Top Sports Cars
Ferrari Sports Cars is an Italian manufacturer of racing cars and high-performance sports cars formed by Enzo Ferrari in 1929. At first, sponsored drivers and manufactured racecars; the company went into independent car production in 1946, eventually became , and is now controlled by the Fiat group. The company is based in Maranello, near Modena, Italy.
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 Ferrari Tipo 815, in the non-competition period; it was thus the first actual Ferrari car, but due to World War I 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."
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.
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
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 List of Formula One Champions/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 motor racing/grand prix victories, 3445 and a half points, 544 podium finishes, 174 pole position s, 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"
The famous symbol of Ferrari is a black prancing horse on yellow background, usually with the letters for .
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 of his team.
It has been supposed that the choice of a horse was perhaps partly because 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 , an ancient form of the modern German word , which translates into English as and into Italian as . In turn, the Italians call Stuttgart . 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.
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 modelsUntil 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: * 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 Ferrari F512M and Ferrari 575M Maranello ). * models are closed Berlinetta s, or coupe s * models, in older models, are convertible s (see Ferrari Daytona365 GTS4/365 GTS4 ); however, in late models, this suffix is used for targa top models (see Ferrari 348 GTS , and F355 Ferrari 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 Ferrari F355 , but recently picked up again with the F430 ).
Ferrari's earliest models were pure sports cars, not the exotics we know today.
* 1948-1950 * 1951 Coupe * 1951-1952 Coupe/Cabriolet * 1952 Berlinetta/Spider
The Dino was the first mid-engined Ferrari. This layout would go on to be used in most Ferraris of the 1980s and 1990s. V6 and V8 Ferrari models make up well over half of the marque's total production.
* 1968-1975 ** 1968-1973 Dino 206GT ** 1968-1973 Dino 246GT/GTS * 1975-1989 ** 1975 308 GTB / GTS ** 1980 208 GTB / GTS ** 1980 308 GTBi / GTSi ** 1982 208 GTB / GTS Turbo ** 1982 308 GTB / GTS Quattrovalvole ** 1985 328 GTB Berlinetta ** 1986 GTB / GTS Turbo * 1989 ** 1989 348 TB / Ferrari 348348 TS/TS ** 1993 348 GTB / Ferrari 348348 GTS/GTS * 1995-1998 ** 1994 F355 / GTS ** 1997 /355 F1 * 1999-2004 ** 1999-2004 360 Modena/Spider ** 2003-2004 Challenge Stradale * 2005
Ferrari quickly moved into the Gran Turismo market, and the bulk of the company's sales remain in this area.
* 1952-1967 ** 1952 Ferrari America340 America/340 America ** 1953 Ferrari America375 America/375 America ** 1956 Ferrari America410 superamerica/410 superamerica ** 1957 Ferrari America410 superamerica III/410 superamerica III ** 1960 Ferrari America400 superamerica/400 superamerica ** 1964 Ferrari America500 Superfast/500 Superfast ** 1966 Ferrari America365 California/365 California * 1953-1962 ** 1952 Ferrari 250250S/250S/250MM ** 1953 Ferrari 250250 Export/Europa/250 Export/Europa ** 1954-1963 Ferrari 250250 GT/250 GT Europa/Boano/Ellena/Coupe Pininfarina/Lusso ** 1957-1960 Ferrari 250Sports cars/250 GT Berlinetta/Cabriolet/California Spyder/SWB * 1964 ** 1966 Ferrari 330330 GTC/330 GTC Coupe ** 1966 Ferrari 330330 GTS/330 GTS Spider * 1964-1968 ** 1964-1965 Ferrari 275275 GTB/275 GTB / Ferrari 275275 GTS/GTS ** 1966-1968 Ferrari 275275 GTB4/275 GTB/4 * 1968 ** 1968-1969 Ferrari 365365 GTC/365 GTC Coupe ** 1969-1970 Ferrari 365365 GTS/365 GTS Spider * 1968-1973 ** 1968 Ferrari Daytona365 GTB4/365 GTB4 / Ferrari Daytona365 GTS4/365 GTS4 * 1996-2001 ** 1996-2000 Ferrari 550550 Maranello/550 Maranello Coupe ** 2001 Ferrari 550550 Barchetta/550 Barchetta * 2002-2004 ** 2004 Ferrari 575M Maranello/Barchetta ** 2005 Ferrari 575M Maranello/Superamerica * 2006
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.
* 1974-1980 ** 1974-1975 Ferrari GT4308 GT4/ 308GT4 ** 1976-1980 Ferrari GT4308 GT4/308GT4 ** 1975 Ferrari GT4208 GT4/208 GT4 * 1980 ** 1980 Ferrari MondialMondial 8/Mondial 8 ** 1982 Ferrari MondialMondial Quattrovalvole/Mondial Quattrovalvole ** 1983 Ferrari MondialMondial Cabriolet/Mondial Cabriolet ** 1985 Ferrari Mondial3.2 Mondial/3.2 Mondial / Ferrari Mondial3.2 Cabriolet/3.2 Cabriolet ** 1989 Ferrari MondialMondial T/Mondial T
The company has also produced front-engined 2+2 cars, culminating in the current 612 Scaglietti.
* 1960-1963 ** 1960-1963 Ferrari 250250 GT/250 GT 2+2 * 1964-1967 ** 1964-1967 Ferrari 330330 GT/330 GT 2+2 * 1967-1971 ** 1967-1971 Ferrari 365365 GT/365 GT 2+2 * 1968-1973 ** 1971-1972 Ferrari Daytona365 GTC4/365 GTC4 ** 1972-1976 Ferrari Daytona365 GT4/365 GT4 2+2 * 1976-1989 ** 1976 Ferrari 400400 Automatic/400 Automatic ** 1979 Ferrari 400400i/400i ** 1985 Ferrari 400412/412 * 1992-2003 ** 1992-1997 Ferrari 456456 GT/456 GT/GTA Coupe ** 1998-2003 Ferrari 456456M GT/456M GT Coupe * 2004-2005
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 ** 1971 Ferrari 512 Berlinetta Boxer365 GT4 BB/365 GT4 BB ** 1976 Ferrari 512 Berlinetta Boxer512BB/512BB ** 1981 Ferrari 512 Berlinetta Boxer512iBB/512iBB * 1984-1996 ** 1984-1992 Ferrari TestarossaTestarossa/Testarossa ** 1992-1994 Ferrari Testarossa512TR/512TR ** 1994-1996 Ferrari TestarossaF512M/F512M
The company's loftiest efforts have been in the supercar market.
* 1962 * 1984 * 1988-1992 * 1995-1997 * 2003
Competition models
* Ferrari 360 GTC/360 GTC * Ferrari 360 Challenge/360 Challenge * Ferrari 575 GTC/575 GTC * Ferrari FXX/FXX
* 1947 Ferrari 125/125 Sport * 1948 Ferrari 166/166 * 1949 Ferrari 125 F1/125 F1 * 1951 Ferrari America/340 America * 1952 Ferrari 250250MM/250MM * 1953 Ferrari America/340 MM * 1953 Ferrari America/375 MM * 1954 Ferrari 750 Monza/750 Monza * 1954 Ferrari 250250 Monza/250 Monza * 1956 Ferrari TR250 Testa Rossa/250 Testa Rossa * 1960 Ferrari TR250 TR/250 TR60/61 * 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO/GTO ** 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO/250 GTO ** 1963 Ferrari 330330 LMB/330 LMB * 1963 Ferrari P/P/LM series ** 1963 Ferrari P250 P/250 P ** 1964 Ferrari P250 LM/250 LM ** 1964 Ferrari P330 P/330 P ** 1965 Ferrari P330 P2/330 P2 ** 1966 Ferrari P330 P3/330 P3 ** 1967 Ferrari P330 P4/330 P4 ** 1968 Ferrari P412 P/412 P * 1969 Ferrari 312 P/312 P * 1969 Ferrari 512 S/512 S * 1971 Ferrari 312 PB/312 PB * 1994 Ferrari 333 SP/333 SP * 1996 Ferrari F50/F50 GT business-directories-uk Search 4 URLs Manchester C-charge is one step closer </script> </script> </script> </script> </script> </script> </script> Jag and Land Rover to be sold this year </script> </script> </script> </script> </script> </script> </script> Save a packet with whatcar.com </script> </script> </script> </script> </script> </script> </script> Green cars more sexy than 4x4s </script> </script> </script> </script> </script> </script> </script> Motability scheme being abused </script> </script> </script> </script> </script> </script> </script> |