Ferrari History

Ferrari automobile company has been producing sports cars since the year 1947. They were known to be one of the most very successful sports car companies in the world up to now. This world renowned supercar manufacturer is based in Italy and has a deep history rooted in racing, but before then little is know.

This hub is about the History of Ferrari, long before Formual One (F1) racing and the super fast cars with they build and sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The man behind the success of this great supercar company is Enzo Ferrari. He was born on February 18, 1898 in Modena, Italy. At the age of 10, his father brought him to an automobile race. He then began to attend a couple of races and then, he decided that he wanted to become a car racer.

He used to work at a small carmaker. He took up racing and finished ninth at the Targa Florio in the year 1919. After this event, he got a job with Alfa Romeo and drove with a modified production car during 1920 Targa Florio. He managed to finish second.

The parents of a heroic Italian pilot, Francesco Baracca, approached Ferrari during a race at the Circuit of Sivocci in the year 1923. Francesco was popularly called the Italian ace of aces. He died on Mount Montello during the war. His parents gave Ferrari his squadron badge that was the popular horse on a yellow shield. This was where the insignia of the Ferrari Company started.

For many years, Enzo Ferrari worked for Alfa Romeo but he built only a few sports cars with his name and of course, his famous prancing horse badge. In the year 1929, he formed the Scuderia Ferrari. Its aim was to organize racing for members. The Scuderia Ferrari team competed in more than 20 events and got 8 victories and several good placings.

In 1940, he decided to leave Alfa Romeo and began to put up his own company. This was the Auto-Avio Costruzioni Ferrari. During the Second World War, the Ferrari workshop moved from Modena to Maranello. The workshop was a victim of the war—bombs were leveled on it. In 1946, it was renovated and job started on the very first Ferrari motorcar, the 125 Sport. This car began a grand tradition of winning for Ferrari. Since its first race in the year 1947, Ferrari has gained over 5, 000 successes on race tracks around the world.

Enzo Ferrari sold half of Ferrari’s share capital to the Fiat group in 1969. It grew to 90% in 1988. Ferrari died at the age of 90 in 1988. He finally became a mythos. The value of old cars rose. The sales of the present models rose as well. The last current model Ferrari commissioned was the specialist F40.