Report: Ferrari Boss Hints Next-Gen Enzo To Get Twin-Turbo V-8

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Ferrari Enzo replacement could get V8 power

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The term "next-gen" gets bandied about rather haphazardly in the automotive journo biz. It's true that the next generation of a car is "next-gen" in a sense, but it's not usually a "next-gen" set of technologies in the larger sense. The next Enzo, however, will be truly next-gen, as it gets a twin-turbo V-8 and a heavily carbon fiber-based build.

Ferrari recently ruled out carbon fiber for all but its highest-end, low-volume cars due to its unsuitability for everyday use. But the Enzo isn't an everyday kind of car. And the next Enzo is doubly so.

We've reported as far back as 2007 that Ferrari would put a twin-turbo V-8 in its next Enzo, and now Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa has confirmed as much to Autocar--though only tacitly. When asked about twin-turbo V-6 and V-8 engines in Ferrari's cars, Felisa denied only the V-6s, saying that "Ferrari will not build a six-cylinder engine until customer aattutudes towards smaller engines change." Not exactly hard evidence for the twin-turbo V-8 Enzo, but with years of rumor building up to it, the unsaid words speak loudly.

The move to a twin-turbo V-8 for the Enzo is a big one, as Ferrari has remained firmly committed to big-output V-8s and V-12s right up to and through the 599XX and 599 GTO. The 599 GTO is Ferrari's fastest road car to date--even faster than the current Enzo.

We'll have to wait another year or so before we get any details on the next Enzo's power and performance figures, as it's not due out until calendar-year 2012, alongside the replacements for the 599 GTB Fiorano and 612 Scaglietti. But we'll keep our ears to the ground to bring you the latest as it breaks.

[Autocar]