If you decide to buy a high-performance supercar, you'd be smart to first consult with our resident expert & instructor Roland Linder.

If you decided to purchase a new supercar, you’d be smart to first book a session with our friend Roland Linder. Roland teaches people how to drive high-performance cars. Indeed, he’s a World Class Driving Instructor with the certifications to prove it: SCCA Pro Racing license, Vintage Motorsports Council license, Mile High Racing event organizer Chaos Motorsport Team manager, Ferrari National instructor, Porsche Club St. Louis, MO. Instructor, Porsche Club Colorado instructor, NASA (National Auto Sport Association) National instructor. He has four podium finishes under his belt in Porsches (including GT1 and GT2) as well as in a McLaren M6. As a private instructor he’s helped drivers finish highly-placed in everything from Go-Karts to Formula racers. So when we needed someone to wring-out our hot supercars, the obvious answer was Roland Linder. First up, Roland gives us his impressions of two million-dollar babies: the Maserati MC12 and the Ferrari Enzo.

FERRARI ENZO
   While I was in Las Vegas for a track event with the Ferrari F40, I got a call from a friend who had just purchased a Ferrari Enzo in California. He asked me to help him drive it back to his home in Vancouver, British Columbia.
How could I refuse to do a chore like that? I readily accepted. But, then I needed to find a place to leave my truck and trailer in Las Vegas after dropping my car off at the Wynn Casino-Hotel. They just happened to be having the opening of the Ferrari dealership there and they wanted to exhibit my car. Perfect timing! Then it was time to get on my way to the West coast.

    Two of my friends were in Las Vegas with their cars, a Lamborghini Murcielago coupe and a Ferrari Modena 360 Spyder, so we decided to do the trip all together.

    Everything came together in no time and we hit the road that afternoon. The fastest way to get to San Francisco from Las Vegas was to run back on I-15 and take Highway 58 toward the coast. Those who have done the Highway 58 crossing know that’s the place to run at speed.

    It got dark way too soon and our drivers were left trusting their radar detectors. We made the crossing in no time. Besides a few detector alarms, we made it without troubles. The Murcie was fun to drive, but some fuel gauge trouble kept bugging us. The needle was going the wrong way while burning fuel. After a full turn clockwise, the needle went back to the empty position. Our buddy driving the 360 Modena wasn’t too crazy about keeping up with our speed, so we had to hold back and wait for him frequently.

    By nightfall, we’d arrived in the San Jose area and decided to stay there for the night. There was quite an uproar when we pulled into our little motel’s parking lot with these cars!

    The next morning we picked up the Enzo buyer at the airport and drove right to the dealership. When we pulled in, the Enzo was ready and waiting for its new owner. She was a shiny piece of art under the neon lights. What a sight! This is a big car; very long and low.

    I walked all around the car inspecting; opening everything to check her out while our friend took care of all the paper work. He also asked to have a two-way radio installed like the Murcie had to help us communicate along the way.

    I previously had a chance to drive an Enzo on the track in New Orleans, but never got an opportunity to check out all the details. This was the time to do that before the long trip north. Getting inside the car was my first priority. The whole interior is done in carbon fiber of the finest quality. It was very naked for a street car, looking more like a race car to me.

    This interior was meant for business – nothing was fancy at all. I was relieved to see that there was air-conditioning and a heater that would afford us some comfort. The seats were tight to say the least. I know they can be custom ordered, and I was glad that my rear end was almost the same size as the new owner’s. With these seats, you better not gain weight!

    The turn signals were right on the steering wheel, which made them very easy to operate.

    There was no radio to be found. I was glad to see that. Who needs a radio when you have a 600-plus hp V-12 engine singing right behind you?

    I took the time to adjust the electric mirrors since the rear view was pointed more toward the long engine than the road. While we were waiting, my Lambo-driving friend took a new Saleen S-7 for a test drive. That car was impressive to look at. Oddly enough, that car was going to come back to me in my life, but that is another story! I will say now it sure was more fun to try it out in person than read about it in some car magazine. Hands on is always better!

    After lunch, it was time to breathe some life into that Enzo V-12. What a sound when she fired up! The whole garage bay was vibrating, especially at first since the RPMs go very high when starting. After a moment, all pulses came down back down to a regular heart beat, including mine.

    Soon it was time to go. As we pulled out, all pedestrian traffic stopped. People were looking at us like we were movie stars. We hit the road north with the happy owner at the helm of his new toy.

    We crossed the San Francisco Bay Bridge and made a stop on the Sausalito side. There, a bus full of Japanese tourists assaulted the Enzo to take pictures. They totally forgot to look at Alcatraz prison as the Enzo was more important to them.

    We learned very rapidly how to raise the nose of the car at each gas station entry. The nose is so low that we had to react very quickly and press the button to activate the raising mechanism.

    At street speed, the engine wasn’t loud at all and the car behaved like any regular car. However, once on the open road, it was another story! The V12 suddenly wakes up and it gets very loud inside.

    We now proceeded with our escort toward I-5 to begin our trip north. That’s when I got a call from another friend who was in Los Angeles with his Murcie roadster and wanted to join our group for the long trip. One more crazy dude to make that trip a memorable one! The more the merrier!

    We decided to keep going another hour or so, then stop and wait for him at the hotel.

    He finally made it – but got two speeding tickets on the way. What a great start!

In the morning, we hit the road with Seattle being our goal for the day. It was quite a convoy under the blue skies! Our speed kept climbing so we placed our trust in the radar detectors. With them protecting us, we covered the miles in no time. We had a few close calls with the California Highway Patrol, but the detectors saved us every time.

    After a fuel stop, I jumped into the Modena 360 since that driver wasn’t keeping up with the convoy. We were then back on the road and in no time were at a speed around the 100 mph mark.

    About 20 miles from the Oregon state line a lone CHP car came out from the bushes without any lights and caught up with us. He passed everybody and turned his lights on in front of the lead Murcie. I made the mistake of stopping along with the others. After 3 more patrol cars boxed us in, we were cited for “convoying.”

    The Enzo kept going, but he was stopped further down the road and ticketed. Go try to fight that one! After conversing via our two-way radios, we stopped in a little restaurant to exchange our CHP stories. A lot of good that did!

    I got back into the Enzo. It was time to enjoy the supercar again. One thing is for sure. That car was uncomfortable to ride in for a long time. The vibrations from the carbon tub were huge and noisy. Every little rock hit the inner fenders with a loud bang. It sounded like a .22 caliber gunshot going off all time.
The controls were all perfectly placed, but after little more than an hour, I had to get out and stretch my legs. I wondered if it was because the seat was too tight for my wide rear end! Who knows, but this was the first time I can remember going to a gas station to switch drivers before we needed fuel. That says a lot!

    The paddle shifters were light, easy to use and precise. The next gear was engaged without delay and that felt great. The dashboard gauge array was easily seen. We did find it was difficult to talk in the noisy cabin.

    The 600-plus horses were there, but because it was a new car, we took it really easy; doing just a few “launches” and then letting the RPMs drop again. We kept leap-frogging each other and taking pictures. Three yellow cars and a red spyder. That was some parade!

    Often, the two Lambos were in front, like an escort opening the road for us to drive without having to push our way through the traffic. The Modena360 was always closing the road, but it was far behind.

    By evening we made it to Seattle and crossed downtown to get to the hotel. What a spectacle we were on our way there! People were taking pictures and we got many waves with thumbs up. Several made the well known gesture to have us spin the tires. Who were we to let them down?

    The next morning, as we were leaving the hotel, something funny happened. While we were rolling out of the garage, the vibrations of the four mighty engines made a bunch of car alarms go off. What a mess we left behind us there!

    We crossed the border and had to wait a long time to have the car’s papers checked out. Canadians apparently aren’t very happy to see cars like ours coming across the border.

    We finally reached our destination and it was time to drop me off at the Vancouver BC airport so I could return to Las Vegas. We made plans to take a longer road trip later when the Enzo would be broken-in and we could really play with her. That trip did happen two months after that:

    It was with high expectations that I rejoined the group with several other cars for a long trip across the Rockies. We had twelve Ferraris and eleven Lambos.  That was a serious display on the road! Talk about a convoy! One of my friends had a van that followed us to video all the cars. He even rented a helicopter to film us from above. That video was to be shown to us all by Christmas during a big party. I couldn’t wait to see that.

    Unfortunately we had rain during the trip, but that didn’t slow us down too much. There were no accidents, but we did have a couple of stops by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. They sure didn’t like fast cars there. Apparently, some people on the road had called the cops on us. One day, we had a radio call from three members of our group that ran into a road block further down the road. We decided to turn around and take a side road into the woods to hide. That didn’t last too long, though, and the RMCP found us. They said they were looking for an orange sports car. Well, we had several of them in the Lambo group but they couldn’t tell which one it was they were looking for. We got off with a warning. Some mentality!

    For five days we crossed very spectacular sceneries, and all these colorful cars made it very special. Way up north, we found a very fast road where we were tempted to let the Enzo cut loose. Some of the drivers chose to follow and some chose to drive at their more comfortable speed.

    My friend and I went for it, and after a few trials, we achieved a speed of 210 mph! The Enzo finally ran the way she was built to run! The car was screaming. As we hit each gear at 7000 rpm, she just launched herself forward. After touching 180, it took a while longer to pass the 200 mark. Only two Lambos stayed with us. The road was perfect and only had slight curves, so we decided to make several runs on it. We kept seeing the other cars as they too made the run on the same stretch of road. My friend had wanted to know how fast the Enzo could run, so now he was happy. (That didn’t last long, however. After our run, he decided to have the car modified to be like a Ferrari FXX, body wise and engine too. There is just no substitute for horsepower!)

    The car was very stable and we just took it a little easier in the long curves. This road could have been done a little faster, but safety was still in the back of our minds. The sound from the engine was unbelievable. We couldn’t say a word with all the noise, but taking a picture of the dash while driving was easy to do since the car held the road with ease.

    I will say that the supercar’s speed was effortless. The Enzo made it easy to run at any speed. Getting to 180 was no big deal, but it took a little longer and higher RPMs to achieve 200 mph. This should have been easier – and would be with better and less restrictive exhausts.

    The crosswinds didn’t seem to upset the car at all. The aerodynamics were perfect. Over 150 mph, we could feel the car being “pushed down” by the aero, and that feeling kept increasing as the speed went higher.

    The RPMs kept climbing very fast and the shifting became faster too as we went faster and faster. We kept the car in the regular mode to keep all the traction control on. This wasn’t a race track, after all! The engine sounded like an F1 engine, especially in the high RPMs. I didn’t want it to end. My friend and I had a blast! What a run! The brakes weren’t even tested at all. Maybe it’s a good thing that we didn’t need them, but I can tell you these carbon ceramic brakes are very powerful; I know they stop you in no time at all.

    In a surprisingly short time, we had to get some fuel. That car burns fuel like nothing else and we were far away from any stations. We had to slow down to look for fuel. I can’t wait to get back in the Enzo after this winter’s modifications. My friend hopes to add another 110-plus horsepower as well as the FXX look. Should be a great run!

 MASERATI MC12

   I had been hired to find a 2005 Maserati MC12 and deliver the car to my friend in Canada.  Last summer, we located the car in the Southeast and I flew there to check her out.
   The car was in a very special location, surrounded by many other supercars.  It was difficult not to take time to look at that unique display, but the MC12 stood out like a diamond on a pebble-strewn beach.
   After a stringent inspection, the purchase was made and we were off on our adventure.
   The owner and I decided to have the car shipped to the Midwest and from there, to drive the car across the Canadian border.  All this happened in less than a week’s time and I was anxious to make that long trip North with a new 350-kilometer car!
   I'll never forget how excited I was while waiting for the arrival of the Maserati MC-12.  I was dreaming about the long trip north and waiting to hear from the truck driver who I was going to meet in a Wal-Mart parking lot to unload the new supercar.  This was done to have a lot of room and to avoid a lot of distraction from onlookers.  I was thinking just how cool it was going to be to drive such a car that was worth in excess of $1,000,000, on such a long trip.  I'm a very lucky guy and have had many opportunities to do such "deliveries," but this was very different because this was such a rare car, especially in the United States.
   I have quite a list of cars that I have had the pleasure of driving, but I had never gotten the chance to drive an MC-12.  This was definitely going to be an exciting trip; a once in a lifetime experience.  
   Finally the moment arrived!  The truck rolled into the parking lot and I was about beside myself.  The much anticipated moment arrived and she finally rolled off the trailer.  I took the time, and the moment for appreciation, to look at her from every angle.  I was searching for any damage, but I must admit, I was also absorbing the spectacular lines of the car!   
   The first thing I noticed was how long the MC-12 is! With the pearl white color, she looks even longer and flatter than with other colors.  And the wing!  It's huge!  It is different from all the wings I have seen on the race cars I have driven.  This is a very special design to say the least.
   I must admit that I felt very privileged when it was time to open the hood and look at the heart of the car.  Gorgeous and menacing were what came to mind.  I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to drive the car’s Ferrari V-12 with its 600-plus horsepower.  No time like the present to find out.  It was time to wake the monster!  I checked all the levels and fired her.  WOW!  What a sound at first fire!  The rpm's went high at first and then rolled down to a normal heart beat of 950 rpm's.  Very smooth inside the car.  No vibrations at all.  I wasn't sure what was beating faster, my heart or the rpm's.  I checked the mirror and the seat.  Right away I liked the shoulder harness.  It was very easy to slip them over my shoulders and secure them around my waist.  
   By now the water temperature gauge started to show some life and it was time to get the beast in motion.  The pull on the right paddle shift to engage the first gear was very light and the MC-12 was now alive and ready to roll on to her new life.  It definitely didn’t feel right to start it up in town, but we weren't planning to stick around very long.  Leaving the parking lot wasn't too easy.  By now, a small crowd was surrounding the car and many camera phones were clicking while I started out.  I received many thumbs-up and of course they made me smile.  
   The sun began to shine and the pearl white came to life and sparkled.  What a spectacular combination with the blue brilliantly accenting the white.  The body was rounded everywhere.  This is in major contrast to the Ferrari Enzo which has close to the same mechanical background.  The MC-12 looks much more friendly and sexy than the Enzo and invites you to come closer and be drawn in to the beauty.  I do like the MC-12 shape more than the Enzo.  It reminds me of the shapes of the sport prototypes of the 70's and 80's.  Basically this car is an Enzo with a different skin and the Maserati logo on the nose.  
   Under those sunny skies, we hit the road with the escort of a Ferrari friend. Right away, I felt very comfortable in the bucket seat.  The ergonomics were simply perfect even for a 6”3’ guy.
   We decided to remove the roof panel since the weather was going to be good for the coming days.  The question was: where to put that removable roof panel?  No storage space is built in the MC12; so we decided to ship it to our destination by FedEx.  We had to just hope that the weather forecast was right, and that the irreplaceable top would arrive at our destination.
   Another advantage of having the roof off was that it was easy to get in and out and slip ourselves in the safety harness. The lack of luggage space allowed us only a simple small bag that we stuffed behind and between our seats.  No room for a big bag!
   I drove around just to get the oil temperature up and to get used to the controls.  The steering was very firm and precise, yet light.  Definitely not a race car feeling!  When the oil reached operating temperature, I went to the freeway to make a little run.  Going through the gears was fast and precise and I didn't have to lift my foot off the throttle while up shifting.  And while downshifting, WOW!  What a sound! The engine's electronics made the engine give a loud blipping sound between gears that made it sound like I knew what I was doing.  
   It was time to get some power down.  The response was direct and fast.  Both needles of the speedometer and tachometer came up fast and climbed accordingly.  I couldn't resist opening the window to listen to the engine, but the wind noise was too much.  With the window down a bit, it was enough to listen to the V-12 playing a musical sound that no other engine can duplicate.  It was the perfect symphony.  I had to watch the rpm's since this was, after all, a new car.  Even if these engines are run on the factory dyno, it's still necessary to break them in to assure a long life.  
   What a sight while driving the city streets!  Passing cars slowed down by us just to look and give us some thumbs up signs.  At least that's what I thought they were doing.
   It was now time to start the trip north and enjoy the spectacular power of the machine.  The electronic clutch shifted very fast and the shifting was smooth.  Going through the gears wasn't brutal at all, unlike the Ferrari Scuderia that I’m driving now!  We were soon cruising along at about a buck fifty and it felt like we were going 80.
   Immediately we were annoyed by a buzzing sound.  We checked everything possible that could provoke it but could find nothing obvious.
   My feeling was that this could be a warning sound at a certain speed (150?!).  The wind noise covered it, however, and we kept going with our faces in the sun. Our speed was always around 150 mph but seldom had the radar detector given us a warning. Later, we found out that indeed the buzzing sound was a warning that our speed was too high.
   We didn’t go very far before we were busted for speeding. You can get to 160 kph in no time and with no sensation of speed (that was the excuse!)
   The first afternoon we covered 580 miles and spent the night way north of our starting point.  We were not very tired from the trip and with the afterglow of the spirited drive; we slept with the howl of the wind from the day’s drive in ours ears.  The engine sound was never loud enough to overpower the wind noise.  But even at speed, the turbulence inside was not bad at all.
   You can’t imagine what an attraction the car was in the little western town where we stopped for the night. People actually stopped their cars in the middle of the street to take pictures.
    By the second day, we had enough miles in her to get our speed up even higher.  After the morning checkup, we started to ask more from the engine.  The response was direct and since the roads were empty and straight, we started to push it up.  We couldn't get past 300 kph (186 mph.) I think this was because of the low miles on the engine.  Both needles started to climb in concert, but after several tries, maximum speed was still a little below 300 kph.
   From the driver’s seat, I had a very good view in front of the car, but some of the instruments were hidden by the steering wheel.  It felt like a regular car if that can be said of such an incredible machine.  The suspension wasn't too hard, but I sure knew it when I hit the concrete joints in the road.  The driving position was comfortable.  Much more comfortable than the Enzo.  I had no cramps at all during the long trip.  All in all, everything was in the perfect place and easy to manipulate.  
   The speedometer being in kilometers, it always took us some time to calculate our mileage and MPG, with a range of around 250 miles being the most we dared try on a full tank.
   The next morning, we still had many miles to do before crossing the border.  We were on the road at daybreak and without a roof I can tell you that we weren’t too warm even with the heater on at full blast. At first, it took us a while to figure that out, too, since, of course, we did not take the time to read the manual before departing.
   Our speed was quite fast and our eyes were constantly scanning for any sign of deer that could be along the road.  Only one tried to cross but my co-driver was able to avoid that situation. That was where we tested the huge ceramic brakes. They worked well, but they were too cold from the speed and lack of use for them to be super effective.
   Unfortunately, a 25-mile road section of the road was chipped and sealed and we had to crawl at 20 mph to avoid damaging the paint.  But that didn’t work too well and we still got some on the edges of the spoiler and air scoops.
   Mechanically speaking, all went well. We just needed to coordinate our movements at each gas station to be sure that the co-driver pushed the button to raise the front suspension to avoid scraping.
   We crossed the US-Canadian border late in the morning and had to seriously reduce our speed since we found ourselves right in the middle of a campaign against speeding in Canada. Bad timing!
   When we stopped to get some food, a TV camera crew followed us and they offered us lunch in exchange for an interview.  Not even 1 hour and we were already on the news! It was very interesting to see how the population is against fast cars!  On the news, they were asking people to call in if they spot a speeder.  
   We finally made it to our destination in the early afternoon and immediately had the car detailed.
   That evening, we had an official introduction of the car to all, since this was the first MC12 north of the border.  Many friends with their supercars were there to welcome us.
   A total of 1,300 miles were done, no oil burned but lots of receipts for fuel, food, and many smiles along the way.
   The car is reliable and just had a clutch change after some drag tests.  She is now being driven daily and is definitely not a garage queen. Of course, recently the car logged almost 20,000 kilometers and I can tell you that 300 kph top speed is long past by now!  
   I even have a picture of her in the snow! I think that one day the car will be sold with the most mileage ever on such a car.  I am proud to have been part of her first 1000 miles.  What a lifetime souvenir I have.  Driving such a car is a privilege and a rare chance that very few will ever have.     
   The MC12 was superior in comfort and never was I in a rush to get out, stretching cramped legs like in the Enzo. I am still smiling about the great camaraderie on the trip and the Maserati MC12—as the great Le Mans driver Alan Mcnish would say, this was Mega!

Ciao,

Roland Linder