Evolution of the Ferrari

The history of the popular sports car brand, Ferrari

Ferrari, the icon of luxury and speed is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer. The brand prides themselves on their history of being an Italian sports car brand based in Italy, and they will not let you forget. Their logo is a horse prancing upwards which symbolizes Italian luxury, exclusivity, performance, design and quality over all others. The history of the Ferrari tale began over seven decades ago, take a look.

The Origins

The first car under the Ferrari name was built in 1947, Ferrari 125 S. This car was built to resemble the Founder, Enzo Ferrari’s life story. This car an engine of 1.49 liter V12 and had 118 horsepower. It went from 0-60 mph in under 11 seconds and weighed less than 2,000 pounds. This car is what captured the minds of gearheads around the world. There were only two, Ferrari 125 S, that were built.

Racing

Franco Cortese drove the car in its first race in May 1947 and again in Rome Grand Prix, where it won its first victory. In terms of racing, the Ferrari name was known worldwide because of the endless streams of victories it had received. The Ferrari 125 S won its first Formula 1 World Championship grand prix in 1951. This was a huge win and it only continued.

The 60’s

Ferrari released two cars in the 1960’s. These two cars had completely different features and really showcased what Ferrari could do with its brand. In 1962, the GTO California was born with almost a 3 liter engine and reached 300 horsepower and a little less than 2,000 pounds, this car went fast. In 1969 the Dino 246 GT was not a convertible and had a V6 engine, which was the first Ferrari to have a V6 engine. Also in the late 60’s the logo began to appear on the single seaters of their cars.

The 80’s and 90’s

The 80’s and 90’s were full of ups and down for the brand. Although they released many iconic, history making cars, such as: 288 GTO, Testarosa in 1984, F40, and the F50. In 1988 the founder Enzo Ferrari passed away, his final car that was made was the F40. Racing stayed very important in the previous years of the Ferrari but during this time they only received two titles.

The 2000’s

This is when everything started to pick back up for the Ferrari brand. They had won 12 titles on American soil and were dominating the racing charts around the world. On a commercial standpoint they saw these years as the years to really branch out. They continued to launch very successful models. In 2002 they launched the Enzo, in honor of the Ferrari founder, this car was the fastest of the others with a 660 horsepower and a 6 liter V12 engine, it went 0-60 mph in 3 seconds. This car stood out and they had to go all out to honor their founder.

The 2000’s allowed for new branding opportunities. With this they saw the opportunities to open stores. In 2002 they opened the first Ferrari store in Maranello, Italy. Then they decided to go abroad and open 30 stores, from Dubai to Singapore to New York and Miami.

2010-Present

They have decided that in recent years it has been all about expansion. Expanding the brand, pushing to new limits and emerging their presence on markets overall. The models they have designed have aimed for comfort and drivability, all while sticking to their main mantra, the signature Ferrari performance.

In 2012, they released the 458 Italia, the LaFerrari in 2014 and the most recent one in 2017 called the 812 Superfast. These models have helped push Ferrari to their limits, and they will only continue to break the barriers on sportscars.