Page 81 - Decadence

A modern Ferrari still has every bit of DNA from its long racing history, you can feel every euro spent in Formula One and every lap of a GT race when you drive a prancing horse. The glamour of the 60s cars, like the legendary 250GTO, the 250GT California Spyder and the gorgeous 365GTB Daytona bridging the decade into the 70s beauty of the Dino, then followed 80’s icons of the 308s, 512BBs. Every car an absolute work of art, although these historic cars may have been a bit of a handful to drive. It was the F355 of the mid 90s that became the rst truly drivable Ferrari and since then there’s been no looking back, as the F360 drew on the classic lines of the Dino and was an even more manageable car. Following up though the bloodline to the 430 Monza, 458 Italia and todays mid-engine V8 road warrior the mind blowing 488. Each of these models had the ‘Stardale, Scuderia or Speciale’ model to compliment the range. Then there are the modern V12s, the F40 of 1980s was a racing car with a radio, followed by F50, but when the Enzo was revealed in 2003 it took everyone’s breath away, the bold design and staggering performance created the new category of the hypercar.
I’ve been fortunate enough to drive a couple of Enzos which is an experience in itself and have had the chance to play with the latest evolution to this erce bloodline in my friends La Ferrari, which is quite possibly the easiest hypercar to jump in and go. From slowly picking my way up a pot holed driveway to opening up this magni cent beast on the open road, everything about this car was perfect. So, we look forward to the next generation from the stable and hope that modern market forces don’t take the soul from these cars and the spirit of Enzo Ferrari remains present as performance levels grow and global expectations of the hybrid or even electric power start to change the face of vehicle design, manufacture and performance. Whatever the end result, the 70 years of racing history can never be erased and the brand, that in Italy is little short of a religion remains a legend in its own lifetime, the one word that will always conjure a feeling of desire, power, romance and style is Ferrari.
IMAGE JOHN J BREEN
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