By: Aarush Vipin
Ferrari is arguably the most iconic supercar/hypercar manufacturer, and they are recognized by their bright red cars and prancing horse logo. The creator of Ferrari is Enzo Ferrari, who started out as a race car driver for Alfa Romeo in 1920. 9 years later, Enzo founded Scuderia Ferrari (translating to the stables of Ferrari), a subsidiary of Alfa that sold special road legal race cars to the rich and famous. Around this time, racing was put into the spotlight too. A perfect time for his business to thrive.
In 1939, he left his position at Alfa Romeo and made his own car company- Auto Avio Costruzioni. In 1957 however, he bought the Ferrari brand and renamed the company to Auto Costruzioni Ferrari and released the Ferrari 125 S. The Ferrari 125 S was entered into Formula One and won the Rome Grand Prix.
What came after this was what could only be called as racing history. Ferrari emerged as one of the latest and greatest racing car manufacturers in the world, winning the Formula One world championship in 1951 and one of the greatest tests of automotive endurance, the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1949.
New Changes
After Enzo’s son, Dino, died in 1956, things changed at Ferrari. Their chief engineers, along with other members of the company left and formed another company called ATS. But Enzo knew exactly what to do to make sure that Ferrari stayed competitive. They needed a partner.
So, in the late 1960s, he sold a 50% stake to the Fiat Group. However, when he died in 1988, the Fiat Group increased their stake to 90%. In 2015, Ferrari separated from the Fiat Group and became an IPO. The Ferrari N.V. was valued at $10 Billion.
Even now, Ferrari is dominant in motorsports and continues to release some of the most beautiful cars in the world. The Scuderia fans are lovingly called the Tifosi and are the most in number at any race. Ferrari are very selective of their clients and do not like to see their cars customized without their permission. They claim that this is to protect the reputation of Ferrari and to honor the wishes of Enzo.
Ferrari is still growing and the legacy of Enzo will be protected for a long time to come.