The Little Car That Could.(Column)(Column)

Byline: Rich Ceppos

Now I know how Mikey feels. That's Michael Schumacher, the seven-time Formula One world champion, winningest Grand Prix driver of all time, and racing godhead. Mikey and I share a bond now, one that only two really cool car guys can. Okay, so he doesn't know about it. But you can't deny this: We've both driven a Ferrari Enzo, and we both came away thinking it was a little, well, underwhelming.

What?! This is the Enzo, the most expensive ($652,000) Ferrari road car ever. The one with 660 hp. And F1 technology all over it (and underneath it, too). What's not to like?

Oh, I like it all right, and I'm sure it's every bit as spectacular as you've read it is. It's just a matter of unfortunate timing: I drove it right after a wispy, 15-year-old, 150-hp English sports car. Something called a Lola 88/90 Sports 2000.

To put it another way, it's all Rick Mancuso's fault.

Mancuso is an old friend, a veteran racer and one of the biggest and best Ferrari-Maserati-Aston Martin dealers in America. His Lake Forest, Illinois, showroom is a car-guy thing of beauty.

These days Mancuso races a pair of Sports 2000s with his son Adam in Sports Car Club of America amateur events. And now and again he likes to gather a few friends for what he calls "a day of car-guy therapy.'' Meaning, some hot lapping in his race cars.