History of Ferrari
and the Scuderia Ferrari
Today everyone knows that Ferrari are synonymous with Formula One. While they are internationally famous for their road supercars, like Porsche or Lamborghini, Ferrari are exclusively tied to motorsport due to their history. Both Porsche and Lamborghini have had many links to and much success in motorsport, including Formula 1, however to the everyday public no other manufacturer has the same historical ties as Ferrari. However if it was the founder Enzo Ferrari's way, we would not be driving Ferrari road cars in the first place.
Enzo was born in Modena in 1898. His family was said to be the first in this town to own a car. They were a well off family who made their money from their metal foundry making railroad parts. Enzo lost his father and brother (Dino) in World War 1, and he was later drafted into the army himself. However he fell ill, and was released. Not interested in school he landed a test driving role in Turin, and soon moved to Milan to work as a racing driver for CMN. He entered he first race in 1919.
Enzo founded the Ferrari stable for training Alfa Romeo drivers in 1928. This name “Scuderia Ferrari” meaning team, but literally “Stable” prepared, raced and sponsored several successful Alfa Romeo drivers for 10 years until Enzo was officially hired by Alfa as head of their racing department. However upon learning that Alfa Romeo wanted to buy the Scuderia he quit Alfa. Under contract of not being able to race cars, and because of the war, Ferrari produced parts for planes, until they moved to Maranello in 1943. In the non competition period of the war, Ferrari did however make one car, the Tipo 815 but due to the war it saw very little competition and thus was under the radar of Alfa who were under conscription by Mussolini. However the Tipo 815 was the first Ferrari car.
After being bombed during the war and having to rebuild the Maranello facility in 1946, the rebuild included a road car facility. It was here that the first Ferrari road car was built, the 1947 125 S with a small 1.5 litre V12. Enzo sold the cars to fund the Scuderia. He was reluctant to sell them and grew to have a disliking to many of his customers. His feelings being they were buying the cars for the prestige and not for racing, something which arguably is even more so the case today.
Enzo Ferrari died in Modena on August 14, 1988 however his Scuderia lives on. Ferrari has entered many different classes of motorsport over the years but it has become uniquely linked to Formula 1. It is the only team to have entered in every championship since its creation in 1950. It is also the most successful team ever winning its first race in 1951. The experience of driving a Ferrari is all the more exciting knowing the bloodline of its race cars have flowed into its supercars from the classic Ferrari F40 to the modern day greats like the Ferrari 458 Italia and the F12 Berlinetta.
So many great names have dominated in Ferraris, like Fangio, Ascari, Prost, and Schumacher, and this is what makes driving a Ferrari so unique. This pedigree is felt in every road car and it is the reason why they are the most popular choices for driving experience days. A Ferrari driving experience day is the supercar driving experience, just as Ferrari is Formula 1. Thanks to this we can travel anywhere in the country and experience the pedigree of the Scuderia on a race track. And get to feel what it is like to be one of the Scuderia Ferrari legends by stepping into their namesakes cars where these supercars belong, on a race track.
View current Ferrari 458 Driving Experiences