One of the most breathtaking cars on display at the Villa d’Este Concorso d’Eleganza last weekend was also one of the newest. Specifically flown over from New York by its owner, James Glickenhaus, the stunning Ferrari P4/5 scooped up the public vote for the most beautiful modern car design on display.

The project was initiated by Pininfarina to create a stunning, one-off hypercar based on the Ferrari Enzo. The idea was to literally stun the car world, to prove once again that Pininfarina were masters at designing the ultimate Ferrari. James Glickenhaus, a Wall Street investor, was Pininfarina’s ultimate client for their ultimate hypercar. Glickenhaus is an avid collector and enthusiast of legendary racing cars, with a personal collection which includes a former Donohue Lola T70, a former McLaren / Donohue Ford Mk IV (three times Le Mans winner), as well as three Ferrari racers – a 1967 330 P3/4, a 412P, and a Tipo 166, which is the oldest Ferrari in existence. What is impressive about this collection is that Glickenhaus often drives the cars on the open road.

Glickenhaus and the Pininfarina design team met for the first time concerning the special Enzo project in March 2005. Out of all the Ferraris in his garage, Glickenhaus has a particular soft spot for the P3/4, and the initial sketches by Pininfarina’s Jason Castriota, who is responsible for the firm’s Special Projects division, drew heavily on this legendary racer. Gradually, however, the designs started to move away from being a retro creation to a more original volume which not only retained the glory of the old car, but also presented a highly avant-garde and individual style. The similarities between the two resulted in the car receiving the P4/5 code.

After the green light was given by Glickenhaus in June 2005, the last unsold Ferrari Enzo was uncovered for the project, which was tracked down in a Beverly Hills dealership, still covered in its original factory protective shrink-wrap. The Enzo was then freighted back to Italy, where in Pininfarina’s Turin workshops it was stripped of its carbon-fibre bodywork. From that point forward, Pininfarina spent one year developing the design into a fully street legal one-off. The car was engineered to US DOT/EPA standards, and the new components were crash tested virtually by computer for crumple and rollover ability. Facets of the project included scanning Jim Glickenhaus into Pininfarina’s computers, so that the cockpit could be specifically designed around his dimensions and requirements. The passenger cockpit area was themed around a rally co-driver’s working area, with a computer incorporating satellite navigation, timing GPS, MP3, etc. To accommodate the new body design, multiple changes had to be made to the Enzo on which the car was based. Changes included redesigning the cooling system (due to the P4/5’s lower sweeping nosecone section), a modified wiring harness, and a new type of windscreen and cockpit door glass.
 

The bold alloy wheels were also bespoke for the project, shod with 9.5J x 20” with 265/30 “run flat” tyres at the front, and 13J x 20” with 335/30 “run flat” tyres at the rear. Pininfarina worked tirelessly to improve and adapt many areas of the Enzo, including new door seals and a new design of lifting door hinge.

Development was kept highly secret, with Ferrari only being made aware of the project six months into its initiation. In January 2006 the Ferrari executives were invited to view the prototype, which literally stunned them. As talks continued, Ferrari agreed to badge the P4/5 officially as a Ferrari. The P4/5 made its debut at the prestigious 2006 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California, and was also displayed on the Pininfarina stand at the 2006 Paris Mondial de l’Automobile in September last year.

The presence of the P4/5 at Villa d’Este was surely felt, with a standing ovation from the public crowd when it pulled up in front of the jury at Villa Erba. “It is wonderful to have this car back in Italy, for people to see the car in the open here for the first time. In fact it has never been presented in Italy before to the public. We did the test the car on the open road around Turin when it was still finished in primer grey, and a number of people managed to take photos of the car on their mobile phones, but strangely these never showed up on the internet or in magazines,” says Jason Castriota.

Italiaspeed were invited by Pininfarina after the judging back to the hotel at Villa d’Este to make an exclusive photo shoot of the car on the road and in front of the lakefront. Fuelling the car up at the local Shell petrol station aroused a lot of local interest. Locals suddenly appeared from almost nowhere asking questions and taking pictures. The local Carabinieri also showed particular interest in the car, which only has the subtle New York registration plate “612 P4/5” on the back. Owner James Glickenhaus comments, “I have driven the car over 2000 miles already on public roads back in the States. The public response in New York is quite astounding.”

After the Concorso, the car was scheduled to return to the Ferrari factory before taking part in the XIX Giro di Sicilia - Targa Florio, the legendary road rally around Sicily in June. “I’m really looking forward to this event. The car needs some stone chips,” says Glickenhaus in his inimitable laid back manner. “A car like this needs to be touched up every year or so anyway.”

By James Granger