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Originally Posted by nthfinity
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Originally Posted by dingo
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Originally Posted by nthfinity
this lead me to think there is a problem with the car on public roads.
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any indication of what type of speed he was doing before this crash?
I've been in a couple of Ferraris at high-speeds (~300kmh) on bumpy public roads and they seemed to handle it very well, there was never any nervous moments that I recall.
It could well be a problem relating only to the Enzo.....suprising given its meant to be their top car. |
nearly 200 mph
i'm not saying this of all ferrari's.
but if you remember such tech as 'the suspension firms up when..." which is definately good for a race track. In fact, with a ground effect car, a stiffer suspension actually makes the car faster on a track by keeping the airflow more controlled, and evenly flat across the surface.
But, without a wing on the back that couldn't keep the car on the road through high side air control too.
Say... for example, with a ground effect car, you hit a bump, and it changes the angle of incidence; all the ground effect suddenly becomes lift...
so, where normally for race conditions, a stiff suspension is ideal.... but for the road, softer suspension would be needed to soak up the bumps, rather then react to them.
also, remember that above 180, the Enzo switches its aerodynamic profile from high downforce, to low downforce... |
I'm still not entirely sure that the accident was "Ferrari's fault". Yes, above 180 the aero-profile is switched to a low downforce mode, but it still produces quite a bit of downforce even in that setup. If I had to guess, like some of the others have pointed out, the accident occurred after hitting a bump in the road. Depending on how large the bump was, any car with a flat undertray and venturis could have gone airborne at that speed. Also, if the bump was large enough, it could've actually impacted the the nose section of the car as the suspension probably would not have been quick enough to do anything about it at near 200mph. If that happened, then much of the downforce that was being produced could've been completely lost in which case, the car would've turned into a rather large airplane wing and the rear end would've gone very light. Ah well, this is all speculation and there's really no reason for it. It's sad to see that another Enzo is dead, but I'm glad that Mr. Losee looks like he'll pull through and I imagine that he'll probably be back in the market for another super supercar after this (assuming he's not afraid to buy one), and I'm really glad to see that at least one person used his Enzo like it should've been used, every day.