Ferrari

Enzo Ferrari formed Scuderia Ferrari in 1929, with headquarters in Modena. Scuderia Ferrari literally means “Ferrari Stable” and is also used to mean “Team Ferrari. Scuderia Ferrari functioned as the racing division of Alfa Romeo up until 1938, when Scuderria Ferrari was disbanded.

In September 1939, Ferrari left Alfa Romeo under the provision he would not use the Ferrari name in association with races or racing cars for at least four years. A few days later he founded Auto Avio Costruzioni, headquartered in the facilities of the old Scuderia Ferrari.

In 1940, Ferrari produced his first race car, the Tipo 815, based on a Fiat platform. The car debuted at the 1940 Mille Miglia.

The Scuderia Ferrari name was resurrected to denote the factory racing cars and distinguish them from those fielded by customer teams

In 1943, the Ferrari factory moved to Maranello, where it has remained ever since. The factory was bombed by the Allies and subsequently rebuilt including a works for road car production. 

The company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles in 1947. The first road car was the 1947 125 S. 

Throughout its history, the company has participated in racing, where it has had great success, holding the most constructors championships.  Ferrari is the only race car team to have competed in the Formula One World Championship continuously since its inception in 1950.

Since the 1920s, Italian race cars of Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Abarth and Ferrari were painted in “race red” (Rosso Corsa). This was the customary national racing color of Italy.

From 2002 to 2004, Ferrari produced the Enzo, their fastest model at the time, which was introduced and named in honor of the company’s founder.

Fiat S.p.A. acquired 50% of Ferrari in 1969, and expanded its stake to 90% in 1988.

In October 2014 Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA) announced its intentions to divest of its ownership of Ferrari. This spin off was completed in early 2016 when Ferrari N.V. was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

In June 2018, the 1964 250 GTO became the most expensive car in history, setting an all-time record selling price of $70 million.

Ferrari is the most famous of all the Italian luxury sports car.  It’s symbol is the Cavallino Rampante  (“prancing horse”) a black prancing stallion on a yellow shield. The shield also includes SF for Scuderia Ferrari.

The 1984 288 GTO may be considered the first in the line of Ferrari supercars. This pedigree extends through the 2002 Enzo Ferrari to the 2013 LaFerrari.

In March 2018, at the 88th Geneva International Motor Show, Ferrari revealed the 488 Pist followed by the F8 Tributo in 2019. The F8 Tributo has a 7-speed dual clutch automatic transmission with improved gear ratios. It uses the same engine as the 488 Pista, a 3.9 L twin-turbocharged V8 engine which has a power output of 710 and 568 lb⋅ft of torque, making it the most powerful V8 Ferrari ever produced.

Other current production includes the Lusso, Portofino and 812 Superfast.

Ferrari road cars are seen as a symbol of speed, luxury and wealth. Famous models include the GT4 Dino, Testarossa,  Mondial and Berlinetta.