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Ferrari's road cars and its Formula One racing effort have been inseparably linked since the day Enzo Ferrari produced his first model. Now the Italian carmaker intends to expand its current Formula One domination to the road with its newest supercar, the Enzo Ferrari.  According to the company, the Enzo Ferrari represents the ultimate expression of technological transfer from F1 to Ferrari’s road-going GT cars. 

The Enzo Ferrari made its debut at the "Artedinamica" exhibit at the Contemporary Art Museum of Tokyo on April 26.  Why Tokyo and not Maranello?  Japan has always been a strong market for Ferrari cars as well as official merchandise, so it won't hurt to pique the Japanese public's interest a few months before the car officially debuts at the Paris Auto Show in September.  Another factor may be the car's designer, Japanese Ken Okuyama, who formerly worked for Pininfarina and who is the new chairman of the Transportation Design department of the Art Center College of Design, Pasadena.  Mr. Okuyama previously penned the striking Ferrari Rossa concept car in 2000. 

The car has a huge name to live up to as it is named after the former Maserati racing car driver and founder of Ferrari himself, the late rate Enzo Ferrari.  This is a huge departure for the Italian sports car maker who’d usually name their cars corresponding to the anniversary of the famous marque. 

While the F40 and F50 look quite like brawny road cars, the Enzo Ferrari looks conspicuously similar to its open-wheeled cousins.  The car's styling bears strong Formula One styling cues.  The front features an F1-like tapering center section, which plunges down to the front air dam, mimicking the way an F1 car's nose connects to the front wing.   

The bulging front fenders end abruptly at the cockpit section, which is considerably narrower.  The cockpit doors have a pronounced ledge, like a Le Mans racer's.  Then gaping air intakes lead to the pronounced rear fenders.  The four taillamps are mounted blister-style, protruding above the body, similar to the Rossa concept car's.  Based on the Enzo Ferrari's shutlines, the engine cover and rear fenders will open together clam-shell style, just like a racing car's.

Overall, it looks like a two-person road-car cockpit was grafted onto an F1 car's front and rear ends.  It is an undeniably stunning design, but not exactly beautiful in the way that some of the 1960s Ferraris were.  A topless version will surely be in the works too.  While it does have the large air intakes, it noticeably does without the biplane-sized rear wings of the F40 and F50.  As in the 360 Modena, a ground-effect tunnel will generate enough aerodynamic downforce to keep the Enzo Ferrari glued to the pavement.  The 360's aluminum space frame chassis was initially thought to be the basis of the Enzo Ferrari as well, but apparently even that would not be light enough.  This work of automotive sculpture will be rendered in carbon fiber. The Enzo Ferrari weighs in at a bantam 1365 kilograms (a Toyota Revo 1.8 GL weighs just as much). 

Whatever the debates about the looks, there will be no arguments about the performance.  Ferrari will pull out all the stops in transferring its F1 technology into this car, beginning of course with the normally-aspirated V12 engine.  The 6.0-liter unit pumps out 660 bhp, supposedly exceeding the output of Ferrari's 1989 Formula One car.  The new powerplant will weigh 30 percent less than the F50's 4.7-liter V12. 

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