In 2015, Ferrari went public with an IPO and was then valued at nearly $10 billion. Two years later, the brand's value has almost doubled - now it is $ 21 billion. Now Ferrari is considered one of the most expensive and recognizable brands in the world, and its logo in the form of a prancing horse has become a symbol of sexuality, money and luxurious life. We recall the 70-year history of the company - from the creation of racing cars to the sale of licenses for the production of branded clothing and jewelry.
In 1908, ten-year-old Enzo Ferrari first saw a racing car and immediately fell in love with it. The First World War, and young Enzo went to serve in Italian army. After the war, Enzo found it difficult to find work in the auto industry. He applied for a resume with Fiat but was denied a job due to the oversupply of unemployed war veterans. Enzo ended up working for a small car manufacturing company.
In the early 1920s, Enzo got a job as a race car driver for Alfa Romeo. His colleague was the legendary professional racer Tazio Nuvolari.
In 1929, Enzo opened the Scuderia Ferrari, or Team Ferrari. In fact, it was not a full-fledged company, but simply a community of drivers who drove their racing cars.
Basically, Alfa Romeo cars were used in the community. By 1933, Scuderia Ferrari had become Alfa's racing division.
In 1937, Enzo closed the Scuderia Ferrari and became director of the Alfa Corse racing division at the Alfa Romeo factory. But he was not happy with this position, and later he left it.
In 1939, a week after he left, Enzo opened the start-up Auto Avio Costruzioni. AAC 815 was the first car that his company assembled independently.
In 1940, the Ferrari start-up assembled two AAC 815 cars. Enzo could not produce them under his own name due to a non-compete agreement with his previous employers. This agreement banned Ferrari from using its name in racing and racing cars for at least four years.
The outbreak of World War II forced Ferrari to wind down the business, but after it ended, the startup quickly returned to service. In 1945 the company introduced new engine V12, which has become one of Ferrari's iconic products.
In 1947, Ferrari released the 125. By that time, the agreement with Alfa had just expired, and this car became the first car under the Ferrari name.
In the late 1940s, Italian-born American racing driver Luigi Chinetti approached Ferrari with a request to produce sports cars for the consumer market.
Ferrari hesitated because, basically, his company built cars for racing. Only occasionally did the startup sell sports cars to private owners. Chinetti started racing and winning Ferrari cars.
By the early 1950s, Luigi Chinetti had agreed to mass production sports cars. He became the first Ferrari dealer in the US. The company's first showroom opened in Manhattan, then moved to Connecticut.
Photo: Flickr/Stephen Hennessey
Ferrari cars have successfully shown themselves on American market- and it remains for them the most attractive to this day. Soon there were legendary cars like California Spider....
By the 1960s Ferrari cars showed their superiority both on the race track and off it.
In 1963 general director Ford Henry Ford II decided to buy the Ferrari business. The deal fell through when Enzo learned that in order to race, Ferrari would have to ask for money from the Americans at Ford.
Frustrated by the failure, Ford decided to teach Enzo's team a lesson on the track - in the 24-hour Le Mans race.
Prior to this, the Ferrari team has consistently won this race. Between 1960-1965, she won six times in a row.
In 1966, Ford prepared a rival to Ferrari cars - the legendary Ford GT40.
The GT40 took a landslide victory in the races and dislodged Ferrari from the perennial leader.
After that, Ford won four years in a row.
In 1969, Enzo realized that his company needed additional resources to survive. He sold 50% of his business to Fiat, the company that once denied him a job.
Enzo Ferrari passed away in 1988 at the age of 90. Before his death, he released special car for the company's 40th anniversary.
This is what the legendary F40 looked like.
After the death of Enzo Ferrari, Luca di Montezemolo became president and then chairman of the board of directors. Under his leadership, Ferrari has grown into a global luxury brand.
Now the company sells supercars for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The cost of hypercars reaches millions.
Ferrari also licenses the production of various products - from clothing to jewelry - under the brand name.
There is even a Ferrari amusement park.
Ferrari continues to dominate the racing industry. Its Formula One team is still called Scuderia Ferrari. Since Enzo's death, she has won the World Championship eight times.
After the release of the IPO, Ferrari finally turned from a racing startup into a multibillion-dollar global brand. However, its stock code RACE still reminds of the company's origins.
An article about the most interesting moments in the history of Ferrari - the ups and downs of the company, entertaining facts. At the end of the article - interesting video about Ferrari cars.
1. Childhood dream
Unlike the founders of other well-known car manufacturers who started with bicycles, motorcycles and even looms, Enzo Ferrari knew right away what he wanted. And he wanted a bright, eventful life, fame and recognition. Frequent visits to motor racing with his father led Enzo to fall in love with racing, which he decided to make his destiny.
He never liked to study, so after serving in the army he began to look for work. Ferrari tried to get a job at the Fiat factory, having only a letter of recommendation from the commander of his unit. There he received a blow to his pride in the form of an answer that the company does not take just anyone.
The young man, not changing his dream, went to be hired as a test rider at CMN. It was here that he made his first sports trip in 1919, when he was only 21 years old. First at the Parma-Berceto circuit, where he failed to show a significant result, and then at Targa Florio, although he “owes” his 9th place to the presidential speech in the square, because of which the carabinieri blocked the road.
For two years he gained racing experience there, until he changed his employer to the then completely unknown small company Alfa-Romeo. With a natural instinct, he realized that the cars developed by this company had an interesting design that promised great prospects. In the two decades he spent at Alfa Romeo, Enzo has risen from simple driver to head sports division. Having become more familiar with production, he assembled his own team called "Ferrari Stable", the purpose of which was to improve the cars produced. His dream was to create the perfect, wind-fast racing car.
Until the end of the 30s, his "Stable" continued to refine Alfa-Romeo cars, until Ferrari decided that it was ready for its own enterprise. But even after the birth of Auto-avia Construzione, he could not produce a car under his own brand for another 4 years, which was a condition of the contract with Alfa-Romeo.
2. Emblem
The legendary horse, emblazoned on the Ferrari emblem, is a tribute to the first transport entrusted to the young Enzo. In the army, he oversaw the maintenance of regimental horses and wagons, repairing, feeding and shoeing.
Then, already speaking on the tracks as a full-fledged racer, Ferrari had a chance to meet the parents of Francesco Baracca. An aristocrat born into a family of counts, Baracchi became Italy's top fighter during World War I, with more than 30 downed enemies to his credit. The fuselage of his plane was decorated with a rearing black horse, which became a legend along with its owner.
During a memorable meeting at that competition, the Count and Countess of Baracchi offered the young Ferrari this emblem for his car, believing that it would bring him good luck. Enzo could not refuse such a gift, bringing from himself only a golden background - the color of his hometown of Modena.
This is one of the few car signs that has practically not changed its shape over the entire period of its existence.
3. Bad start
Ferrari had no education and technical training, but he had incredible charm, oratorical talent and energy that attracted outstanding people to him. The first to join his team was Fiat designer Vittorio Yano, to whom the world owes the eminent winner of all European tracks Alfa Romeo P2. Behind him, Enzo lured a very talented engineer, Jokino Colombo, from his previous employer, and Ferrari searched for pilots for his cars all over the world and personally approved them.
The first to leave the conveyor of the now own automaker was a car called the Ferrari-125 GT. And here, when his dreams finally began to materialize at the age of 40, Ferrari showed excessive impatience. The car was absolutely not ready to go out into the world, it was still necessary to carry out a lot of tests, bring the technical part to mind, but Ferrari had already announced it for the next race. As a result, the first car turned out to be broken already on the test run, and the second - a few meters after the start.
After another 2 years, on the next Ferrari-125 model, Russian pilot Igor Trubetskoy also loses the Monaco Grand Prix by crashing the car. And only in 1951, the Argentine racer was able to get the first victory for Ferrari in the British Grand Prix.
4. First victories
The very first achievements were obtained in minor local auto racing. This continued until the 50s, until Alberto Ascari joined the team.
The competition, called Formula 1, annually gained all high speed turning into a global event. And just two years in a row - 1952 and 1953 - Sc uderia Ferrari, piloted by Askari, wins an absolute victory.
After that, victories fell one after another, and the team was replenished with eminent racing drivers: Giuseppe Farina, Juan Manuel Fangio, Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Gilles Villeneuve.
And although the Ferrari team constantly had worthy competitors - Mazeratti, Porsche and the same Lamborgini - and they even managed to intercept the winning cups, Enzo Ferrari still remained the absolute leader of the races.
5 Ferrari tragedy
The company managed to avoid the banal problems of automakers: the economic crisis, the burning of demand, workers' strikes. But this does not mean that the history of the brand is not overshadowed by anything. Death followed on the heels of the Ferrari:
- Formula 1 world champion Alberto Ascari died at the age of 36 during a test run;
- at the age of 23, Dino's beloved son died of congenital muscular dystrophy;
- Peter Collins in memory of Dino Ferrari won the French Grand Prix and gave the mourning bandage to Enzo, and the 27-year-old racer died while participating in the German Grand Prix;
- rainy weather during testing of the car led to the death of promising 26-year-old Eugenio Castellotti;
- almost immediately in the Mille Miglia race, they crashed into the crowd, died themselves and were responsible for the death of the spectators, 28-year-old Alfonso de Portago and his partner Ed Nelson;
- even 29-year-old Mike Hawthorne, a British race car driver who left the Ferrari team, a month after his departure, crashed on a regular road in a car accident;
- Gilles Villeneuve, the father of two eminent Formula 1 drivers, at the age of 32 also fell victim to the exorbitant ambitions of Enzo Ferrari.
6. Lamborghini and Ferrari
Enzo Ferrari was spoken of as a quarrelsome person, a tyrant and a despot. But it was thanks to his temper that the world saw no less legendary models released by Lamborghini.
Ferruccio Lamborghini owned a small tractor factory. In the post-war period, agricultural machinery was in great demand, so the company quickly grew and made its owner a rich man.
According to the first, Ferrari's secretary simply did not let Lamborghini in, saying that the owner had no time to waste time on the first comer. The second version says that Enzo nevertheless received a visitor, who was rudely ordered to deal with tractors and not climb into the automotive world.
Whatever happened in reality, but Lamborghini got angry in earnest. To spite Ferrari, he decided to assemble a strong team and develop his own sports car, faster and more advanced than the competitor.
Excellent education and many years of experience played into the hands of an angry Italian. He dismantled the Ferrari model he had purchased for parts, and the best specialists in their field, partially lured from Ferrari, helped to understand the principle and create an improved version of Lamborghini. Due to his arrogance, Enzo often undeservedly insulted his people, so qualified engineers and designers left the company without remorse. It was they - designer Franco Scaglione, engine developer Giotto Bidzarini and engineer Lucciano Bonacini - who formed the core of the team of Ferruccio Lamborghini and his new company Automobili Ferruccio Lamborghini, located just 15 kilometers from his opponent.
It is worth paying tribute to Lamborghini - from the very first attempt he created a really good Lamborghini car 350 GT. It is difficult to say whether Enzo Ferrari noticed the success of his colleague, but for more than half a century the models of the two auto giants continue to compete fiercely with each other.
And by the way, now Ferrari does not hesitate to produce tractors.
7. Ferrari in cinema
It's amazing that so iconic cars Rarely seen in films. Perhaps this is due to Enzo's initial attitude towards his creations, which he loved much more than people. And, perhaps, with the fact that Ferrari, in principle, never advertised its cars.
How many films can claim to have the most recognizable car in the world?
- Charlie's Angels Part 2 impresses with stunning footage of Demi Moore driving a two-seat supercar in a bikini Ferrari Enzo, designed in memory of the founding father of the company;
- In the film version of Gone in 60 Seconds, Nicolas Cage quite successfully steals the fastest and most powerful car from 1987-1989 worth under 2 million dollars - a Ferrari F40;
- In the 80s, the Ferrari 308 GTS was most often involved in filming, which, perhaps, can be explained by its low price. So, she appeared in Vacation with Chevy Chase and Cannonball with Burt Reynolds;
- But for the mega-popular Beverly Hills Cop, Eddie Murphy lent his own Ferrari 328 GTS. On another model, Murphy had a chance to ride during the filming of the 2011 film How to Steal a Skyscraper. Numerous responses to the film confirm that the excellent acting certainly outshines the Ferrari 250 GT Lusso;
- How not to recall the phenomenal success of the series “Miami Vice. Department of Morals”, on the basis of which a special subculture was born. Film critics are still sure that if not for the soundtrack and used cars, the series would have turned out completely different. True, in the first seasons there was a small conflict with representatives of Ferrari due to the fact that instead of the original, they took the Daytona Spider, based on the Chevrolet Corvette, for filming. Therefore, a real Ferrari Testarossa was provided for the third season.
8. Ferrari and Ford
Not only did Lamborghini piss off Ferrari, but so did Henry Ford. An American entrepreneur saw the potential of a booming Italian company and decided to acquire it. He negotiated with Enzo, collected a sufficient amount of money when Ferrari stunned him with a refusal. It turns out he didn't agree with Ford on the issue of car racing, which for Enzo was above all else.
And then history repeated itself. Ford directed all his efforts to create a unique sports car that would wipe the nose of a Ferrari. It was the legendary 4-time winner of the Le Mans GT40 race, which became the founders of all American sports cars.
9. Ferrari and the Vatican
In 2004, the last Enzo model rolled off the assembly line, which was donated to the Vatican. This fact seems surprising because the Catholic Church more than once reproached Enzo Ferrari for the useless deaths of his racers. Moreover, the Pope even called him Saturn devouring his children. As if trying to piss him off, Enzo responded by either giving the steering wheel from Schumacher's car or sending checks to charity.
Nevertheless, the donated car went to a good cause: Pope Benedict sold it at auction, and the proceeds were sent to help those affected by the tsunami in Indonesia in 2004.
10. The most expensive
Ferrari managed to make a brand with the prefix "the best". Anything with a Ferrari logo automatically becomes sky-high. So, the 250GTO model was sold for 15 million dollars, the anniversary F40 model is still the most expensive one sold in the UK - 193.3 thousand pounds sterling, a simple advertising brochure for the 250LM model went for a record amount of a thousand pounds sterling, and only the engine for 599GTB Fiorano costs 70 thousand dollars.
Video about Ferrari cars:
Ferrari are sports cars made by an Italian company for 70 years. Ferraris are examples of automotive art that have delighted luxury car enthusiasts since 1946. Ferraris have firmly established themselves in the garages of world leaders, including emperors and sheikhs, football player Lionel Messi and collector Pierre Bardinon. The brand was glorified by the "Red Baron" Michael Schumacher.
history of the company
The history of Ferrari began much earlier than the first car was created. Enzo Ferrari, race car driver and test driver, set up his Auto Avio Costruzioni under the wing of Alfa Romeo. The company produced spare parts for cars, and at first its owner did not dream of more.
But in 1946, the first car appeared under the name of its creator - the Ferrari 125. The car delighted with its powerful 12-cylinder aluminum engine. The novelty was a breakthrough in the production of cars and made it possible to realize the dreams of its creator about combining comfort and high speed.
A year later, new modifications of the unique engine appeared, its volume increased. Ferrari brought this figure to 1995 cm3. As a result, Ferrari cars a year later managed to win the prestigious Targa Florio and Mille Miglia races, and the company's emblem - a horse rising on its hind legs, began to appear constantly at popular competitions. From the beginning of the 60s of the 20th century, the company began production of its legendary "American" series.
Later there were Ferrari Dino (1968) and Ferrari 308 (1975), Ferrari Mondial (1989) and Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano (2006) latest model was produced until 2012 and currently remains one of the the most popular models brand.
Ferrari today
Since 1989, Fiat has acquired the company, and new developments continue to amaze with their power, speed, beauty and comfort. Of the latest proposals of the company, it is worth paying attention to the Ferrari GTC4 LUSSO - a premium sports car. Each new model quickly finds its wealthy owners, and Ferrari reviews continue to create a legend in the world of cars.
Ferrari is a car for the rich and famous
Since 1946, the Ferrari brand has been admired by fans expensive cars. For each model, buyers are willing to lay out amounts comparable to a fortune. Today, the cost of a Ferrari car can be in the millions of dollars.
How much was paid for cars created in a single copy is not exactly known. Them current owners refuse to disclose this information. Of the known sums, the Ferrari 250 Testorossa of 1957, which left the auction for $12,000,000, and the Ferrari 250 GTO of the Gran Turismo series, paid $15,700,000 at the auction, deserve attention.
The price of serial luxury cars depends on the number of cars produced and their specifications. Ferrari California can be called affordable. This supercar can be purchased in Russia for almost 9 million rubles. Ferrari LaFerrari is priced almost 30 million rubles more expensive.
Supercars and sports cars Ferrari road, but each of them finds an owner who is ready to pay any amount for this luxury. For more details on each Ferrari car, see the Ferrari model cards below.)
Probably every person who hears the word "racing" or "speed" in his subconscious mind imagines a car brand - Ferrari and will never attribute it to. This brand has always been and will always be an integral part of racing. Competitions that will take place without a Scuderia Ferrari car are simply impossible to even imagine. Yes, and the "king of racing" Michael Schumacher received great achievements due to the fact that most of the races were used by the Ferrari car.
The content of the article:
How it all began
The history of the emergence of Ferrari began in the distant past, or rather in 1900, when a little ten-year-old boy named Enzo Ferrari was brought (by his father and brother) to one of the auto racing competitions. This race immediately captured the young man's heart. Three years later, Enzo got behind the wheel of a car for the first time. His father taught his son pretty quickly. But after the start of the First World War, all the guy's dreams about participating in auto racing had to be abandoned. The young guy had to constantly work at the factory in order to earn his living. It wasn't easy, of course, but there was money. It is worth noting that the entire Enzo family never begged.At the end of the war, finding a job was not realistic. The country's economy was in a very bad state, the soldiers were returning from the front and could not get a job. However, Enzo was lucky in 1918, and he got a place to test in a rather large at that time car company Costruzioni Meccaniche Nazionali. And a year later, the debut of the Ferrari car in the Parma-Berceto race took place. Ferrari did not show any special achievements in these races, but it looked decent on the track. After two years at CMN, young Enzo took a first step that few understood. He moved to a little-known and young Alfa-Romeo team. Ferrari immediately realized that the cars produced by Alfa-Romeo were much more advanced than those he drove in the Costruzioni Meccaniche Nazionali. In addition, Alfa-Romeo itself understood its priority in the auto business, because sports competitions serve as the best advertisement for the company.
The Italian government in the 20s was well supported financially by local auto racing. The reason for this was the desire to open a national auto industry in Italy, and therefore the government generously invested in Fiat. Automakers, in turn, invested a lot of work in order to produce cars of the highest quality possible. And with victories in auto racing, get good advertising for the company.
Of course, there were victories, but not as often as expected. Enzo Ferrari was not a high-class racer. An ordinary average driver who got victories from time to time due to luck and did not lead the championship in any way. And Ferrari himself did not particularly strive to become a famous racer. He was more interested in creating a personal racing team. Good success befell the young Enzo when he met the Baracchi family, after one of the victories. The Barakki family at that time was famous throughout the country. Their fame came to them thanks to the pilot Francesco. The fearless hero shot down many enemy planes during the war, and bravely died during one of the battles. The key point was that Francesco Baracca's plane was depicted as a black stallion. After this meeting, Enzo Ferrari will create the now famous Scuderia Ferrari logo - a black stallion on a background of yellow paint.
The crisis also reached Italy in the late 1920s. I especially felt it Automotive industry. Alfa-Romeo has even decided to give up racing for a while. Enzo's career is about to collapse. It was necessary to do something, to create our own team, which would cooperate with Alfa-Romeo as a partner, having the name Scuderia Ferrari. As a result, in 1929 the Scuderia Ferrari team opens its doors in the Italian town of Modena.
In order to create his own team, Enzo needed money. He borrowed them from his friends, who themselves were lovers of motor racing, and gladly gave him loans. To all this, Alfa-Romeo also helped Ferrari, because Scuderia Ferrari at that time was, as it were, an enterprise of the company. (Alfa-Romeo supplied Scuderia Ferrari with its chassis and some other parts).
As 1993 approaches, Alfa-Romeo announces to the world that the Scuderia Ferrari team is now its official representative racing. By this time the Ferrari team had good racing success (in the first of the seasons they won 8 races out of a possible 22). The best racing masters of Italy entered the team with great pleasure. Why? Because the young racer Enzo Ferrari offered them a new and improved payment system. In the earlier days, all racing drivers received a fixed salary, regardless of their place in the race. It turned out that the rider who came last will receive as much as the first one. In the Ferrari team, the entire salary depended on the prizes taken. This was significantly more than the salary of the other teams, and this is what attracted professional pilots to the team. It is worth noting the fact that the cars of the Ferrari team themselves were produced more perfectly than those of competitors. Thanks to the work of Enzo, who spent 16 hours a day at work.
Founding of Ferrari
And so collaborating for several years, Enzo Ferrari begins to understand that the team needs independence. And at the end of the 30s, a discord began between Enzo and Alfa-Romeo. As a result, the team managed to gain independence, but the production of cars was never established due to the onset of the Second World War. During the war, the Ferrari factory was moved from Modena to Maranello, where it had to produce military orders. Production lasted until the Allied army blew up the plant.At the end of the war, Ferrari finally begins its history. The company is no longer patronized by Alfa-Romeo, and has a well-known Commandante (director). This nickname was given to Enzo Ferrari by his team. Largely because he spent a lot of time at work, very rarely laughed and had good restraint.
In 1946, the first car designed by Enzo himself comes out from Ferrari. In addition, he also founded a second company, Auto Avia Construzione Ferrari, which was supposed to produce sports cars for the sales market. And already in 1947, the company released its first car with a black stallion. Sales were staggering for two reasons: the first reason is the good reliable quality, and the second reason is that people already knew about the brand from racing.
From that moment on, Ferrari factories began to produce sports cars that amazed everyone with their power and were assembled by hand. The company has preserved these traditions to this day and produces cars priced from 100 to 500 thousand dollars.
In the twentieth century, Ferrari is gaining great popularity among the class of cars participating in the "Formula 1". It was on this type of racing that Enzo Ferrari decided to focus. In 1952-1953, the famous driver Alberto Ascari brings the Scuderia Ferrari team two Formula 1 championship titles. Thanks to the fact that Ferraris are worth a full-fledged race track, the city of Maranello becomes the capital for motorsport enthusiasts. No other team has done this. At the same time, the Ferrari brand becomes one of the famous brands and a real dignity of Italy.
tragedy
However, the history of the emergence of Ferrari is not as simple as it seems at first glance. Success came with tragedy. The pilot who brought the Scuderia Ferrari team two championship titles, Alberto Ascari, crashes in 1955 on a test in the city of Monza. This death was followed by the death of Enzo's only son, Dino Ferrari. This tragedy had a significant impact on the founder of Scuderia Ferrari. Working with the public, he began to appear more and more often in black glasses. Dino, held the position of a designer in the team, and almost completed his new project of the Ferrari-246 car. This model will leave the assembly line in 1958, and pilot Michael Hawthorne, having tested it, will become the winner of the World Championship. He dedicated the victory to Dino Ferrari. Following the championship, new tragedies will overtake. Drivers Phil Collins and Luigi Musso will crash on Ferrari-246 cars. In the mid-50s, Ferrari is ready to produce 200 ordinary cars for sale to the public and 250 racing cars in one year. It should be noted that the company had a good reputation not only in Europe. Special orders were also delivered to the USA. The cars were GT class.
Company transformation into Joint-Stock Company happened in 1960. To this, Enzo added that Ferrari is now a people's company, and anyone can buy shares. A good event for the company occurred in 1969, when Gianni Agnelli from Fiat bought a 50% stake in Ferrari.
Ferrari has been a perennial favorite in every Frmula 1 racing season. Their struggle was with famous brands cars, then with McLaren, then with Williams, then with Benetton. But the first place has always been occupied by Ferrari. One of the most famous and titled teams. In the 70s, the famous racer Gilles Villeneuve joins the team, he immediately starts with the elderly Enzo of his son. Enzo did his best to make Villeneuve win the title. He probably would have won if he had not crashed in 1982.
In the 60s, new problems were added to Ferrari. Worthy competitors began to appear on the auto racing tracks, which could take away a solid part of the market from the company. Among them were: Lotus, Lamborgini, Mazeratti and Porsche was a little cheaper. However, none of them achieved great success in racing, and the word "speed" was still reserved for the Ferrari car.
What happened besides racing?
Regarding the personal life of Enzo Ferrari. He was married to only one woman (who bore him Dino), but this did not prevent him from constantly having a mistress, Lina. After the death of his wife, he legalized relations with her. This Lina will even have time to give birth to Enz's son - Piero, who could not be the heir and lead the company, because he could not endure hard work.
At the age of 90, Enzo Ferrari dies in 1998. According to the will of Enzo, he left 50% of the shares of Ferrari, which belonged to him at that time, to Fiat.
Not paying attention to the fact that the Italians to this day consider the Ferrari company a personal asset. The founder was buried modestly, without any processions.
After the death of Enzo Ferrari, the company will be in a small crisis. Due to the fact that the Benetton team will start to lead in Formula 1 racing (after McLaren and Williams). After a while, Fiat will also start having problems, as a result of which it will go bankrupt (then the situation will normalize). Ignoring the number of cars sold in races, the company will regain its leading position thanks to the most professional racing driver in history - Michael Schumacher. A sale of cars Ferrari brands has always been and remains a luxury to this day.
The Ferrari company is now based in Maranello (Italy). Until 1947, she was engaged in the production of racing cars and the sponsorship of racers. Then its main activity was the creation of Street-legal cars. The history of Ferrari is characterized by constant participation in competitions, mainly in Formula 1.
Perhaps every car enthusiast knows that the yellow shows a stallion that rears up, and the classic color of the car is red. But not everyone is aware of exactly how this company appeared and what path it went through before reaching its scale. We will talk about this further.
A little about Enzo Ferrari
The famous Enzo Ferrari was born in 1898 in Modena. He recalled that from a very young age he was an avid fan of car racing and. After World War I ended, he joined the CMN sports team. In 1920 he worked for Alfa Romeo. The period of service in the Italian concern played a significant role in the professional growth of the guy, although he worked there as a simple test driver. Enzo later assembled his own team (it was called " Scuderia Ferrari").
The main activity of the group was the improvement of the developments of Alfa Romeo, which were used in racing. As an emblem, a picture of a rearing horse was used. Ferrari served here until 1938.
After 2 years, he created his own enterprise " Avio Construction». Initially, the company was engaged in the manufacture of metal machines. Then Enzo developed his first car model - "815" - but did not give her his name, since the designer signed a contract when he was fired from Alfa Romeo. According to its provisions, the designer could not produce for 4 years. Therefore, then no one knew about the development of Ferrari.
At the same time, in 1940, Rangoni and Askari drove it in the Mille Miglia. However, they never made it to the finish line. After the outbreak of the war, Enzo moved his company to the small town of Maranello. After the end of the war, the company suffered several air raids. In 1946 the plant was reconstructed. Then the production of racing cars was adjusted. This date is considered the moment of the official appearance of the concern "Ferrari".
The first cars "Ferrari"
The first creation that came off the assembly line of the company is the -125 GT. Then they released models 125S, 159S, 166. All these cars had engines with 12 cylinders. These motors had a single overhead distributor for all cylinder heads. This design was hallmark Ferrari car.
Note that in the big racing sport, these cars debuted without success. But Ferrari was not going to stop there and decided to further implement his plans. 1948 is the year when he created another car - the Ferrari 125. This model became the prototype of the first racing car who competed in Formula 1. Then Aurelio Lampredi becomes the technical director of the company. It was this man who carried out the complete reconstruction of the Ferrari 125.
Corporation leaders soon realized that they needed their own division for the development and production of sports cars. Therefore, in 1969, the Ferrari company became part of the Fiat concern. Enzo Ferrari, as the founder of the enterprise, insisted on his right to manage it independently. And he led the company until his death (1998).
On video Enzo's biography Ferrari:
1970–2005
In the early seventies, Ferrari had already established a reputation for racing and high class. In 1971, a new model, the Berlinetta Boxer, was introduced to the public. Two years later they established mass production this car.
In 1984, the Testarossa appeared, which was modernized in 1992. In 1994, this model was again modified. She was equipped with a 12-cylinder engine (volume - 4943 cm 3, power - 440 hp). This car was capable of developing 315 km / h. Released 2 years later new car Maranello 550.
Supercars and Coupes
Throughout recent years Ferrari also made less expensive cars. For example, in the eighties, a four-seater Mondial appeared on the market. It was released in two versions (cabriolet / coupe). In 1989, the 348TB, 348TS models were created. In 1994, the F355 family was made on the basis of these cars. Ferrari also produced highly comfortable 4-seater premium coupes.
The pride of the company is incredible. In their design, they are very reminiscent of racing developments for Formula 1. This is mainly the F40 model, which began to be produced in small batches in 1987.
Ferrari F40
Then Enzo Ferrari personally headed the design department, whose employees were involved in the creation of the F40 model. The result was the best creation of the Italian company for the entire period of its existence. The car has a number of unique characteristics:
- the presence of turbocharging;
- high strength Kevlar panels;
- longitudinal arrangement;
- power of 478 horsepower.
Made of carbon fiber and super durable material - Kevlar. , but this cannot be called a disadvantage of a sports car. However, because of this, the seats cannot be adjusted. Note that if the Ferrari is made to order, the driver's seat is created in accordance with the build and dimensions of the buyer.
Excellent dynamic performance and low level comfort is the motto of the Ferrari F40, which weighed 1118 kilograms. was indifferent to the roughness of the track, steering"felt" any hole, powerful motor demonstrated the unlimited possibilities of the car. This car is considered a unique creation of Ferrari.
Later (1995), the F40 model was upgraded and received the name F-50. The Ferrari concern is also known racing cars used in Formula 1. They improve every year. 1997 was marked by the fact that Ferrari took second place in the Constructors' Championship (Formula 1 World Championship).
Ferrari Enzo
In 2002, the Italian concern began producing a model called the Ferrari Enzo. The most powerful production supercar in Europe. It was created and named after the genius designer and founder of the company, to recall the role of Ferrari's leading design school in the development of racing. This double Sport Car has a 12-cylinder engine (volume - 6, power - 650). In 3.5 seconds, it can accelerate to 100 km / h and develop more than 350 km / h.
The design of the car was carried out by the famous studio Pininfarina. The car combines the characteristics of Formula 1 cars - it has a streamlined body, a narrow interior, and the doors open upwards. The main control functions, including gear shifting, are concentrated on the steering wheel. The car is equipped. For three years, 399 cars of this model were produced - the company sold them only to the most famous customers by prior request. The cost of the car was at least 500 thousand euros, which is why not everyone can.
Ferrari is not just car brand and a cult brand. To buy such a car, it is not enough to have a lot of money. You also need to have an appropriate position in society.
Leave a comment about what you read!
