This year is really significant in the automotive brand; it’s been exactly 70 years since Enzo Ferrari showed his first car…
It was the 125S model with 12 cylinder engines, which Scuderia Ferrari and its founder Enzo began to trample on the track of glory, winning races on racing tracks around the world.
Enzo Ferrari was born on February 18th in1898 in Torino, a poor family, and as a child, he showed great interest in cars.Years of war, crisis and poverty do not provide many chances for Enzo, but he still finds a job as a test driver in Torino and year later he moved in Costruzioni Meccaniche Nazzionali in Milano, where Thanksgiving of his driving skills he got a place behind the wheel of racing cars, and the same year he also drove his first official race. It was the hill race in Parma – Poggio di Barqueto, on which he won the 4rth place.
Shortly after that, he also took part in the famous Targa Florio race, without any success, and then he switches to Alfa Romeo in 1920 and wins the 2nd place in the same race. With this success begins the Ferrari episode for 20 years under the Alfa framework, where he became a board member and head of the Alfa Corsa racing team. For the merit and contribution to the development of automotive sport in his country, in 1927 he received the title “Commendatore”.
But the true story of Enzo Ferrari, a man, a warrior and a constructor as the world knows him, begins after acquaintance with Count Francesco Barak and his wife Contessa, after winning the Savio Circuit. With a shared photo of devotion, the Italian Count receives a mascot as the right horse for its racing car. Encouraged by Enzo’s initial successes, within the Alfa Romeo in 1929 he formed the “Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix Racing Team.” He ended his career as a driver in 1931, winning a place in the “Three Provinces Circuit” race where he was behind the steering wheel of the Alfa Romeo 8C MM. After leaving Alfa, eight years later he established his own Auto Avio Costruzioni in Modena, and during his war years, his company worked for the fascist regime, Benito Mussolini.
After the end of the war, in March 1947, Enzo constructed his first car. It was the 125S, with a 12 cylinder engine and with it, Enzo began to engrave his name in the brightest page of the history of automotive. The debut of the first 125S was in May 1947, and the name in the history behind the wheel of Circuito di Piacenza was written by Franco Corteze. The car did not withstand; the petrol station was canceled while the vehicle was in the forehead. However, just nine days later, Franco Cortez brings the first triumph for Enzo Ferrari, with the victory in the race “Roma Grand Prix.” It was the first of the six victories of this car in that season.
The first Gran Prix trophy was won in Silverstone in 1951 and behind the car was Jose Frolian Gonzalez, and the first title in the championship in the next season was in 1952/53. At the same time, the production of sports cars bearing the Ferrari logo began. But in 1957, on the Mille Miglia race, due to the accident of the tires, his driver Alfonso de Portagio, along with his co-driver, were flying away into the audience. In the accident, besides the two drivers, several spectators were hospitalized, and after the investigation, Enzo was released from responsibility for the incident. But it was said how Enzo forces his drivers, causing rivalry between them.
One year after this accident, Enzo Ferrari suffered a personal tragedy. His second son, Alfredo Dino Ferrari died. In memory of his son, the famous model Ferrari – Dino was created. Enzo also had another son, from his relationship with Lina Lardi. Privately, he did not want journalists and publicity.
The legend of the automotive sport, the creator of super sports luxury cars that for decades had no real competition died on August 14, 1988, when he was 90 years old, leaving behind a huge legacy. Every car that comes out of the factory in Maranello, with the Ferrari logo, could be called a “car Icon.”
FIAT rejected it
Many interesting things are related to the name Enzo Ferrari. One of the many, and perhaps most bizarre, is that at the beginning of his career he tried to get a job in the giant of the Italian automotive industry FIAT. But in Torino they thought that Enzo was not a talented mechanic, so he didn’t get this job.
FIAT sales
In 1969, Ferrari sold 50% of its FIAT ownership rights but retained 100% of the control over the racing division. Earlier, Enzo offered the same deal to Ford, but this deal failed because the American giant simply did not want to give the full control to the company. Five years later, Enzo Ferrari officially retired from the position of director of the company, and the same year he named Luca di Montezemolo as the head chief of the Formula 1 team and appointed him as his representative in all the Formula 1 racers. Until the end of his life, Enzo stays connected to the team that took part in the Formula 1 championship but did not get a chance to celebrate any title.
The most expensive in history
The best achievement of Maranello reflects the fact that on the list of 10 cars with the highest price in the history of auctions, there are even 9 Ferrari cars.
The most valuable car is the 250 GTO model from 1962 – one of only 39 manufactured samples, which was paid an incredible 38.1 million dollars at auction in 2014. The 29.6 million dollars in second place is Mercedes W196 in 1954, which was driven by the five-time F1 champion, legendary Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio. It’s the only model of the top 10 cars that do not have the Ferrari logo on the hood. The third most expensive car is the Ferrari 275 GTB / 4S Spider from 1967, with a price of 27.5 million dollars. Only 10 copies were made, and the sample from the auction got this price because it was driven by Steve McQueen in the movie “The Thomas Crown Affair.”
Chronology of the most significant events:
1947 – Establishment of the Ferrari brand
1950 – Ferrari debuted in Formula 1
1951 – The first victory in Formula 1 accomplished by José Freire González
1952 – Alberto Askari with Ferrari 500 becomes world champion in Formula 1
1958 – Mike Hawthorne won the Formula 1 championship with the Ferrari 246 F1
1962 – The Ferrari 250 GTO, a triple winner in the GT in the class of constructors 1962-64.
1964 – John Sternis becomes world champion of the Formula 1 in the 158 F1 Ferrari.
1967 – Three Ferrari models, two Ferrari 330 R4 and one Ferrari 412 R, end up at a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in the 24-hour race of Dayton.
1968 – Ferrari 365 GTB Dayton is presented at the Automotive Show in Paris.
1969 – FIAT becomes a co-owner of the brand Ferrari by purchasing 50% of the company.
1972 – Is open the Fiorano track, the Ferrari polygon to test their cars.
1975 – Niki Lauda becomes a champion in the Formula 1 championship with the Ferrari 312 T.
1981 – Jie Villeneuve made the first victory in Formula 1 with a Monaco GP turbocharged engine
1984 – Ferrari Testarossa is premiered at the Automotive Show in Paris
1987 – The Ferrari F40 got its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
1988 – Enzo Ferrari passed away at the age of 90.
1993 – The first Ferrari Challange championship was launched.
1998 – A new air tunnel for testing cars has been opened.
2004 – The fifth world champion title for Michael Schumacher and also the record of six consecutive titles for Ferrari in the class of constructors.
2006 – An exclusive XX program has been launched dedicated to the extremely performance models, reserved exclusively for the top clientele.
2007 – Kimi Raikkonen and Scudero Ferrari become champions in the Formula 1 championship.
2013 – Ferrari’s first hybrid model, LaFerrari, is entering in the production.
2016 – LaFerrari Aperta is presented at the Paris Motor Show in honor of celebrating 70 years of the Ferrari brand,
2017 – The latest model Ferrari 812 Superfast got its own debut in Automotive Show in Geneve.
Source of information: autobossusa.com