“Ferrari” – the name is a wonderful combination of speed and beauty floats in the eyes! Ferrari is a word desired by car lovers. The roar and nobility of its engine take away the human heartbeat. After the invention of the car in the nineteenth century, Ferrari brought a revolution in the world of cars. Enzo Ferrari, a race-crazy man, was behind the start of this car, the dream of thousands of people.
The beginning of the dream
Enzo was born on February 20, 1898, in Medina, Italy. Enzo’s father was Alfredo Ferrari, an automobile engineer in Medina, Italy. Alfredo worked making and painting iron things. He also worked in various car repairs. The youngest son, Enzo, worked with him from time to time. Enzo’s driving skills were with his father, Alfredo. In 1908, at the age of 10, he set his sights on watching the car race ‘Circuito di bologna’. It was then that his perseverance to become a race driver began. He tried to learn different jobs in cars and started looking for a job as a race driver as soon as he became an adult.
After World War I, Enzo worked in the Italian military for one year making iron tools. In 1918, he was hired to take the chassis of an old military vehicle from Turin to Milan. Which was a big step towards fulfilling his dream of becoming a race driver. Here he became acquainted with various engineers and race drivers. He then got a chance to participate in the first race. Prior to that, he worked as a test driver for a company in Milan called Costruzioni Meccaniche Nazionali.
He took part in the first race of his life on October 5, 1919. It was a mountain road racing competition. Here he occupies fourth place. In 1920, he was hired as a race driver at Alfa Romeo.
That’s how the Ferrari logo came
In 1923, Enzo won a race called the Sarkuto del Savio, one of the toughest racing tracks in Italy at the time. One of the counts in that race was Enrico Baraca. Fascinated by Enzo, his son Francisco Barakar (who was then a top-ranked jet fighter racer) presented him with a medal with a picture of the horse used in the jet fighter. Which is used in cars as the official logo.
Scuderia Ferrari formation
Enzo has won several major races since 1923. One of these was the ‘Coppa Acerbo’ which gave him the opportunity to compete in a more prestigious competition than the Alfa Romeo. After the sudden death of Grand Prix motor racing champion Antonio in 1925 and the birth of a son Dino in 1932, Enzo decided to retire from motor racing and turned his attention to the development of Alpha Racingkar. Meanwhile, in 1929, he formed his own race team called ‘Scuderia Ferrari’ with various superstar drivers. This team became Alpha and took part in various races. In memory of Francisco Barakar, Enzo Barakar uses the image of the arrogant black horse in the medal given to him in his racing team car. Which was later used as the logo of the famous company. In the era of German racing cars, his racing car skills amazed everyone.
Ferrari left Scuderia in 1937 and worked as a manager in Alpha for one year. Ferrari left Alpha in 1939 and formed a racing car parts supply company called Auto Avio Costugio. The condition on him from Alpha was that he could not do any work of racing and car design for four years.
The beginning of the Ferrari Company
In 1940, Ferrari made the first racing from his company, the AAC 815, although it was not considered a Ferrari model. After World War II, Ferrari moved from Medina to Marenillo and started a racing company under his own name in 1947. And from here the journey of the Ferrari car starts. The first Ferrari model car was built in the same year with the model 125 S. This car uses a six-cylinder ‘V’ sapphire engine.
In 1949 the 166 inter car came on the market. It was Ferrari’s first GT (Grand Tourer) car. Which is designed to run fast and long-distance. Ferrari races with his team to compete with Alfa Romeo, an influential figure in the racing world. His team competed in the first Open Wheel Race in Turin in 1948, and in 1949 a Ferrari became champion with a 166 MM. The car was driven by Luigi Canetti. Ferrari competed in the Formula One World Championship, which was just launched in 1950, and is the only company to have competed in the race since its inception. Ferrari’s first Grand Prix victory came in 1951, at the British Prix Motor Racing in the hands of Jose Forlan. It is heard that Enzo cried like a child after winning this race!
Ferrari’s first Formula One win came in 1952, the following year. In this race, Alberto drives the Askari T500 model car. Ferrari’s biggest victories came in 1950-1975, which greatly increased its popularity among the people.
‘The Great Walk Out’ and the Rise of Ferrari
In 1980, Enzo hired his wife, Laura, as his manager. But Enzo fired nine of his top managers because he thought Laura was incompetent. Although it was difficult to find skilled and professional staff then, even in this difficult situation, Enzo turned out well. The incident has been dubbed ‘The Great Walk Out’ in the media. He hired several new engineers to build the first 250GTO series car in 1984. It has won the World Sports Car Championship three times in a row. Then 275 series cars came into the market. It was a V12 powered front-engine car. Also in 197, the two-seater mid-engine ‘Dino’ became very popular. The 275 series and later ‘Daytona’ cars greatly increased the demand for Ferrari in the market.
From 1950 to 1960, Ferrari began offering customized services. This unique feature makes the Ferrari attractive to the customer. Ferrari sold 50% of its shares to the car company Fiat in 1989 to meet the huge market demand. After retiring from Ferrari sports car racing in 1983, he became more focused on Formula One. In 1984, the company built the first supercar with a model of 288 GTO. It also brings several concept cars to market, one of which is Mythos. Millechili Ferrari’s latest concept car that came on the market in 2010.
After the death of Enzo Ferrari in 1986, his only son Piero Ferrari again sold 40% of his shares to Fiat. Piero is currently the Vice President of Ferrari. After Enzo’s death, the Scuderia Ferrari team had some success. These include the World Driver Championship (2000-2004, 2006) and the Constructor Championship (1999-2004, 2007-2008). On January 3, 2016, Fiat acquired a 100% stake in Ferrari.
Ferrari in the twenty-first century
In 2002, the F60 was launched in his name in memory of Enzo. It is called ‘The Enzo’. This is a twelve-cylinder mid-engine sports car. At first, the model was only offered to loyal and old customers to buy. A parade was held on 15 September 2012 at the Silver Stone Circuit in England to celebrate the ‘Ferrari Driving Event’. A total of 984 Ferrari cars took part here.
In 2014, the brand named Finance Ferrari as the ‘Most Powerful Brand’. In 2016, Ferrari’s 1974 250 GTO car sold for স 70 million, making it the most expensive car in history. At the end of 2016, Ferrari sold 206,931 vehicles. There are currently thirty car showrooms around the world, two of which are owned by Ferrari and the rest by various franchises.
The history of Ferrari is actually the story of a blacksmith becoming an industrialist. This struggling and dedicated life of Enzo Ferrari and his attitude towards achieving the desired goal will encourage any person to follow his dream with devotion.
