Throughly Modern Machines

The 2000s are quite possibly the most interesting years of Ferrari, and the most explosive (in popularity). It seems nowadays, a Ferrari is an icon of a succesful person. Not to mention Ferrari is mentioned in seemingly every rap song. The bottom line -- people love Ferraris. Ferrari in the 1990s showed promise after rebounding from Enzo Ferrari's death and taking Ferrari towards a more modern approach to automobile construction. The 2000s was even moreso heading in that direction. Find out why below..

Ferrari started the decade by creating a convertible version of the 550 called the Barchetta. The car was ideally the same, with the exception of the convertible option. Later, in 2002, came the successor to the 550 Maranello: The 575 Maranello. The 575 Maranello contained engine performance increases, taking the horsepower to 540 stock. For the first time the paddle shifted semi-automatic gearbox was availible behind a V12 motor. The car had a 0-60 time in 4.1 seconds and the top speed was put to around 200 MPH. The 575 Maranello is a very popular model.>

Three years into the decade, Ferrari unveiled 599 examples of a version called the Superamerica. With a very thick glass roof that rotated back to lie on the trunk lid, making it a convertible. The Superamerica 575 was undoubtably a innovative Ferrari design that appealed to many enthusiasts and owners alike. The clever design came from Leonardo Fioravanti, the same individual who penned the Ferrari Daytona.

Then came the motherload of all street Ferraris. The Ferrari Enzo. Ferrari calls it: "A forumula 1 car with a body, a love-it-or-hate-it shape that is undeniably exciting, and a hallmark of Ferrari". Fitted with a naturally-aspirated 650-horsepower V12, the carbon tub Enzo hits 60 MPH in just shy of 3.3 seconds, aided by a no-lift paddle shifter. Ferrari built 399 Enzos, and then one more for the pope himself. The Ferrari Enzo is quite possibly the most visually appealing Ferrari out there, next to the concept the Ferrari P 4/5 (which we'll discuss later). Offered to handpicked lifelong Ferrari owners, the Enzo cost nearly 600,000 dollars from the factory making it the most expensive production Ferrari to date. The price tag isn't much, though, considering in recent years the car has traded hands for around 1 million USD. That's not a bad return on your money! The Enzo, considering its entirely coincidental 60-year anniversary production date, has often been deemed the "f60", although Ferrari never claims this. If you've ever driven an enzo it's difficult to imagine a super-Enzo. But that's exactly what the FXX is. For around 2 million USD, you can own 1 of 32 FXX's for track-events only. The monumental engine has 800-horsepower and turns on a dime.

Ferrari produced the 360 spider in 2001, and then in 2004 replaced the 360 line-up with the F430 Coupe and spider. The Challenge Stradale was later made a modification for the 360, however. The modifcations include added use of carbon fiber, titanium, alumiunum, and a lexon rear window shaves some 250 pounds from the standard 360. Titaniam springs are indeed part of the suspension package featured in the Challenge Stradale's. The titanium springs add a stiffer package and drops the ride height by half an inch. Also in the list of modifications are advanced ceramic breaks. Powered by a marvelous 3.6L V8, the Challenge Stradale setup adds an additional 25 horsepower increasing the horsepower total amount to 425. The stradale's 0-60 MPH time is approximately a mere 4.0 seconds.

The F430 is known as one of the most all-around best Ferraris availible. It handles well, sounds great, turns on a dime, and speeds up to 200MPH faster than you can count to 3. And did I forget to mention that it looks great as well? The Ferrari F430 is an all-alunimum machine, with mirrors styling the "sharknose" front of Phil Hill's 1961 F1 - the Le Mans-winning supercars. A successor to the 360, the F430 has a naturally-aspirated 4.3L V8 and is one of the most delightfully power-flexible sports cars in the world. Several well--prepared competition F430s are proving to be a match for racing the rival Porsche 911 turbo. Later, Ferrari implemented the challenge series to the F430, calling it the F430 Challenge. It retains the looks and 490-horsepower V8, but with numerous alterations. Among the many modifications are gear ratio changes, special Pirelli slick tires, the stability and traction controls disabled, and the car's "race" mode engaged. The F430 Challenge cars are substantially lighter than road versions and the suspension is specifically made for racing.

Also in the decade, year 2004 specifically, Ferrari replaced an aging 456 GT with the 612 Scaglietti, a proper 2+2 with surprisingly good rear seat room plus a 540-horsepower V12 up front. Like the 360 Modena and Ferrari F430, the 612 Scaglietti features an all-aluminum design. PininFarina's design of the 612 is not universally admired, although it's not Ferraris hall of shame car.

To replace the 575 Maranello, Ferrari shortened the alunimum chassis of the 612 to create the 599 GTB Fiorano in 2007. This car is relatively new and is a serious machine. With a 620-horsepower V12, paddle-shift gearbox and shock absorbers, with--now imagine this--magnetorhealogical fluid, it is a real work of art. The wind-tunnel shapes design is contentious to some, but once you've seen one at speed, it's beautiful. It asks the begging question, however: what's in store for the future?