Difference between revisions of "Ferrari"

Revision as of 23:03, 25 July 2006

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:

Enzo Ferrari for the founder's life story

History of Ferrari for details on the Ferrari automobile company

Scuderia Ferrari for further history of the Ferrari racing team

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.

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.

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

1957 Ferrari 250 GT 'Tour De France' at Wheels Of Italy

1945-present

File:Ferrari Prancing Horse.jpg

The Prancing Horse decorating the rear of a 360 Modena

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.

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.

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.

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%.

Racing

File:Ferrari.F1.Schumacher.jpg

Schumacher's Ferrari F1

Main article: Scuderia Ferrari

Enzo Ferrari's true passion, despite his extensive road car business, was always auto racing. His Scuderia started as an independent sponsor for drivers in various cars, but soon became the Alfa Romeo in-house racing team. After Ferrari's departure from Alfa, he began to design and produce cars of his own; the Ferrari team first appeared on the European grand prix scene after the end of World War II.

The Scuderia joined the Formula One World Championship in the first year of its existence, 1950. José Froilán González gave the team its first victory at the 1951 British Grand Prix. Alberto Ascari gave Ferrari its first World Championship a year later. Ferrari is the oldest team left in the championship, not to mention the most successful: the team holds nearly every Formula One record. As of 2004, the team's records include fourteen World Drivers Championship titles (1952, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1964, 1975, 1977, 1979, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004), fourteen World Constructors Championship titles (1961, 1964, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004, 179 grand prix victories, 3445 and a half points, 544 podium finishes, 174 pole positions, 11,182 laps led, and 180 fastest laps in 1622 grands prix contested.

Famous drivers include Tazio Nuvolari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Alberto Ascari, Phil Hill, Mike Hawthorn, John Surtees, Niki Lauda, Jody Scheckter, Gilles Villeneuve, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost and Michael Schumacher.

The "Cavallino Rampante"

Count Francesco Baracca

The famous symbol of Ferrari is a black prancing horse on yellow background, usually with the letters S F for Scuderia Ferrari.

The horse was originally the symbol of Count Francesco Baracca, a legendary "asso" (ace) of the Italian air force during World War I, who painted it on the side of his planes. Baracca died very young on June 19, 1918, shot down after 34 victorious duels and many team victories; he soon became a national hero.

Baracca had wanted the prancing horse on his planes because his squad, the "Battaglione Aviatori", was enrolled in a Cavalry regiment (air forces were at their first years of life and had no separate administration), and also because he himself was reputed to be the best cavaliere of his team.

File:Scuderia Ferrari Logo.jpg

The Scuderia Ferrari Logo

It has been supposed that the choice of a horse was perhaps partly due to the fact that his noble family was known for having many horses on their estates at Lugo di Romagna. Another theory suggests Baracca copied the rampant horse design from a shot down German pilot who had the emblem of the city of Stuttgart on his plane. This is supported by the evidence that Barraca's horse looks more similar to the one of Stuttgart (not changed since 1938) than the current Ferrari design, especially as the legs of the horses are concerned.

Interestingly, rivalling German sports car manufacturer Porsche designed its logo by embeddeding the prancing horse logo of Stuttgart into the emblem of the state of Württemberg, just like the city is placed within the state. In the 1920s, Ferdinand Porsche had constructed supercharged cars for Mercedes-Benz in Stuttgart before starting his own engineering company there in the 1930s, designing the Auto Union race cars, amongst others.

Curiously, the name Stuttgart is derived from Stutengarten, an ancient form of the modern German word Gestüt, which translates into English as stud farm and into Italian as scuderia. In turn, the Italians call Stuttgart Stoccarda. Obviously, the Ferrari-led Alfa team often met the Silver Arrow teams of Mercedes-Benz (from Stuttgart itself) and later Auto Union at race tracks in the 1920s and 30s, so each knew of the other.

File:Stuttgart coat of arms.jpg

Coat of Arms of the City of Stuttgart

On June 17, 1923, Enzo Ferrari won a race at the Savio track in Ravenna where he met the Countess Paolina, mother of Baracca. The Countess asked that he use the horse on his cars, suggesting that it would grant him good luck, but the first race at which Alfa would let him use the horse on Scuderia cars was eleven years later at SPA 24 Hours in 1932. Ferrari won.

Ferrari left the horse black as it had been on Baracca's plane; however, he added a canary yellow background because it was the symbolic color of his birthplace, Modena.

The prancing horse has not always been uniquely identified with the Ferrari brand: Fabio Taglioni used it on his Ducati motorbikes. Taglioni's father was, in fact, a companion of Baracca's and fought with him in the 91st Air Squad. But, as Ferrari's fame grew, Ducati abandoned the horse; this may have been the result of a private agreement between the two brands.

The prancing horse is now a trademark of Ferrari.

List of models

Until the mid-1990s, Ferrari followed a three-number naming scheme based on engine displacement:

V6 and V8 models used the total displacement (in deciliters) for the first two digits and the number of cylinders as the third. Thus, the 206 was a 2.0 L V6-powered vehicle, while the 348 used a 3.4 L V8.
V12 models used the displacement per cylinder (in cubic centimeters) for all three digits. Therefore, the famed 365 Daytona had a 4380 cc engine (365 times 12).

Most Ferraris were also given designations referring to their body style. In general, the following conventions were used:

M standing for "Modificata," this suffix is placed to the end of a model's number designation to denote that it is a modified version of its predecessor and not a complete evolution (see F512M and 575M Maranello).
GTB models are closed Berlinettas, or coupes
GTS models, in older models, are convertibles (see 365 GTS4); however, in late models, this suffix is used for targa top models (see 348 GTS, and F355 GTS; exception being the 348 TS, which is the only targa named differently). The convertible models now use the suffix "Spider" (see F355 Spider, and Ferrari 360 Spider).

This naming system can be confusing, as some entirely different vehicles used the same engine type and body style. Many Ferraris also had other names affixed (like Daytona) to identify them further. Many such names are actually not the car's official name given by the factory. The 365 GTB4 model only became known as a Daytona after racing variants run by N.A.R.T. (North American Racing Team, who raced Ferrari's in America) won the famous 24 hour race of the same name. As well, the 250 GTO's famous acronym, which means Gran Turismo Omologato, was simply a name the Italian press gave the car which referred to the way Ferrari had, in a sense, avoided the rules and successfully homologated the car for racing purposes (Ferrari had convinced the FIA, somehow, someway, that the 250 GTO was the same car as previous 250's). This was done probably to avoid confusion with the multiple 250 models which were produced before the GTO.

In the mid 1990s, Ferrari added the letter "F" to the beginning of all models (a practice quickly abandoned after the F512M and F355, but recently picked up again with the F430).

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Road Models and Photos (click on the appropriate item)

Ferrari timeline, 1948-1967																			Ferrari road car timeline 1960s-1990s >
Type	1940s			1950s										1960s
	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Sports	125 S	166 S+166 SC		195 S	212 Exp	225 S	250 MM	250 Monza		250 GT Tour de France			250 GT SWB			250 GTO			250 LM
	159 S					250 S	250 Export
GT			166 Inter	195 Inter	212 Inter		250 Europa	250 GT Europa		250 GT Boano	250 GT Ellena	250 GT Coupe PF				250 GT Lusso			330 GTC			365 GTC
																		275 GTB		275 GTB/4
Spyder/Cabriolet											250 GT							275 GTS		330 GTS	365 GTS
2 plus 2													250 GT/E				330 GT				365 GT
America					340		375 America/MM			410 Superamerica				400 Superamerica				500 Superfast		365 California

< Ferrari timeline 1948–1967				Ferrari timeline 1960s-1990s																			Ferrari timeline 1990–Present >
Type		1960s										1970s										1980s										1990s
		0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
8 cylinder	Mid-engine berlinetta																308					308 i		308 QV			328				348										360
																						208		208 Turbo				GTB/GTS Turbo								F355
	Mid-engine 2+2														308 GT4							Mondial 8		Mondial QV			Mondial 3.2				Mondial t
																	208 GT4
12 cylinder	Boxer berlinetta														365 BB			512 BB					512i BB			Testarossa							512TR			F512M
	Grand tourer	250				275				365 GTB/4 "Daytona"																												550 Maranello
		America				330		365
	2+2 coupé	250 GT/E				330 GT 2+2			365 GT 2+2				365GTC/4		GT4 2+2			400			400 i						412							456						456 M
Supercar				250 GTO			250 LM																			288 GTO			F40								F50
		Sold under the Dino marque until 1976; see also Ferrari Dino

List and Pics by Groupings

Sports Cars

Ferrari's earliest models were pure sports cars, not the exotics we know today.

1948-1950 166 | 1951 195 Coupe | 1951-1952 212 Coupe/Cabriolet | 1952 340 MM Berlinetta/Spider

Mid-engine V6/V8

The Dino was the first mid-engined Ferrari. This layout would go on to be used in most Ferraris ofthe 1980s and 1990s. V6 and V8 Ferrari models make up well over half of the marque's total production.

2-seat Gran Turismo

Ferrari quickly moved into the Gran Turismo market, and the bulk of the company's sales remain in this area.

Mid-engine 2+2

For a time, Ferrari built 2+2 versions of its mid-engined V8 cars. Although they looked quite different from their 2-seat counterparts, both the GT4 and Mondial were very closely-related to the 308 GTB.

Front-engine-2+2

The company has also produced front-engined 2+2 cars, culminating in the current 612 Scaglietti.

1960-1963 250 | 1960-1963 250 GT 2+2 | 1964-1967 330 | 1964-1967 330 GT 2+2 | 1967-1971 365 | 1967-1971 365 GT 2+2 | 1968-1973 365 Daytona | 1971-1972 365 GTC4 | 1972-1976 365 GT4 2+2 | 1976-1989 [[Ferrari 400|400/412] | 1976 400 Automatic | 1979 400i | 1985 412 | 1992-2003 456/456M | 1992-1997 456 GT/GTA Coupe | 1998-2003 456M GT Coupe | 2004-2005 612 Scaglietti

Mid-engine 12-cylinder

Ferrari entered the mid-engined 12-cylinder fray with the flattened Berlinetta Boxer in 1971. The later Testarossa remains one of the most famous Ferraris.

1971-1984 512 Berlinetta Boxer | 1971 365 GT4 BB | 1976 512BB | 1981 512iBB | 1984-1996 Testarossa | 1984-1992 Testarossa | 1992-1994 512TR | 1994-1996 F512M

Supercars

1962 250 GTO | 1984 288 GTO | 1988-1992 F40 | 1995-1997 F50 | 2003 Enzo Ferrari

Possible Ferrari SUV?

SUV

Future Concept Models

Ferrari 575 GTZ Zagato

Current Ferrari’s

360 GTC | Challenge | 575 GTC | FXX

Past Ferrari’s

1940 AAC 815 | 1947 125 Sport | 1947 159 Sport | 1948 166 S/SC/MM | 1950 195 S | 1951 340 America | 1951 212 Export | 1952 225 S | 1952 250 S | 1952 340 Mexico | 1953 250 MM | 1953 Ferrari-Abarth 166 MM/53 | 1953 625 TF | 1953 735 S | 1953 500 Mondial | 1953 340 MM | 1953 375 MM | 1954 750 Monza | 1954 250 Monza | 1954 375 Plus | 1955 118 LM | 1955 121 LM | 1955 410 S | 1956 500 TR | 1956 290 MM | 1956 290 S | 1956 860 Monsza | 1956 625 LM | 1957 500 TRC | 1957 315 S | 1957 335 S | 1957 250 Testa Rossa | 1960 250 TR60/61 | 1962 GTO | 1962 250 GTO | 1963 330 LMB | 1963 P/LM series | 1963 250 P | 1964 250 LM | 1964 330 P | 1965 330 P2 | 1966 330 P3 | 1967 330 P4 | 1967 412 P | 1969 312 P | 1969 512 S and 512 M | 1971 312 PB | 1994 333 SP | 1995 F50 GT | 2003 Enzo | 2005 FXX