Starting from a young racing car manufacturer, Ferrari has continuously developed over the past 70 years to get to where it is today.
In 2015, Ferrari IPO’d on the New York Stock Exchange with a value of nearly 10 billion USD. Two years later, the company’s value doubled, to $21 billion. This makes them one of the most valuable and popular car brands in the world. The symbol of a horse standing on its hind legs, puffing out its chest, and raising its front legs represents glamor, money, and the high life.
Ferrari was not born a flashy famous global luxury brand whose shares are traded in New York. In the early days, they operated as a small-scale racing car manufacturing company and had on their racing team a bright Italian-American racer named Chinetti. It was also Chinetti who contributed to transforming Ferrari into a company that provides luxury supercars to the rich around the world.
Ferrari’s success made Ford want to invest in them but was unsuccessful. Later, Ferrari became part of FIAT and Ford was their fiercest competitor on the racing tracks.
We invite you to look back at Ferrari’s wonderful 70-year journey.
In 1908, 10-year-old Enzo Ferrari witnessed his first car race and he was quickly fascinated by it. When he reached adolescence, Enzo was forced to enlist to serve the Italian army for World War I.
After the war, Enzo had a hard time finding work in the auto industry. He applied to FIAT but was rejected because they accepted too many unemployed veterans. Finally, he found a job at a smaller car manufacturer.
In the early 1920s, Enzo began working at Alfa Romeo as a racing driver. Alfa Romeo’s racing team includes the legendary Tazio Novolari, who has won 24 Grands Prix and many other titles.
In 1929, Enzo founded the Scuderia Ferrari racing team (Team Ferrari). No company has been established to produce cars and operate racing teams. Scuderia is a word used to refer to racing teams where the drivers use the cars they own. And this racing team mainly uses Alfa Rome cars. By 1933, Scuderia Ferrari became Alfa’s racing car division.
In 1937, Enzo closed Scuderia Ferrari and became director of Alfa Corse, Alfa’s racing car factory. However, Enzo did not feel happy and soon quit his job.
The AAC 815, the first car model produced by Ferrari
In 1939, a week after leaving Alfa Corse, Enzo founded Auto Avio Costruzioni. And the AAC 815 is the first car that Ferrari developed itself. In 1940, AAC produced two 815s but both were banned from bearing the Ferrari name because of a non-compete agreement between Enzo and the companies he had previously worked for. The agreement prohibits Ferrari from using its name on racing or racing-related vehicles for at least four years.
Although World War II forced Ferrari to reduce its racing activities, the company returned to operations shortly after the war ended. In 1945, Ferrari introduced a new V12 engine, which would become one of its signatures.
In 1947, Ferrari introduced the 125 and this was the first car to bear the Ferrari name because their agreement with Alfa had ended.
Luigi Chinetti, black leather jacket, who proposed the idea of selling sports cars to everyone
In the late 1940s, Luigi Chinetti, a successful racing driver born in Italy and recently naturalized in the United States, suggested to Ferrari the prospect of producing sports cars for everyone.
Ferrari was hesitant about Chinetti’s idea because their main aim was to win races. At that time, Ferrari only produced and sold cars to racing teams. Chinetti started racing in Ferrari cars and won many races around the world.
In the early 1950s, Luigi Chinetti got the sports cars he wanted and opened one of the first Ferrari dealerships in America. Chinetti’s car showroom was located in Manhattan but later moved to Connecticut. America has become a fertile market for Ferrari. Even now, the United States is still the market that brings Ferrari the most profits.
This opens up a completely new and extremely promising business direction for Ferrari. Legendary car models such as the California Spider, GTO and Testarossa quickly appeared.
GT40, the legendary car model that helped Ford overthrow Ferrari’s dominance at Le Mans 1966
In the 1960s, Ferrari cars also demonstrated outstanding power on racetracks. In 1963, Ford CEO Henry Ford II decided to buy Ferrari’s street car production business. The deal failed after Enzo discovered that if they cooperated they would have to ask for money from Ford to continue attending races.
Angry that he could not complete the lucrative deal, Ford was determined to defeat Enzo in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race.
During that period, Ferrari dominated Le Mans. Enzo and his team won this 24-hour sports race 6 times in a row, from 1960 to 1965. By 1966, the card that Ford used to challenge Ferrari was ready. The legendary GT40 has been registered to roll on the Le Mans racetrack.
Ford’s racing team won four consecutive championships after that
Henry Ford II successfully took revenge. The GT40 won at Le Mans by taking all three leading positions, ending Ferrari’s dominance. On the momentum of victory, Ford won Le Mans four consecutive years, from 1966 to 1969.
In 1969, Enzo realized his company needed more resources not only to succeed but also to survive. That year, Enzo sold up to 50% of Ferrari’s shares to FIAT, the company that had refused to hire him.
Enzo Ferrari passed away in 1988 at the age of 90. Before his death, he signed off on the special car, produced to celebrate Ferrari’s 40th anniversary. This car is called F40.
After Enzo Ferrari passed away, long-time company director Luca di Montezemolo took over the position of Chairman. Under his guidance, Ferrari has grown into a global luxury brand.
Currently, Ferrari supercar models are sold for hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. In addition, Ferrari also sells clothes and jewelry.
On the track, Ferrari still dominates most of the tournament. Since Enzo’s death, Ferrari’s Formulla One racing team, still named Scuderia Ferrari, has won eight world championships.
Luca di Montezemolo, Enzo Ferrari’s successor
After a successful IPO in 2015, Ferrari has officially transformed from a racing car manufacturing startup into a billion-dollar global brand. But true to its roots, Ferrari is listed on the New York Stock Exchange with the code RACE.