Ferrari

Ferrari is an Italian manufacturer of racing cars and high-performance sports cars formed by Enzo Ferrari in 1929. At first, Scuderia Ferrari sponsored drivers and manufactured racecars; the company went into independent car production in 1946, eventually became Ferrari S.p.A., and is now controlled by the Fiat group. The company is based in Maranello, near Modena, Italy.

History

:See also:

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::Enzo Ferrari for the founder's life story

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::History of Ferrari for details on the Ferrari automobile company

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::Scuderia Ferrari for further history of the Ferrari racing team

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1929-1946

Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari never intended to produce road cars when he formed Scuderia Ferrari in 1929 as a sponsor for amateur drivers headquartered in Modena. Ferrari prepared and successfully raced various drivers in Alfa Romeo cars until 1938, when he was officially hired by Alfa as head of their racing department.

Related Topics:
Enzo Ferrari - 1929 - Alfa Romeo - 1938

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In 1940, upon learning of the company's plan to absorb his beloved Scuderia and take control of his racing efforts, he quit Alfa. Because he was prohibited by contract from racing for several years, the Scuderia briefly became Auto Avio Costruzioni Ferrari, which ostensibly produced machine tools and aircraft accessories. Ferrari did in fact produce one racecar, the Tipo 815, in the non-competition period; it was thus the first actual Ferrari car, but due to World War II it saw little competition. In 1943 the Ferrari factory moved to Maranello, where it has remained ever since. The factory was bombed in 1944 and rebuilt in 1946 to include a works for road car production.

Related Topics:
1940 - Auto Avio Costruzioni Ferrari - Tipo 815 - World War II - 1943 - 1944 - 1946

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"Scuderia Ferrari" literally means "Ferrari Stable" in keeping with the prancing horse emblem; the name is figuratively translated as "Team Ferrari."

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1945-present

The first Ferrari road car was the 1947 125 S, powered by a 1.5 L V12 engine; Enzo reluctantly built and sold his automobiles to fund the Scuderia. While his beautiful and blazingly fast cars quickly gained a reputation for excellence, Enzo maintained a famous distaste for his customers, most of whom he felt were buying his cars for the prestige and not the performance value.

Related Topics:
1947 - 125 S

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Ferrari road cars, noted for their exquisite styling by design houses such as Pininfarina, have long been one of the ultimate accessories for the rich and young (or young-at-heart). Other design houses that have done work for Ferrari over the years include Scaglietti, Bertone, Touring, Ghia, and Vignale.

Related Topics:
Pininfarina - Scaglietti - Bertone - Touring - Ghia - Vignale

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Ferrari cars feature highly-tuned small V8 and V12 engines, often in a mid-engined configuration; until the introduction of fuel injection in the 1980s, they were quite temperamental. Until the mid-1980s they carried a reputation for unreliability and bad engineering, though these were written off by enthusiasts as "character." Ferrari owners have famously and religiously defended the merits of their cars while virulently criticizing other brands.

Related Topics:
V8 - V12 - Engine - Fuel injection

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As of 2004, FIAT owns 56% of Ferrari, Mediobanca owns 15%, Commerzbank owns 10%, Lehman Brothers owns 7%, and Enzo's son Piero Ferrari owns 10%.

Related Topics:
2004 - FIAT - Mediobanca - Commerzbank - Lehman Brothers - Piero Ferrari

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