Founded by Enzo
Ferrari who, from an early
age, became entranced with the idea of car
racing. After World War 1 he managed to get
a job with a small car maker converting war
surplus, enough to fund his first foray onto
the racetrack at the 1919 Targa Florio. Ferrari
would land a job with Alfa Romeo the following
year, once again competing in the Targa Florio driving a modified production car, and finishing
a very creditable second. Severing all ties
with Alfa in 1940, Ferrari established his
new company Auto-Avio Costruzioni Ferrari.
During World War II the Ferrari workshop moved
from Modena to Maranello, but this did little
to protect if from allied bombing and the new
factory was almost entirely leveled in 1944.
The factory would not be re-built until 1946,
and upon its completion work would begin on
the construction of the first ever Ferrari
sports-car.
In 1948 a Ferrari would take out
the 1948 Mille Miglia, but the best would come
in 1951 with the release of the really big-engined
Ferraris, the 4101cc Type 340 America. Fitted
with a completely new V12 engine, the car had
an awesome top speed of 137mph, which naturally
enough soon saw them racing with great success.
In 1969 Enzo would sell a 50% stake to Fiat
to obtain some much needed funds, that figure
eventually growing to 90% in 1988. Fortunately
the buy-out did not hinder the manufacturers
production, and they remain arguably the ultimate
in desirable automotive sheet metal. Also see Ferrari
Heritage
1962 - 1964
GTO - three letters signifying a peak in a famous, possibly the most famous, autohistory. 12 cylinders, 3 litres, 280bhp, 175mph - bald figures, without gazing at the sleek aluminium coachwork. More>>
1964 - 1968
The Ferrari road car really made its presence felt with
the release of the 275 GTB. For the first time Ferrari
had produced a car with sophisticated suspension ensuring
that a car as quick as this could be driven in comfort. More>>
1967 - 1974
Designated "206GT", in which 20 means 2.0 litres and
6 means six cylinders, the engine was actually built
by Fiat and shared with Fiat Dino, not because it would
be cheaper, but because Ferrari needed the additional
volume to qualify for FIA's production requirement for
racing engines. More>>
1968 - 1973
The Ferrari Daytona 365 GTB/4 was perceived proudly by
the manufacturer as its last attempt at superfast front-engined
Grand Tourers.More>>
1973 - 1980
When introduced in 1973 (officially unveiled at the Paris Motor Show) the Ferrari Dino 308 GT4 was much more than a big brother to the familiar, beautiful little 246GT. It was almost an entirely new car, save for the steering wheel and alloy road wheels.More>>
1994 - 1999
The Ferrari F355 was the first new model under the new
vision Luca di Montezemolo. Individual butterfly
valves for each cylinder improved throttle response, resulting
in a record-breaking 108.7 hp/litre specific output. In
total, there are 380 horses running under the F355's bonet
at 8,250 rpm. More>>
2003 -
While Ferrari increased the size of the already awesome
V12 engine to 5748cc, it is the Formula 1 derived transmission
for which the 575M Maranello is most famous. More>>
2003 -
The F60 develops a blistering 650bhp, has seven gears
and punches to 100 km/h from a standstill in 3.2sec,
just 0.1 seconds slower than the Ferrari F2002 of Michael
Schumacher! More>>
