Ferrariology – A History Of Ferrari

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, super-fast 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 Ferrari-badge. 

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 in-house, 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 12-cyclinder engine that would be the base for his first vehicle and the company’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 best-selling 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 Fer-rari, so good

In their founder’s honour, and to commemorate Ferrari’s first Formula One title of the new millennium, Ferrari produced the230mph 12-cylinder 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 looks-a-bit-like-an-alien £1,150,000 LaFerrari hypercar.  Latest to be pulled out of the bag is the 488 GTB. With a twin-turbo 3.9 litre V-8 and 0-60mph in 3.0 seconds, the Italia replacement is the first turbo-charged mid-engined car since the F40.

Ferrari 488 GTB Spider

It’s not unrealistic to say that Ferrari is probably going to carry on making exciting, desirable superfast 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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