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, Alfa Romeo was absorbed by the Fascist government of Benito Mussolini as part of the Axis Powers’ war effort. Enzo Ferrari’s division was small enough to be unaffected by this. Because he was prohibited by contract from racing for four years, the Scuderia briefly became Auto Avio Costruzioni Ferrari, which ostensibly produced machine tools and aircraft accessories. Also known as SEFAC (Scuderia Enzo Ferrari Auto Corse), Ferrari did in fact produce one race car, the Tipo 815, in the non-competition period; it was thus the first actual Ferrari car (it debuted at the 1940 Mille Miglia), 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 by the Allies in 1944 and rebuilt in 1946, with the war ended and the Mussolini government overthrown, to include a works for road car production. Right up to Il Commendatore’s death, this would remain little more than a source of funding for his first love, racing.

“Scuderia Ferrari” literally means “Ferrari Stable”; the name is figuratively translated as “Team Ferrari”. (It is correctly pronounced “skoo deh REE ah”.)

shelved plans for an IPO because Fiat Auto has now returned to profitability, thus removing pressure from the group.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.

In 1949, Luigi Chinetti drove a Model 166M to Ferrari’s first win in motorsports, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Chinetti drove for all except twenty minutes of the Grand Prix race. He soon became the American dealer for Ferraris and established the North American Racing Team, Ferrari’s official racing arm. The dealership is reported to have kept the company in business through sales to wealthy Americans, such as Briggs Cunningham, who bought the first one Chinetti sold through the new dealership.

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 Drivers 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 2005, 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, 3,445 and a half points, 544 podium finishes, 174 pole positions, 11,182 laps led, and 180 fastest laps in 1,622 Grands Prix contested.

Notable Ferrari drivers include Tazio Nuvolari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Luigi Chinetti, Alberto Ascari, Wolfgang von Trips, Phil Hill, Olivier Gendebien, Mike Hawthorn, Peter Collins, John Surtees, Jacky Ickx, Mario Andretti, Niki Lauda, Carlos Reutemann, Jody Scheckter, Gilles Villeneuve, Didier Pironi, Michele Alboreto, Gerhard Berger, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Jean Alesi,Eddie Irvine, Rubens Barrichello, Michael Schumacher, Kimi Räikkonen, and Felipe Massa.

The Scuderia Ferrari drivers for the 2006 F1 season were Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa. At the end of the 2006 season the team courted controversy by continuing to allow Marlboro to sponsor them after they, along with the other F1 teams, made a promise to end sponsorship deals with tobacco manufacturers. A five year deal worth a reported $500 million was agreed.[citation needed]

The drivers for 2007 are Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen.

Ferrari road car timeline, 1947-1967 v • d • e Next ->

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 195

S 212

Exp 225

S 250

MM 250

Monza 250 GT

Tour de France 250 GT

SWB 250 GTO

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/Spider 250 GT

Lusso 275 GTB 275 GTB/4

2+2 250 GT

2+2/GTE 330 GT 365 GT

America 340

America 375

America/MM 410

Superamerica 400

Superamerica 500

Superfast 365

California

Type 1960s 1970 1980s 1990s 2000s

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 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

FR GT America 330 365 365 GTB/4 Daytona 550 575M 599

250 275

2+2 250GT 330GT 365GT GTC/4 GT4 400 400i 412 456 GT 456M GT 612

RMR V6/V8 Dino 206 Dino 246 308i 308qv 328 348 360 F430

208 F355

2+2 Dino GT4 Mondial 8 Mondial 3.2 Mondial T

flat-12 316BB 512BB BBi Testarossa 512TR F512M

Supercar 250 GTO 250 LM 288 GTO F40 F50 F50 GT Enzo FXX

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 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. Ferrari road cars, noted for magnificent styling by design houses like Pininfarina, have long been one of the ultimate accessories for the rich. Other design houses that have done work for Ferrari over the years include Scaglietti, Bertone, Touring, Ghia, and Vignale.

In 2005, four universities were granted the opportunity to design the next vehicle line-up for Ferrari in a student competition named ‘Ferrari Concepts of the Myth’. Twenty winners were allowed to show off their concepts in a ¼ scale model and present their work to the board at Ferrari to allow for three out right winners to have the chance to work in the Ferrari design studio at Maranello.

As of 2007, the Fiat Group owns 85% of Ferrari, Mubadala 5%, and Enzo’s son Piero 10%. Fiat has shelved plans for an IPO because Fiat Auto has now returned to profitability, thus removing pressure from the group.

Having said all that, the new Ferrari 458 Italia seems to have taken a big enough leap to make the Lamborghini Gallardo, which after all is its main rival, look a little…. dated. Merchandise: Ferrari 458 Italia 1:18 Scale Model | Ferrari 458 Italia Poster | Ferrari 458 Italia Canvas Print ]]> http://carbloggin.com/supercars/ferrari-458-italia/feed/ 5