety commissioner. Mr. Losee crashed during a special event to raise additional funds on the rally's third day when the Utah Highway Patrol closed a remote section of the highway. There, with the road cleared of traffic, Highway Patrol allowed unlimited speeds and planned to "catch" each car on radar and write out a ticket. The "offender" would pay the "fine" to charity -- and get to keep the speeding ticket as a memento. Several drivers had planned to frame the tickets as proof they had been "caught" doing 150 or more.
[Shane Johnson]

The FastPass is billed as a charitable event. The entry fees of $5,000 per car go to a foundation that helps the families of Utah highway patrolmen killed in the line of duty and funds scholarships for students in Utah's downtrodden rural communities.

Organizers, which include the Highway Patrol and a group of auto enthusiasts, hope to hold a second FastPass next year, and many drivers said they would come back. But in light of Mr. Losee's accident, Highway Patrol officials said that it's unclear if they will go along again.

"We'll have to look at it. Maybe we have to make some changes," said Scott Duncan, Utah's commissioner for public safety, who covered the rally's 800 miles in a Highway Patrol car.

Road rallies tend to attract fairly experienced drivers. Still, accidents occasionally happen and deaths are not unheard of. A few years ago, two accomplished English drivers were killed when their car hit a tree during a professional rally race in Oregon.

Though the high speeds at FastPass were tacitly sanctioned by officials, Mr. Duncan and Highway Patrol officials warned participants before and during the rally to obey all laws of the road. The event's guidebook also cautioned that drivers could be arrested if they "brutally massacre the speed limit." But it also added that troopers "may let an occasional infraction slip by if a participant should accidentally exceed the speed limit."

As the event began, motorcycle troopers allowed the drivers to take off when they came across stretches of empty road. "It's awesome. You're going the speed limit and the guy just waves you on" to speed ahead of the police, laughed Shane Johnson, the owner of a Porsche Boxster S that was upgraded with a 385-horsepower, 3.8-liter V6 engine and cost about $103,000.

Given the green light one morning of the rally, the 35-year old venture capitalist from Laguna Beach, Calif., stomped on the gas. His car surged forward and its speedometer climbed to 125. But his Boxster S wasn't the fastest thing on the road.
[Mark Plummer]

Up ahead was a rare Ruf Rt-12, which looks like and shares some parts with the Porsche 911, but has a hand-built, 650-horsepower engine and special ceramic brakes for stopping at high speed. At the wheel was Mark Plummer, 22, a part-time race-car driver who also works for Ruf's only U.S. dealer. When he hit the gas, the $350,000 Ruf blew Mr. Johnson away.

"I got up to 152, 154," Mr. Plummer shrugged. That wasn't his top speed, either. The day before he had hit 174, he said. He'd go faster still before the event ended.

A little later the drivers pulled into Escalante, population 744, for a rest. Under trees at the park's edge, onlookers snapped pictures of the exotic cars. Among them was a silver Mercedes McLaren SLR owned by John Price, a Salt Lake City investor who made millions developing shopping malls before serving as U.S. ambassador to Mauritius from 2002 to 2005.

A collector of antique race cars, he saw a picture of a concept for the SLR seven years ago and immediately wrote to Mercedes to place an order. In January, he finally got his car. The price: $500,000. On his first trip, he drove 700 miles to San Diego, averaging 90 miles an hour.

Other cars included a 1958 Jaguar Lister, a 2003 Ferrari F-360 Modena and a brand-new Ferrari 430.

Turning the most heads was Mr. Losee's Enzo. One of only 399 made, the mid-engine car is sculpted with curves and air channels to create massive downward pressure to keep the tires on the road. It can reach 60 mph in 3.3 seconds. As a teenager, Mr. Losee drove Ferraris that belonged to his father, and his connection to fast cars helped him land a bit part in "The Cannonball Run," a 1981 movie starring Burt Reynolds about a law-breaking, cross-country race.

His Enzo was a one-of-a-kind because he had replaced the original doors with custom-made doors with removable roof panels -- enabling him to drive with an open top.

The evening before his crash, he reached underneath the front end with a pair of scissors to trim stray carbon fibers where an unseen spot on the undercarriage had been scraped. The next morning he wiped down the front end and cleaned the windshield with a bottle of blue cleaner he kept in the car. A few miles away at a stop for gas, he touched up the windshield again.

For the charity radar trap on Route 257, most drivers expected either Mr. Plummer in the Ruf Rt or Mr. Losee in the Enzo to record the fastest speed.

The closed stretch of road lies in empty scrub land 23 miles from the nearest town. The beginning features a series of "whoop-de-doos" -- rises and dips where cars can become unstable. Standing by for this part was a first-aid team and a red and white medical helicopter.

Before the start, Mr. Losee said he might have a chance of hitting 200, depending on how the high altitude affected the Enzo's engine. "We'll see," he said.

Two Ford GTs zoomed down the track first and each got up to 180 mph. The drivers reported back that the whoop-de-doos were more unsettling than expected. A starter reminded Mr. Plummer to try to hit top speed only on the flatter final third of the course.

Mr. Plummer then roared off, with a reporter along for the ride. After quickly reaching 140, he slowed down through the rises and dips, then pushed the bright orange car to 170. When he put the pedal to the floor, the digital speedometer raced past 200, peaking at 206 -- a speed at which the car was covering 302 feet of pavement a second.

A moment later he let up on the gas and then coasted nearly two miles to the finish, where he was greeted by slaps on the back. His "ticket" would bring in $800 for the FastPass's charity fund.

Then suddenly came a report of a "PI" -- personal injury. Starting after Mr. Plummer, Mr. Losee never made it to the flat stretch of road. He lost control in the whoop-de-doos and crashed.

Drivers following Mr. Losee described the Enzo as "obliterated." Rescue workers cut off the car's specially-made doors and found Mr. Losee shaken but conscious. The engine ended up several yards from the rest of the car. Before being airlifted to a hospital, he said he thought he was doing about 150 mph when the crash occurred, people who were on the scene said.

The rest of the rally was cancelled and the drivers headed north to Salt Lake -- at the speed limit of 75 mph. At a charity gala and auction that evening, Mr. Losee appeared in a short video shot at the hospital. Wearing a neck brace, he said he was fortunate to be alive. He added he was sorry his accident cut the rally short, and pledged a $5,000 donation to the FastPass charity fund.

As for his Enzo, he said, "It's just a car."

Write to Neal E. Boudette at [email protected]
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Wow...interesting to finally find out what had happened to Losee. Just goes to show that no matter how experienced you or someone else may think they are, you still have to be careful.

This and the Malibu crash are testaments to how well built the Enzo is in terms of crash protection. Seems like they're very similar to F1 cars in that everything is made to break away except for the carbon fiber tub/cockpit.

 

Oh NO! Not Losee's car! That was the July 2003 R&T cover car, as well as the famous one with 2 sets of doors (the second of which, are "open" at the top, thus giving the "T-top" look). I'm just glad he's okay...

 

Good article, sounded like alot of fun.

The Enzo can be replaced

 

It looks more rebuildable than the Malibu car. Glad the owner is going to be OK.

Art S.

 

Rebuildable...hah rigghht

 

Evan,

The Ferrari factory said that it would cost $250k - $350k to rebuild the Malibu car.

New tub and body pannels, you're good to go. The only way to total these is to burn them.

Personally, I'd give it the P4/5 treatment.

Regards,

Art S.

 

I've said it before about the 360 crash at Nuerburgring, the 360 crash in Madrid and I say it again here: I think Ferrari shouldn't be building cars with ground effect. That's great technology for racetracks, but dangerous on public uneven roads. Surface mounted wings as in the F40 and F50 creating downforce is the way to go. Not as pretty (to some), but a lot safer.

 

Let's ask JIM about royalties
on using his moulds

 

I think the VIN plate is what is valuable. You can have Ferrari supply all of the parts (a new car) and put your VIN plate on it.....I think it may show up in CARFAX a slight accident damage.

Do you think it was covered under insurance since it was a race / timed event?

 

Two down, 398 left alive.

 

You think the one totalled in Italy got rebuilt? That wreck was as bad as any. Not even sure that driver survived.

And what about the one that got totalled in Texas? Didn't it burn to the ground?

 

What about the one in South Korea?

 

Would be really interesting to get an update on all the wrecked Enzos. Don't we have some s/n freaks on here? Carbon?

 

I agree, it is just a car. It can be rebuilt.

 

Yea, where is Carbon when you need him. This would be a project right up his ally. 'How many Enzo's are sill alive?'

 

The Mailbu one you refer to was the one with Ericson correct?

Also, the one wrecked in Italy (I'm pretty sure it was fatal to the driver), South Korea, the one that burned to the ground in Texas (the owner now has #400) and the one that was wrecked in Florida I think where the front end was damaged and there was some rumor it was the guys son driving? I'm pretty sure the one from Florida was repaired and sold for 800-900 range. They had an page for it and someone posted pics of it being fixed.

So that's 5 total by my count with one definately being rebuilt.

There was also a minor one in UK, Monte Carlo, and theres some picture floating around of one without a deckled.

I used wreckedexotics, lamentably for some of this info. I'm pretty sure this is correct but I may very well be wrong.

 

Any update on Richards condition?

 

So are you saying the count now is 395 or 396?

 

Utah, Texas, California, Italy, Korea => 395
+ 1 being rebuilt => 396

The FL was "just" front damage.

 

Surely Korea wasn't a total loss. 397

 

Nice article. Maybe he could reuse Jim's body panels left over from the P4/P5 project for the rebuild. It would make the history of this already interesting Enzo even better.

BT

 

Again, Nice Article. I've driven with Richard Losee on a number of the SLC Ferrari club drives, and he's a very generous person. I remember the last time I drove on those whoop-T-Doos and it was pretty unsettling at 80, let alone twice that speed. He was driving his 550 Barchetta down that stretch right in front of me that day, holding onto the cloth top to keep it from flapping since it's not rated for over 85 or so. Best Regards to him and his family, and I hope to see him back on the drives next year.
Thor

 

None of the Factory cars count in the "399" quantity...

Then there is the one made for Tsunami....

The P4/5 was a road car, so it has an Enzo VIN....

I ran across the clipping the other day of the Copper State Testarossa fatality, let's all drive safe! That was the guy's wife, in that incident.

This does sound EXACTLY like the vehicle dynamics that caused the Houston crash, IMO

 

his car can be replaced......his life can't. it's good to see the driver's perspective and i m glad he was safe.