About Ferrari Car : a BLog

 When it comes to luxury cars, certain companies command more respect than others. This respect is earned through design, innovation and passion. Plus a history of being able to produce some incredible vehicles! This is the Evolution of Ferrari! Named after its founder, Enzo Ferrari, the company’s origins can be traced back to a time when the entrepreneur workedin the racing division of Alfa Romeo. Prior to that, Enzo himself had actuallybeen a successful race car driver, winning his first Grand Prix in 1923. However, following the deaths oftwo of his fellow Italian drivers, Ugo Sivocci, and Antonio Ascari, 

Enzo Ferrari retired from racingand instead began to manage and develop race cars for Alfa Romeo. Eventually, he left Alfa Romeo in 1939to start his own company named Auto-Avio Construzioni. since his contract said thathe was legally not allowed to use his own name for any race carsuntil at least 4 years later. As such, the first car to be fully designedand built by Ferrari was not a Ferrari at all, at least not in name. 

Instead it was called the‘Auto Avio Costruzioni 815'. It was a two-seater sports carwith a 1.5-liter engine and only two of them were ever built. They both saw actionat the 1940 Brescia Grand Prix but failed to finish due to engine problems. Still, Enzo had gotten his first taste of ownership and from then on he never looked back. But then World War 2 started,preventing Ferrari to build more sports cars. The Ferrari factory was actually bombed during the war, which strengthened Enzo’s decision torelocate from Modena to Maranello, where the company’s headquarters remain to this day. Once the war had ended though,

 Ferrari was no longer under anycontractual obligations from Alfa Romeo. He was free to build cars in his own nameand to compete against his former employer. Fun Fact Have you ever wondered where the inspiration forFerrari’s ‘prancing horse’ logo comes from? It actually refers to the symbol of Frencesco Baracca, who was a heroic airman of the first World War. Frencesco was shot down after 34 victorious duels. The father and mother came to Ferrari one day and asked him "‘Ferrari, put my son’s prancing horse on your cars. It will bring you good luck" and so he did. The first official Ferrari was released in 1947and was called the Ferrari 125 S. Two units were made, and the car was unable to finish its first race when it made its debut. However, the sleek race car with a 1.5 liter V12 engine capable of speeds up to 130 mph did claim its first victory at the Grand Prix of Rome and won six of its fourteen races in 1947. Ferrari has built countless of other race cars, 

but we won’t cover them all as this video would be longer than the Lord of the Rings. Fun Fact Enzo Ferrari had always intended to design carsfor the racetrack but as we now know, his creations became so popularthat they soon broke into the mainstream. The man himself was once quoted as saying, "Everyone dreams of driving a Ferrari,it was my intent from the start." The following year, Ferrari made its first grand tourer, a sports car designed for both high speedand long-distance driving. Dubbed the 166 Inter,it was powered by a 2 Liter V12 and could reach a top speed of 93 miles per hour. 38 of these touring cars were produced and one was put up for auction in 2014 at Bonhams with a guide price of more than 1 million dollars! A more powerful touring car was produced in 1950,the Ferrari 195 Inter. It could reach a top speed of 112 miles per hour,making it much faster than the 166 Inter. In total only 28 of these cars were built. Ferrari started developing cars marketedtowards the American market with the high-end Ferrari America series. 

The first in the series was the 340,which was a powerful race car. The 4.1 Liter V12 engine could reacha top speed of 149 miles per hour, making it the fastest Ferrari at the time. A special version of the Ferrari 340 America that raced in prominent races like 24 Hours of Le Mans was sold at an auction for, wait for it, 6.3 million dollars! The 342 followed,but these were instead road cars that utilized the same V12 engine. Only 6 were made, one of which was owned byKing Leopold III of Belgium. In 1951 a successor to the Ferrari 195 Intercame known as the 212 Inter. It was a sports car for the road,that also won international races.

 In the same year as when the car was build, two 212 Inters participated at ‘Carrera Panamericana’ in Mexico, and achieved a first AND second place! The car could accelerate from 0 to 60 in 10.5 seconds and reach a top speed of 116 miles per hour. Ferrari made a total of 82 units, which is many more than previous models. The 250 Europa took over from the 212 Inter in 1953. It was Ferrari’s first real grand touring car, since it was built without any racing intentions. While it wasn’t built for racing, the 250 was still significantly faster than the 212 Inter. In 1960 came the Ferrari 400 Superamerica, with American styling elementsthat were trending at the time, which gave it a unique design. The 4 liter V12 engine also made it the fastest Ferrari, reaching a top speed of 165 miles per hour. The car was available as a coupe, spider and cabriolet. 

For those of you who don’t know the difference: A coupe has a normal roof, the spider doesn’t have a roof, while the cabriolet has a roof that can fold down. Fun Fact In 2016 the Ferrari 400 Superamericawas sold at an auction, and while pre-sale estimates were 2.7 million, the car ended up selling fora whopping 4.4 million dollars! In 1962 Ferrari released a very special model, the 250 GTO. This road and track car was extremely quick, reaching 60 miles per hour in 2.9 seconds,which was unheard of at the time! The 250 GTO won many racesincluding the 2000 cc class of the FIA’s 

“International Championship for GT manufactures”in 1962, 1963 and 1964. It also won the “Tour de France Automobile”in 1963 and 1964, making Ferrari’s nine year dominance in that race! Buyers who were interested in the carhad to be personally approved by Enzo Ferrari. In total 36 GTO’s were produced, each sold for $18,500 dollars. Fun Fact As an indicator of how well-liked some Ferraris can be, a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO Berlinettawent up for auction in 2018 for a whopping $48.4 million dollars! That’s not all in the same year another GTO was sold privately for $70 million dollars,making it the most expensive car ever sold! In 1963 Ferrari released the 330 America. You might be confusedwhy it’s called the 330 America, while the first Ferrari from the America serieswas called the Ferrari 340 America. 

This is because the name “330” isn’t the series number, but instead refers to the approximate displacement ofeach single cylinder in cubic centimeters. The 330 America is one of the few Ferrari modelsthat actually has seats for 4 passengers, rather than just 2. In total 50 units were made. One year later came the 500 Superfast. It was the last car in the top-line America series. During developmentit was called the “Superamerica”, but right before release the namewas changed to “Superfast” instead. And it’s easy to understand why,since this car was made for speed. It had a 5 liter V12 enginethat made it the fastest Ferrari at the time, with a top speed of 174 miles per hour. In 1966 the Ferrari 365 Californiawas presented at the Geneva Motor Show. 

The 365 California is a convertiblehigh performance luxury sports car of which only 14 were made. It wasn’t as fast as the 500 Superfast, but it could reach 60 miles per hour in 6.7 seconds, while enjoying the sun with the roof open. The Ferrari Dino 206 GTwas an important model for Ferrari as it was vital that they increased sales,while reducing production costs. That’s why for the first time in Ferrari history,the car was built on an assembly line. In total 152 units were produced, which made it by far the most produced Ferrari. The car was named after the son of Enzo Ferrari, named Alfredo Ferrari, but nicknamed Dino.

 Alfredo worked on buildinga new 1.6 liter V6 engine for this car, but he passed away on June 30, 1956, and would never see the final result of the V6 engine. He died at the age of 24 and to honour his name the car was named “Dino”. It was the first Ferrari model to carry aDino badge on the nose instead of a Ferrari one. The V6 engine meant the car wasn’tas fast as many of the previous models and it had a top speed of 146 miles per hour. Fun Fact The Dino 206 GT had a smaller V6 engine, not because it was Ferrari’s desire,but because of new regulations in Formula 2 racing. Engines had to be produced inat least quantities of 500 units a year. 

And building that many engines wasn’t possible for Ferrari, so they partnered with Fiat to build enough V6 engines. As with many major car manufacturers, Ferrari has come up with several concept cars over the years. The first significant one was the Ferrari 512S Modulo,designed by Paolo Martin and unveiled at the 1970 Geneva Motor Show. It was remarkably futuristic for its time, featuring a very low, wedge-shape designwith a sliding glass roof through which the driver entered the car. 

An engine cover with 24 holes showed off the5 liter V12 engine, thought to be able to develop 550 brake horsepower and achieve a top speed of up to 220 miles per hour! The estimated 0 to 60 time was 3 seconds, which made it one of the quickest Ferraris. The Modulo was definitely unique,and was well-received, winning as many as 22 awards for its design. Ferrari established themselves as an excellent carmanufacturer for both race cars and road cars. But Ferrari wasn’t done there. In the next episode we’ll feature some of themost interesting Ferrari’s ever built, so click the video on screen to keep watching.