Talk about deep pockets....

[Gary Gibbs]

I am not sure if you guys read the Car and Driver this month including mini reviews of several supercars including the prototype Ford GT. Anyway, I was a bit set back by the Ferrari Enzo that the owner had replaced the front brake rotors and pads. He has done some street and track driving and needed to change disks (Carbon fiber) and pads. Cost was $24,000 and $6,000 respectively !!!!!!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Also if you happen to need a replacement engine it is $200,000.

I bit higher then Brembo disks (at $250 each) and carbon metalic pads at ~$100 each you might expect to see on a high performance street/track car.

What I find puzzling is that after going to the striped interior with carbon fiber everywhere and carbon fiber brakes it still weighs over 3250 lbs! I think I would take a Saleen S7, a built GT40 replica, a complete tow vehicle and two car enclosed trailer and a Hummer in place of the less than attractive Enzo.

 

[ChrisL]

... or maybe a used McLaren F1... which incidentally, ten years later, is still quicker than the Enzo in a straight line /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Mark Worthington]

It's a lot easier to buy a Ferrari than it is to own one. I think a lot of people, myself included, might be able to afford an older Ferrari (like a 308, 328 or maybe even a 348) but I'm not sure I could afford to maintain one. As for the styling of the Enzo, the car is seriously growing on me, and it is, like most Ferraris, gorgeous.

 

[Ron Earp]

[ QUOTE ]
... or maybe a used McLaren F1... which incidentally, ten years later, is still quicker than the Enzo in a straight line /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Not according to Road and Track. The Saleen, McLaren, and the Enzo all appeared in that article and the Enzo took top honors, even in the good old fashioned straight line performance test. Something like 11.1 at 134, not exact but close. I'm not a huge Ferrari fan but that car does perform!

Ron

 

[Jim Rosenthal]

Actually, whoever said Ferraris are cheaper to buy than own is dead right; I like mine but I find it's better to get any repair bill presented while I'm sitting down. And, I have a good outfit to service it who are smart, honest and fair. If they ever closed I'd probably sell the car.
All that said, they have made a lot of progress in recent years at building reliable cars- I think the 355 (still one of my favorites for looks and performance) was the first they built which you could really drive all the time. But it's been a LONG time since they built anything as pretty as a GT40....maybe since the 250 GTO.

 

[ChrisL]

[ QUOTE ]
Not according to Road and Track.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'll have to concede on a technicality /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif The magazine that contained the article from which I quoted (Motor or Wheels??), has been inadvertantly left behind in a hotel room 800 kms away... but from memory, the Enzo had the F1 up to 60mph, but the F1 had the legs on it at 100mph and at 400 meters, but by less that 1 sec. Maybe it was the variation in US spec vs Aus Spec that made the difference????

 

Yeah I saw that too actually, it was in Wheels.
It ended up being somehting like 11.2 for the Enzo and 11.1 for the F1, and the Enzo won to 60km/h simply from traction.
Really though, if a car is deemed 'better' because it is 0.1 seconds quicker down the 1/4 time it's a bit silly...
Me personally, I think it's a beautiful car, and I'd be happy with either!
Cheers,
Adrian

 

Just chipping in,

Regarding expensiveness. Couple of years back I had business with a guy whose company does specialist metal and tube work.

Anyway, his client list includes a few F1 teams for whom he produces exhaust systems - lots of bends, wiggly bits and tig welding. His invoice per system is around the £15,000.00 mark, this does not include the extra charged should there be a shunt over a race weekend and extra systems are needed in a hurry.

All in all expensive toys.

Regards, Alex

 

[Neal]

Someone is fortunate enough to have deep pockets in my neck of the woods! Awesome...

 

About that carbon.

That stuff is actually a carbon/carbon composite, not carbon fiber. Carbon fiber would splinter and pretty much explode into bits in braking applications. Also, the conventional fibers can't withstand near the heat that the carbon/carbon composites do.

The full carbon composites are excellent for racing applications, but need to be warmed up to be at optimum working order. The benefits are fantastic. Graphite composites are great things. Really light weight and more importantly (for braking at least) they dissipate heat extremely quickly, which is why there is vitually no brake fade. That said, when they are cold, conventional braking rotors or, even better, ceramic braking components offer superior braking. Again, once heated up though, nothing beats carbon.

Carbon is an exotic material and at the league you are talking about (carbon/carbon with wet/dry, hot/cold applications) it is HIDEOUSLY expensive. Working with these materials requires extremely expensive machinery. Not surprised one bit at the price. Don't think they make the things for 100USD, slap a Ferrari sticker on it and sell it for 6kUSD. Also, the nature of carbon is as follows. If you flaw it, you MUST start all over again, because the structural integrity will have been compromised, which is disastrous in braking applications.

Cheers