In the 1990s brands such as Bentley, Rolls Royce and Ferrari built cars on demand for the infinitely millionaire Sultan of Brunei and his brother the Prince. So was a collection of exotic vehicles that includes a Bentley 4x4 and a Ferrari 456 Station Wagon. Other lower-profile individuals also obtained unique creations at their will.
It is now the turn of the famous American writer and film director James Glickenhaus, who asked Pininfarina to create a super sports car inspired by the spectacular Ferrari prototypes of the 1960s.
Work for Glickenhaus began in March 2005. Pininfarina decided to use as a basis for this special project the exotic Ferrari Enzo. The first task to perform was to look for a Ferrari Enzo available and adjusted to US law. Pininfarina ran the search and tracked a specimen on a Ferrari agent in Beverly Hills, California.
The found Ferrari was taken to the design studio of Pininfarina in Italy. To help the development and creative process, Glickenhaus sent his historic 1967 Ferrari 330 P3/4 to the same studio. Ferrari decided to support the development of this project and even provided technical support for the optimization of the prototype.
Pininfarina designated designer Ken Okuyama as project leader, as he was the designer responsible for the Enzomodel. Okuyama decided to make a completely new design, so he discarded all the original body and interior elements. The project was christened Ferrari Enzo P4/5.
To achieve a major evolution and exploit the potential of the original car to the maximum, Pininfarina concentrated efforts on the aerodynamic aspect. The clearance of the car was reduced by 38 mm and the front overhang was shortened.
In order to reduce the area of the front section they replaced the original two radiators with a new one located in a horizontal position. An adjustable tray spoiler was also added for greater stability of the front beam. The original fairing floor was maintained, although some sections were recalculated to obtain greater downward force by pressure difference reducing drag.
The new body was made entirely of carbon fiber with opening of doors type “gull wings”. The engine compartment is covered by a transparent ventilated window. The lights resemble the Ferrari 330 P3/4 but with LED technology both front and back.
To make a visual impact, rims were specially designed for the Enzo P4/5 made from a solid lightweight alloy block. The rims have a diameter of 20 inches and give it maximum grip for its spectacular width of 9.5 inches at the front and 13 at the rear.
To keep the engine within US regulatory standards, the engine of the Ferrari Enzo remained intact. It is the same V12 with 6,000 cm3 engine capacity and 650 horsepower. The transmission and chassis were also not altered. The redesign of the car allowed a weight reduction of 270 kg allowing an acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.5 seconds and a maximum speed that increased to 362 km/h.
The interior combines comfort elements with the spirit of racing prototypes. The dashboard is minimalist with a digital display, GPS satellite navigation system and an audio equipment based on an iPod Nano. The sports seats are combined with woven fabrics.
The spirit of self-racing lives in the tubular safety cage and the non-pressurized fire extinguishing system to be able to transfer the car by plane. All the details were taken into account.
The Ferrari Enzo P4/5 Pininfarina Speciale was officially presented at the Pebble Beach event (USA) in August 2006. He was then taken back to Italy to test it on a racetrack and was subsequently exhibited at the Paris Motor Show.
© Adrián Blanco 2006 — Prohibited the total or partial reproduction of text and/or images without explicit written consent of the author. —
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