Photos by George Saitas
Feature: Enzo-Mania
February 2, 2004
I love beautiful things.” And there you have it: the reason Benny Caiola Jr. owns
two Ferrari Enzos. It may also explain why the 73-year-old builder and property
developer kidnapped my wife. One minute I’m admiring a garage full of Italian
exotica, the next I’m watching a yellow Enzo disappear into the winter sun with
Mrs. Farago riding shotgun. And it is no spin around the block either; I have
enough time to seek out Caiola’s groundskeeper Rolando and ask him if I can
trust the boss with my beloved. “Benny says trust only God,” answers
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Fortunately, Mr. Caiola turns out to be a perfect gentleman—and I
don’t mean just his behavior with the opposite sex. He has the generosity of
spirit and passion for life that give rich people a good name. If anyone
deserves to own two Enzos, an F40, F40LM, F50, 333SP, 512BB, 575M, 456, 355, a
Dino, four 360s, a Lamborghini Diablo and a Murciélago, two AMG Mercedes, a
Pagani Zonda, a Porsche GT2, and an Aston Martin Vanquish, it is Benny Caiola.
His supercars are not sequestered investments waiting for perfect weather. He
drives each and every one of his mean machines often and hard. (Click image to enlarge)
Equally
important (at least from my perspective), Benny likes to share. For example,
when the Enzo finally returns to Villa Caiola—a plaintive howl announcing its
arrival before the beast shows up in the flesh—my wife, Sam, is in the driver’s
seat. “And?” I ask as the Enzo’s scissor doors open skyward. “Nice,” Sam
pronounces. “Quick.”
One would certainly hope so. The Enzo incorporates
everything Ferrari knows about building fast cars—from the chassis’ carbon fiber
and aluminum honeycomb construction to the engine’s pioneering combination of a continuously variable intake manifold
with variable valve timing. This race-derived techno-feast includes a 6-speed
paddle-shift transmission, active suspension, computer-controlled underbody
aerodynamics, and automatic skid reduction.
The factory claims the Enzo can
sprint from standstill to 60 in 3.3 seconds, nail the quarter-mile in 11.4
seconds, and top out at 217 mph. They also say the car’s carbon ceramic brakes
can rein in the Enzo from 70 mph to naught in 151 feet. While these figures
await independent confirmation, it is clear the Enzo has all the technological
prowess it needs to pin your skull to the headrest, from any speed to any speed,
corners notwithstanding. Again, it’s no more than you would expect from a
Ferrari supercar—
especially considering the Enzo’s looks.
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