Ferrari is a manufacturer of Italian luxury sports cars based in Maranello, Italy. It has been established as Auto Avio Costruzioni and it manufactured its first car in 1940. The beginning of the business as a carmaker, however, is generally recognized as 1947, when the first Ferrari-badged car was completed.1)
In the beginning, no other color option existed. “Rosso Scuderia” is the official name for the red paint. The color red is synonymous with the brand Ferrari these days, but in the early years of auto racing, red only happened to be the color that the International Automotive Federation allocated to all Italian Grand Prix race cars.2)
Ferrari has become a global icon as well as a worldwide symbol of wealth and prestige. Ferrari earns about $1.5 billion in goods at retail outlets worldwide per year.3)
Back in 2010 in Abu Dhabi, Ferrari opened its first theme park, called “Ferrari World.” Touted as the largest indoor theme park in the world, it has four roller coasters, including one inspired by F1 racing at almost 150 miles per hour, which happens to be the world's fastest coaster. 4)
Enzo Ferrari began his racing career as a CMN (Costruzioni Meccaniche Nazionali) driver in 1919 and shortly thereafter moved to Alfa Romeo, where he was appointed head of the Alfa Corse racing department. 5)
In 1940, Ferrari produced two 815 Auto Avio Costruzioni cars, which were not yet official Ferraris. The production of the first Ferraris was unfortunately interrupted by the outbreak of World War II, during which the Ferrari factory in Maranello was bombed. After these unfortunate events, the first official Ferrari was presented in 1945 — this was the V12 125S model. 6)
The Ferrari logo depicting a black prancing horse was taken from aviation history. The famous World War I air ace Francesco Baracca had this emblem painted on his plane. The black prancing horse was said to symbolize good luck. Ferrari took over this symbolism by placing the horse on a yellow background. 7)
Ferrari is 85 percent owned by Fiat. The Ferrari family owns only 10 percent, and the remaining 5 percent was held by Mubadala Development Company but was sold back to Fiat in 2010. 8)
A Ferrari Enzo model numbered 400 was given to Pope John Paul II. The Pope put his handwritten signature on the car and donated it to a charity auction. 9)
Ferrari is currently owned by Exor N.V. (22.91% stake), Piero Ferrari (10%) and the rest in the hands of private shareholders. 10)
Ferrari cars have the most victories in Formula One. 11)
Ferrari cars were the first cars in the world to be equipped with a rear spoiler in 1968. 12)
Before founding Ferrari, Enzo Ferrari raced Alfa Romeo cars in his own racing team called Scuderia Ferrari. 13)
In 2018, an anonymous person bought a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO for a record $70 million. 14)
In 1963 Jean Guichet won the Tour de France Automobile street race the most expensive Ferrari car ever sold. 15)
The most popular model is the Ferrari Dino. Interestingly, due to image issues, the Ferrari logo was not on it. 16)
Ferrari's headquarters are located in Amsterdam. 17)