Whether you’re into cars or not, most people cannot resist casting an admiring glance across the sublime curves of a Ferrari when they hear the famous engine rumble. And there’s so much more to this car than meets the eye…..
Enzo Ferrari
The son of a humble greengrocer and grandson of a railway straightener, Enzo Ferrari was born in Modena, Italy in 1898. Cars may not have initially been in his blood, but motorcycles were – he rode his favorite motorcycle, the British brand Rudge, to first place in a number of motor races.
Prancing black horse
The prancing black horse is famous around the world as representing Ferrari, but where did this originate? Count Francesco Baracca, a World War I fighter pilot, had the prancing black horse painted on his fighter plane and after his death, the emblem was gifted to Enzo by Baracca’s mother, and it has been used ever since.
The colour red
Testa Rossa, meaning red-head in Italian, was the name initially used to describe the bright red 3.5 litre 12 cylinder engine. Then, in 1984, the Ferrari Supercar, featuring a mid-engine layout, adopted the colour as its own. Red then went onto be the signature colour for not only the vehicle manufacturer but also for the colour of the racing team. There are many more colours available, but red is the most popular. The car’s performance is measured using a variety of testing such as computer data, GPS tracking that is like the Fleet Vehicle Tracking provided by Vehicle Accessories and extensive testing in the design and construction phases.
Trendsetter
As a major trendsetter in the automobile industry, Ferrari started off the influx of manufactured supercar sports cars that wanted to go head-to-head and knock Ferrari off the top spot. Brands such as Lamborghini, founded in 1963, produced ‘touring cars’ to rival the Ferrari. When a bid by Ford Motor Company to take over Ferrari in 1963 failed, the created the legendary Ford GT40 – see https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/17/sports/autoracing/when-ford-conquered-ferrari-at-le-mans.html.
Pininfarina
Pininfarina, the famous Italian design studio, has worked with Ferrari since the 1950s on all Ferrari vehicles taking to the road. In fact, in the 1980s, a four-door concept car called ‘Pinin’, in a nod to its famous partnership was to be manufactured but failed to get the approval of Enzo Ferrari.
And the Ferrari story didn’t end with Enzo’s death at 90 years old in 1988 but lives on through his legacy.
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