Ferrari Enzo designer busted at 128km/h in 40km/h zone – in an Enzo

The Japanese designer who led the styling of the Ferrari Enzo – the first non-Italian to design a Ferrari – was last week sentenced to a four-month suspended jail term after being caught driving at 88km/h over the speed limit in a car he helped create.

As reported by The Japan Times, a Japanese court handed Kiyoyuki (Ken) Okuyama a four-month jail sentence suspended for two years for driving at 128km/h in a 40km/h zone in a Ferrari Enzo.

The lawyer representing the 63-year-old designer – who was caught speeding on a mountain road in northern Japan at 10:50am on 1 October 2022 – reportedly told the court Mr Okuyama "wanted to expose the engine to fast-moving air to cool it down," according to The Japan Times.

Mr Okuyama reportedly admitted to the charges in court, and had the two-year suspension applied to the four-month jail term as a result, Judge Osamu Imai said.

"I will make sure this will never happen again and will contribute to society. I am very sorry," the Japanese designer reportedly told media, as quoted by The Japan Times.

Mr Okayama is attributed to the design of the Enzo – introduced in 2002 as the company's flagship supercar, wearing the name of Ferrari's founder.

Working as creative director of Italian design house Pininfarina – which has styled more than 200 Ferraris over the past 70 years – Mr Okuyama is said to have overseen the styling of other Ferraris from the mid to late-2000s, including the 599 GTB and 612 Scaglietti, plus the Maserati Quattroporte.

Mr Okuyama has previously worked at Porsche, where he assisted in the design of the 996-generation 1998 Porsche 911 and the original Porsche Boxster – while he is said to have assisted in the design of the fourth-generation (1992-2002) Chevrolet Camaro while at General Motors.

The designer also worked on a selection of Japanese trains – including high-speed 'Shinkansens', also dubbed 'bullet trains'.