I got a ride in an Enzo!

I can't believe it! I just cannot believe it one bit. The owner tool me ou ton the highway for a spin. That car is the most insane, fastest, wildest thing I have ever sat in, let alone ridden in. The acceration was crazy, and the NOISE! Oh My God.

I had to tell someone, and I though you guys could appreciate it.

I will have pivtures next week.

Now maybe next time he will take me for a ride in the Mclaren F1 that was parked next to it (which he says is even faster, wow), or the Vanquish, or the Modena spyder, or one of the many other dream machines he has.

I am telling you I can die happy now.

 

Well, I prefer not to say, just in case he is into his privacy ( I really don't know him that well, but i would like to).

I will say that he is a REALLY nice guy, is very approachable, and will talk about cars with you all day. He is a true enthusiast.

He lives in the New York area, and Martha Stwewart and ralph Lauren are his neighbors, I can tell you that much.

 

He is well known in the collector car community, especially in Ferrari, Jaguar, and yes, Shelby Daytona Coupe (which he does not have any more, and regrets selling).

 

I am not sure what more I can say, but I can give you a play by play:

When he fires the thing up, it is incredibly loud, almost like it is unmuffled. He pulls the thing outside (manuevering it slowly past the F1 and the Vanquish), and I pop the passenger door open. I ask, "any trick to getting in?", "nope, just drop in" he says, so I do, holding on to the open roof area and letting myself drop straight into the seat (I don't want to put ANY wear on the leather bolster). I reach up and pull the door down with a solid "thunk" and buckle in.

The interior is really tight, even for me, and I am not tall (amazingly, he says the F1 is ALOT smaller, if you can imagine that). He presses a button and the front of the car raises a bit so as not to scrape on the way out the gated drive. "yea, I can't imagine what a splitter on one of these costs, I guess that is a good idea", he laughes.

We pull out onto the local road, warming the engine. I am looking to see what peoples reactons are to this car, but there is no one around, dammit! As we are driving toward the highway, there is a yellow Corvette coming in the other direction and it nearly drives off the road when the driver see us. I am satisfied. ;-)

Onto the highway, engine still not totally warm, but he hits it anyway. We were "slightly" over the speed limit in a heartbeat so he taps the ceramic discs (which are also still cold) and we haul down to below the speed of sound in a nanosecond.

We weave through some traffic a bit, and I can see heads snapping around and mouths agape in the rear veiw mirror (which is set fairly far foreward on the fender, so I can see the little spoiler come up and down behind me, cool).

We cruise along for a bit, running up and down the revs, listening to the song of the V12 (did I say "holy Cr*p" already?) talking about the car (did you know it has to be sent back to the factory to have ANY work dones on it, at the owners expense?), then we exit and turn around for the return. There is a couple in a Jag XJ8 that are freaking out in the lane next to us, the driver (the guy) is trying his best to keep his eyes on the road, but you can tell he is having a hard time keeping his eyes off the Enzo. He know what it is, and both he and his companion are letting us know very enthusiastically that they approve.

We do a couple more hard acceleration bursts on the highway (it is like getting punched in the back, and sucks the breath right out of you), and exit for home, leaving lots of open mouths and sore necks from doing double takes behind us.

We back gingerly into the garage, between the 360 Spyder and the Vanguish, and he threads the car into it's spot to the right of the F1 (which is signed by Micheal Shumacher, btw). At this point we realize I can't get out because we are too close to the wall, so we pullup a bit and then came the problem of getting out. Mostly a problem because I didn't WANT to get out, but also because I didn't want to screw anything up. I use the patented "Magnum P.I. dismount", which is just putting your hand on the door sill and pivoting out whithout draping your leg over the bolster. Exit: successful. Spirits: soaring.

He back it back in (and it is ALOT quieter now that it is warmed up a bit), and shuts it down. He open the hood and twists a little knob that shuts off the battery.

That was it. It was over too soon. I spent the whole eveing trying to remember as much of the experience as I could, realizing that I forgot to take as many pictures as I should have, but I was having too much fun to think of it.

All in all, a great day. I got to see and ride in one of the most potent road cars in the world, as well as see some of the others, as well as talk to an owner who was actually willing to give his time to me. I hope someday I can return the favor.

Yep, a really great day.

 

Actually, no. I am not sure who you are describing, but that is not this guy at all.

To answer the previous question about how I met him, it was at the USGP at Indy this year. Turns out he lives near me, and we are both car nuts, so he invited me over to see his collection. One thing led to another and.....

But you know the rest.

;-)