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When asked to name a supercar who wouldn’t have Ferrari on the tip of their tongue. What young boy doesn’t dream of shiny red Ferraris? But where did the famous brand of Ferrari come from and who is the great man behind the legend? Enzo Ferrari was born in Modena, Italy, on 18th February 1898. His family owned a foundry and Enzo shared a room above the workshop with his brother Alfredo, waking to the sound of hammering when work started in the mornings. The young Enzo saw with his father his first car race in 1908. The whole environment of the shouting crowds and the brave drivers aroused his interest. Enzo was forced to leave school after the death of his father, going on to work in the Modeno Fire Brigade’s workshop as a turning instructor. After a spell in the army (which he joined in 1917), Enzo was released from duty because of ill health. Instead of returning to schooling, Enzo found work as a test driver in Turin in 1918, later moving to Milan to work as a racing driver for automaker Construzioni Meccaniche Nazionale. The first major race that Enzo entered was the Parma-Berceto in 1919. After that there was no looking back.
Enzo founded Scuderia Ferrari in 1929. They trained and sponsored Alfa Romeo staff. He was head of racing at Alfa Romeo until he heard that they planned to take over Scuderia Ferrari – prompting him to leave. After that he was prohibited from competitive racing for a few years so the factory produced machine tools and aircraft accessories, although they did manage to make the Tipo 815 racing car during that time. The emblem of Ferrari (the prancing horse) was adopted by Ferrari in 1923. At the Savio track in Ravenna after a race win, Enzo met the mother of Baracca, an Italian air force ace and national hero who was shot down at a young age. Baracca had a black horse as an emblem on his planes because his squad was enrolled in a cavalry regiment. The countess wanted him to use the emblem for good luck. Enzo kept the original black horse but added a yellow background – a symbolic colour of Modena.
Ferrari moved to Maranello in 1943. In 1946 the factory was rebuilt after World War Two bomb damage. The first Ferrari road car was built in 1947 – the 125 Sport. It was a high performance car with a powerful V12 engine. They entered Formula One racing in 1950. The famous F40 was the last car to be comissioned by Enzo. It was revealed on the 40th birthday of the Ferrari company. Enzo Ferrari died on 14th August 1988 in Modena. Ferrari today can claim 16 F1 constructors titles, 15 F1 drivers’ titles, 203 F1 pole postitions and 209 F1 wins to name but a few. They are legendary in the field of Formula One and attract top drivers. Michael Schumacher driving for Ferrari dominated F1 from 2000-2004 and cemented the place of Ferrari as a great racing brand.
For a chance to get behind the wheel of a Ferrari today you can do a web search for Ferrari hire London, Ferrari hire Buckinghamshire or another geographical type search to find a super car hire place near you.
