Ferrariology - A History Of Ferrari

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The Ferrari was the one type of car I knew when I was really tiny. I didn’t know much; only that it

was red, sporty, superfast and I could make it zoom round my bedroom like it was anyone’s

business. I think it says a lot about this iconic brand that even at the age of three, this imagery is

ingrained in our heads. But what is the history behind the most recognisable sports car

manufacturer in the world? Read on to find out...

Unofficial beginnings?

It’s hard to pin down an official beginning to Ferrari’s story. Some would say the company began

in 1939, under the slightly different company name of ‘Auto Avio Costruzioni’. Ferrari

themselves argue that it officially began in 1947 when the very first Ferrari - the 125 S -

emerged from the factory doors in Maranello wearing that recognisable Ferraribadge.

Ferrari 125S

Needless to say anyway, that it all began with Enzo Ferrari. Born in 1898, Enzo Ferrari would

dedicate his entire life - all 90 years of it - to designing and building amazing sports cars and

racing cars. Funnily enough, Enzo hit a bit of a hurdle after the First World War when he got

rejected from a job at Fiat, but from 1919 he started racing, and he became an official Alfa

Romeo race driver in 1924. In 1929, he formed Scuderia Ferrari (which translates literally as

‘Ferrari Stable’) in Modena. Here he bought, prepared and fielded Alfa Romeo racing cars for‘mostly gentlemen drivers.’ A fruitful relationship continued and Scuderia Ferrari became Alfa’s

works team in the early 30s. In 1939, when Alfa Romeo brought its racing program back

inhouse, Enzo went with it and was appointed head of its new racing department, Alfa Corse.

Artistic differences caused the two to split and he left in 1939.

Banned from using his own name

When Enzo and Alfa Romeo parted ways, Enzo had agreed not to use his own name in

connection with races or racing cars in any way for at least four years, which is quite a long time

if you think about it. World War II kept everyone pretty busy anyway and racing drew to a halt -

in the meantime, Enzo founded ‘Auto Avio Costruzioni’ in the old Scuderia Ferrari headquarter

for producing machine tools and aircraft accessories for Italian government. In 1943 the Ferrari

factory moved to Maranello, got bombed by the allies and rebuilt again - this time, including the

right facilities for road car production. Ferrari was back on track. In 1945, Enzo Ferrari started

working on the 12cyclinder engine that would be the base for his first vehicle and thecompany’s reputation, and in 1947 the 125 S appeared on the scene to much acclaim. The

vehicle made its racing debut at the Piacenza Circuit in early May, and later that month it won

the Rome Grand Prix at the Terme di Caracalla Circuit in the hands of Franco Cortese. It only

got better after that: the 1950s were a fruitful decade for Ferrari in terms of track triumphs,

commercial success, and innovative design. It saw the beginning of Ferrari’s domination of the

world of motorsport and Formula One; since then, Ferrari has had over 5,000 road and track

victories. Lampredi and Jano were recruited as Ferrari’s top engineers in the 50s, with bodies

designed by Pinin Farina. Production grew from around 70 a year in 1950 to over 300 a year by

1960. In 1954, the 250 GT Coupe arrived on the scene to become one of the bestselling

vehicles of to 50s. Basically, a good time was had by all.Ferrari 250 GT

The successful sixties

Oh yes, it continued. It was around this time that Ferrari introduced the world to corkers like the

infamous 250 GTO. But despite this, Ferrari was still facing financial difficulties and in 1963

nearly did an $18 million deal with Ford. It went sour however, as Ford wanted total control of

Ferrari’s racing program (which obviously Enzo wasn’t happy with), and Ferrari backed out and

ended up selling Fiat a 50% stake in the company in 1969 instead.Ferrari 250GTO

Fiat lends a hand and the reins are passed on

Ferrari’s financial woes were over with the arrival of Fiat and a massive increase in readily

available investments funds. A Fiorano test circuit was built next to the Ferrari factory, which

was also extended. Production went up with some models being produced in their thousands.

Investment in new models also increased, with the debuts from the likes of the 365 GT4

Berlinetta Boxer at the 1971 Turin Motor Show, and the Testarossa in 1985. It also saw the

launch of the Ferrari F40, arguably one of the greatest - and certainly one of the most famous -

supercars in the world.Ferrari F40

This was to be the last car that Enzo Ferrari worked on; after dedicating his whole life to his

cars and his company, Enzo passed away in 1988 at the grand age of 90. The brand struggled

following his death: Fiat took on 90% of the shares, with Piero Ferrari - Enzo’s son - taking the

remaining 10% and becoming Vice President of the company. Luca di Montezemolo was

introduced as Chairman in 1991 and is championed with reviving the company and firmly taking

hold of the reins and steering Ferrari towards further success. On the tracks, Ferrari scored

seven F1championships between 1994 and 2004 with Michael Schumacher at the wheel, and

on the road a succession of new models was released.

Michael Schumacher Ferrari F1

So Ferrari, so good

In their founder’s honour, and to commemorate Ferrari’s first Formula One title of the new

millennium, Ferrari produced the230mph 12cylinder supercar ‘Enzo’ in 2002. 400 models were

made: at around £400,900 per vehicle, they were offered out to 399 loyal clients and the final

one was donated to the Vatican for charity (at least that’s what the Pope said).Ferrari Enzo

The 2000s saw Ferrari going from strength to strength with more cracking cars like the 458

Italia, F12 and the recent Enzo replacement, insane looksabitlikeanalien £1,150,000LaFerrari hypercar. Latest to be pulled out of the bag is the 488 GTB. With a twinturbo 3.9 litre

V8 and 060mph in 3.0 seconds, the Italia replacement is the first turbocharged midengined

car since the F40.

Ferrari 488 GTB Spider

It’s not unrealistic to say that Ferrari is probably going to carry on making exciting, desirablesuperfast sports cars for the foreseeable future. It’s just what they do. It’s a tested formula and

it works: Ferraris are to this day a bright red symbol of speed and wealth in the motoring world,

and will continue to be so probably until humans no longer walk - or drive - upon this planet.

Even then, the rich and fabulous will probably end up showing off their latest Ferrari at the

hippest crater on Mars. Such is the power of Ferrari as a brand. It’s not going anywhere. Except

maybe Mars.

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May 15, 2016 at 12:39PM