A striking back end teaser image hints at the Ferrari Enzo successor coming to Geneva.
With the Geneva Motor Show fast approaching, our e-mailbox is getting stuffed with lots of previews and teasers, but when we spotted the one marked “Ferrari,” we had to open it immediately. And, indeed, it confirmed what rumors have long suggested, a major announcement planned for the upcoming show of a “new limited edition special series car.”
Translation: the eagerly awaited replacement for the legendary Ferrari Enzo. The exact name for the new model remains to be seen, various reports suggesting the project has a codename of either the F150 or F70.
To get the adrenaline flowing Ferrari has begun to release some teaser images, but specifics, starting with the actual name, are under tight wraps. Nonetheless, good sources have begun to provide enough hard details to begin pulling the picture together.
The prancing pony to go on the new ultracar.
The Enzo successor will all but certainly stick with the classic Ferrari V-12 formula, though adding a Formula One-derived KERS regenerative hybrid system to give the 2-seater a massive boost under short, hard acceleration bursts. That will likely bring peak power up into the 900 hp range and drop 0 to 60 times to as little as 2.5 seconds. Top speed is expected to be well in excess of 200 mph.
Rumors out of Germany say a prototype has been spotted turning times of less than seven minutes on the grueling Nurburgring Nordschleife, which would make it the first production car to break that barrier.
Expect to hear about the extensive use of carbon fiber and other lightweight materials to hold down mass – to somewhere around 3,000 pounds — and extensive wind tunnel modeling to ensure maximum aerodynamics. To deliver this type of performance, however, the object wasn’t simply to reduce wind resistance but to turn it into an ally by maximizing high-speed downforces.
Another teaser showing the front end.
Lower mass, better aero and the HY-KERS hybrid technology have reportedly reduced fuel consumption under more constrained driving by about 40%, according to Ferrari.
Expect to see a “base” price of around $1.3 million, according to a report in Automotive News Europe, which incidentally works out to about what McLaren is asking for the new P1. The spiritual successor to its legendary F1 model, the new 2-seater is clearly being aimed at the Ferrari Enzo replacement and will not-so-coincidentally make its own debut at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show.
(For more on the McLaren P1, Click Here.)
Ferrari is expected to produce less than 500 copies of the F150/F70, about 100 more than of the original Enzo, which compares to a planned 375-unit run for the McLaren P1. The back-to-back introductions should create some interesting dynamics at Geneva’s PALExpo Convention Center.
An image from Ferrari's in-house magazine showing the underlying chassis of the Enzo successor.
Ferrari has the better-known brand name, of course, which should give it the advantage when it comes to winning over buyers. But McLaren is aiming to market itself to those who don’t want to be considered just another gold chain Ferraristi.
The cabin of the new Ferrari is expected to also borrow significantly from the Italian maker’s Formula One program, with controls on the steering wheel giving the driver the ability to make extensive adjustments to vehicle dynamics on the fly.
The seat, meanwhile, will be fixed to the chassis and, if earlier reports prove accurate, will be customized to the driver. Any adjustments needed on the road will be made to the position of the steering wheel and pedals.