Ever since his Ferrari Enzo ZXX Evolution returned home from Edo Competition in Germany, Zahir Rana wanted to get his 960hp prancing horse out on the road. With a charity track event earlier this month behind him, Rana decided to auction off a ride in his prestigious ZXX for another worth-while charity. Zahir decided that a nice Sunday drive to the mountain town of Banff, Alberta, would be the perfect setting to get the ZXX and the ZR Auto 707hp Novitec Ferrari F430 back on the road, and for what better reason than supporting a local charity?
Each year, thousands of Canadian children between the ages of three and 17 are diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. The Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada is dedicated to granting an exceptional wish to every child. This year, ZR Auto participated in the Children’s Wish Foundation’s charity auction and put up a ride-along in their ZXX and Novitec-Rosso F430, with all proceeds going to the charity.
If it’s not cool enough that Zahir decided to do this to support a worthy cause, what makes it better is that they personally invited GTspirit along for the ride.
At 11am Mountain Standard Time, we met in a parking lot in South-West Calgary for our rendezvous to Banff, Alberta, Canada. We were met by the 640hp ZR Auto Brabus CLS 55 and three of ZR Auto’s master shop-technicians. Not soon after, the beastly sound of the ZXX’s straight-piped exhaust could be heard as the duo of ZR Auto Ferrari’s approached. Over the next half hour, we were joined by an Aston Martin V12 Vantage, Aston Martin Vanquish, Ferrari F430, Lotus Elise, Porsche Cayenne Turbo S and Porsche 911 Turbo.
It was time to hit the road! The Orange Brabus and white Porsche Cayenne Turbo S left a few minutes before the rest of us to act as our reconnaissance team and scout ahead for trouble. After a quick driver’s briefing, we headed to our cars. As our seven-car caravan made our way through the quiet Calgary streets, heads turned left and right to catch a glimpse of the impressive super-cars as they paraded towards the outskirts of the city. As we left Calgary and headed into the Foothills of the Rocky Mountains, it was finally time to witness the Ferrari ZXX and the rest of the exotics in their natural habitat; on the wide-open road.
Unfortunately, the moment we hit the freeway, Zahir took off so fast that we didn’t even see the ZXX for another hour. The Novitec F430 hung back with us for a minute or so and then it disappeared into the horizon. We hung back the Aston Martin duo and the red F430 for a few more minutes before they let their engines roar and left us in the dust.
The drive Zahir took us on was through the breath-taking rocky-mountains, which alone is stunning. Add a handfull of bright Ferrari’s into the mix and now things have been taken to a whole new level.
The matte red Novitec F430 took over the lead with the bright yellow ZXX closely in tow. The already beastly grumble of the Ferrari duo echoed through the mountain valley’s as we traversed the twisty mountain trails. The Ferrari’s swapped positions once again, giving the Ferrari Enzo ZXX Evolution the lead once again.
As we got closer to Banff, we finally found the yellow Ferrari ZXX cruising down the freeway, and for the first time in over an hour we saw a car from our group! The ZXX is one loud machine when it’s standing still. Put it on the open road and it sounds like the world is coming to an end.
We headed onward to one of the most spectacular hotels I have ever seen, the Fairmont Banff Springs, with an even more breath-taking view. Upon our arrival, the rest of our group had already arrived at the hotel, and everybody was eager to talk to onlookers about their cars.
Something unique about the ZR Auto crew is that they are genuine car people. They will talk to anyone, let people sit in their cars, take photos with them and take the time just to share their stories with other enthusiasts of all ages. They’re genuinely fun people, and I am extremely honored to have been invited to drive with them through the spectacular Alberta Rockies!
For an inside look at our adventure with ZR Auto, watch this exclusive video:
