Spend some time with Richard B erry—who, along with Robb Report Senior Editor Fluto Shinzawa, also participated in the supercar test-drives—and continually you will hear the phrase “To make a long story short . . . .” There is nothing wrong with Berry’s storytelling skills or with his listeners’ attention spans. But with so many automotive adventures in his past, Berry has little time to describe them all. And so he entertains with tidbits about the time he drove a ’98 Lamborghini Roadster from his house in Evergreen, Colo., to the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas—a distance of 771 miles—in five hours and 37 minutes; about when he burned the tires off his quasar blue ’90 Greenwood ’Vette, doing donuts at a Corvette Club autocross; and about how he recruited Scottish race driver Robin Liddell to drive the Lola Judd that his company sponsors in the American LeMans Series and win four consecutive races.
To feed his supercar addiction, Berry, the 41-year-old president of Very Berry Exotics and the heir to the Yellow Pages fortune, has accumulated a fleet of modern, high-performance automobiles. His collection stands at 99 vehicles, including a Saleen S7, 19 Lamborghinis, and a cluster of Callaway Corvettes. Berry’s stash also includes the red Ferrari Enzo that he generously shipped to Vermont for our assessment.
Berry’s extreme machines do not collect dust in garages. As with the Enzo, he drives them hard and fast. When Berry sees our score sheet (which we will discard), with ratings for design, acceleration, braking, handling, and ergonomics, he shakes his head. “Long story short, judging these cars is all about emotion,” he says with a laugh, “and speed.”
Ferrari Enzo
Porsche Carrera GT
Ford GT
Lamborghini Murciélago
Engine
6.0-liter V-12
5.7-liter V-10
5.4-liter supercharged V-8
6.2-liter V-12
Power
660 hp at 7,800 rpm
605 hp at 8,000 rpm
550 hp at 6,500 rpm
580 hp at 7,500 rpm
Torque
485 ft lbs at 5,500 rpm
435 ft lbs at 5,750 rpm
500 ft lbs at 3,750 rpm
479 ft lbs at 5,400 rpm
Zero-to-60 Time
3.3 seconds
3.9 seconds
3.7 seconds
3.6 seconds
Top Speed
218 mph
205 mph
205 mph
205 mph
Transmission
6-speed paddle shifter
6-speed manual
6-speed manual
6-speed paddle shifter
Wheelbase
104.3 inches
107.5 inches
106.7 inches
104.9 inches
Curb Weight
3,009 pounds
3,043 pounds
3,485 pounds
3,637 pounds
Base Price
$650,000
$440,000
$140,000
$280,000
