If engine swaps fascinate you, I’m sure this article will set your teeth very, very long. The RM Sotheby’s auction house has just announced that on December 10, will put up for auction the engine of a Ferrari Enzo. We are talking about one of the best V12 of all time, but this auction is not only special for the good auctioned, but also for its condition: it is brand newkept in the same bespoke wooden box it was in when he left Maranello more than a decade ago.
This V12 is therefore the perfect candidate for one of the most special engine swaps of all time. The engine in question is called F140B, and although in the Ferrari Enzo it had a volume of 6.0 liters and developed 660 hp, the latest evolution of this engine, in factory configuration, has managed to reach 830 hp in the Ferrari 812 Competizione with 6 .5 liters of cubic capacity. This 12-cylinder atomic heart has never been supercharged, and its latest evolution is capable of turning at speeds greater than 9,000 rpm.
With hardly any modifications, this engine was mounted on the brilliant Maserati MC12.
The Ferrari Enzo’s engine may not be as visceral as that of an 812, but I’m sure nobody’s bitter about its tremendous torrent of performance. the engine in question was shipped by Ferrari to their dealership in CopenhagenFormula Automobile. The Drive suggests that the engine was intended to be a replacement for the engine in a Ferrari Enzo, which would have been terminally damaged. The reasons why he never got to leave his box are unknown. But that shouldn’t matter to us if we’re going to bid on this mechanical heart.
We do need to know that finding a suitable gearbox and control unit for this engine will not be an easy task, and we also need to know that it is not exactly a compact engine. This naturally aspirated V12 is big, but it should be possible to fit it into many mid-engined sports cars – in fact, Ferrari itself went on to produce a one-off based on the 458 Italia, which featured this same mechanical heart. Now, I am very much afraid that buying it will not be affordable at all.
The engine is sold with its wiring and auxiliary components. It’s not plug&play, but almost.
RM Sotheby’s estimates that this exotic twelve-cylinder engine will fetch between $200,000 and $300,000 at auction. It is the price of having such a pedigree.
