Enzo Ferrari was born in Modena Italy on February 18 1898. He came from a well to do family that owned a metal foundry making railroad parts, they were the first in his town to own a car. When WWI came Enzo's father and brother (Dino) were drafted into the Italian army, whom both died from influenza in 1916.

Enzo was forced to leave school to run the foundry, when the business collapsed he started work as a metalworker at the Modena Fire Brigade workshop in order to support his widowed mother. Enzo himself was later drafted into the Italian army where he worked shoeing mules for the mountain artillery, after a few months he becomming seriously ill and was released from the military. Not interested in going back to shcool and against his mothers will, he found work as a test driver in Turin in late 1918. Enzo then moved to Milan to work at CMN (Costruzioni Maccaniche Nazionali) as a racing car driver. His first real race came in the 1919, the Parma-Berceto, he then entered the Targa Florio that same year.

1929-1946

Enzo Ferrari never intended to produce road cars when he formed Scuderia Ferrari in 1929 as a sponsor for amateur drivers headquartered in Modena. Ferrari prepared and successfully raced various drivers in Alfa Romeo cars until 1938, when he was officially hired by Alfa as head of their racing department.

In 1940, upon learning of the company's plan to absorb his beloved Scuderia and take control of his racing efforts, he quit Alfa. Because he was prohibited by contract from racing for several years, the Scuderia briefly became Auto Avio Costruzioni Ferrari, which ostensibly produced machine tools and aircraft accessories. Also known as SEFAC Ferrari did in fact produce one racecar, the Tipo 815, in the non-competition period; it was thus the first actual Ferrari car (it debuted at the 1940 Mille Miglia), but due to World War II it saw little competition. In 1943 the Ferrari factory moved to Maranello, where it has remained ever since. The factory was bombed in 1944 and rebuilt in 1946 to include a works for road car production. Right up to Il Commendatore's death, this would remain little more than a source of funding for his first love, racing.

1945-present

The first Ferrari road car was the 1947 125 S, powered by a 1.5 L V12 engine; Enzo reluctantly built and sold his automobiles to fund the Scuderia. While his beautiful and blazingly fast cars quickly gained a reputation for excellence, Enzo maintained a famous distaste for his customers, most of whom he felt were buying his cars for the prestige and not the performance.

Ferrari road cars, noted for magnificent styling by design houses like Pininfarina, have long been one of the ultimate accessories for the rich. Other design houses that have done work for Ferrari over the years include Scaglietti, Bertone, Touring, Ghia, and Vignale.

Some info about Ferrari 125 S 1947

The 125 (commonly called the 125 Sport or 125 S) was a sports car built by Ferrari in 1947. It was the first vehicle to bear the Ferrari name when it debuted in May of that year at the Piacenza racing circuit. It used a steel tube-frame chassis, had double wishbone suspension with transverse leaf springs in front with a live axle in the rear. Hydraulic power drum brakes were specified front and rear.

The 125 was powered by Gioacchino Colombo's 1.5 L (1497 cc/91 in³) 60° V12. This engine produced 100 hp (74 kW) at 7,000 rpm with a compression ratio of 8.5:1. It was a dual overhead camshaft design with 2 valves per cylinder and three double-choke Weber 30 DCF carburettors.The 125 was replaced by the 159 S for 1947.

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Ferrari's Road Models

Sports cars

Ferrari's earliest models were pure sports cars, not the supercars we know today.

1948-1950: Ferrari 166

In 1947 a new Italian car company unveiled a promising new sports car, the company was Ferrari, its first production model was called the 166. The car was really little more than a road going race car, it had a two seat open sports body, and a 1995cc V12 engine that produced an impressive 140bhp.

The 166 lasted in production until 1953, in this time only 38 cars were produced. Despite its limited production the 166 had a glorious competition career, notching up wins at Le Mans, the 1948 Targa Florio and famously the Mille Miglia.

1951: Ferrari 195 Coupe

After nearly forty 166 Inters were produced, a replacement was launched in 1950. The alloy V12 was increased to just over 2.3 litres, bringing the unitary displacement up to 195 cc and the 195 Inter was born. A third and final Inter was introduced in 1951, which was powered by an even larger engine and was dubbed 212 Inter.

Production ceased in 1952 when just 142 examples were produced. In fifty years time the annual output of Ferrari's road cars would increase to 5000 units, which is quite a difference compared to the 30 cars the Italian manufacturer produced in its early days.

Mid-engine V6/V8

The Dino was the first mid-engined Ferrari. This layout would go on to be used in most Ferraris of the 1980s and 1990s. V6 and V8 Ferrari models make up well over half of the marque's total production.

1968-1975 Dino

The name "Dino" honors the founder's late son, Alfredino "Dino" Ferrari, who was responsible for the creation of the V6 engine. Along with famed engineer, Aurelio Lampredi, Dino prodded Enzo Ferrari to produce a line of racing cars in the 1950s, with V6 and V8 engine designs.

The Dino name was retired by 1976, though the cars remained in production. It was created as an attempt to produce a relatively low cost vehicle by using components from more common vehicles, in much the same way that Porsche did with the 914.

The Dino was the first Ferrari model produced in high numbers: Just under 4,000 V6 Dinos were built in five years. Although not universally embraced, the V6 Dinos are lauded by many for their intrinsic driving qualities and groundbreaking design.

1975-1989: 208/308/328 GTB/GTS

The Ferrari 308 GTB (and similar 208 and later 328) were mid-engined sports cars that made up the lower end of the company's range. The 308 then replaced the 246 Dino in 1975 and was updated as the 328 in 1985. The 348 replaced the 328 five years later.

The 308 GT models are the most-common historical Ferrari model, with over 12,000 produced. Although it is a common car, and is priced at accessible levels today, the 308 and 328 GTB/GTS models are embraced by Ferrari fans and critics today. In 2004, Sports Car International named this car number five on the list of Top Sports Cars of the 1970s.

1989: 348

The 348 was powered by Ferrari's 3405cc V8, introduced with the car in 1989. The 90° light alloy V8 had 10.4:1 compression and 48 valves actuated by four overhead camshafts. It produced 300bhp at 7200rpm and 237lbs-ft at 4200rpm. The V8 was installed longitudinally in the 348, bolted along with the transmission and rear suspension into the removable tube-steel rear sub-frame, a significant innovation.

The new block had a revised basic geometry. It featured a five-main bearing crankshaft and nikasil-steel cylinder liners surmounted by heads with revised geometry and centrally mounted spark plugs for a high efficiency, high volume, high speed flow for spark and combustion efficiency. The valves were actuated through bucket tappets by dual overhead camshafts. A dry sump lubrication system provided necessary lubrication under all conditions. A pair of side-mounted radiators cooled the engine.

1995-1998: F355

The Ferrari F355 is a sports car built by Ferrari from May 1994 to 1999. It is an evolution of the Ferrari 348 and was replaced by the Ferrari 360. It is a mid-engined V8-powered 2-seat coupe. One major difference between the V8 in the 348 and that in the 355, apart from the displacement increase from 3.4 to 3.5 L, is that the 355 features a 5-valve per cylinder head. Like its predecessors and descendants, the F355 is a fairly common car (for a Ferrari) with nearly 12,000 produced.

At launch, two models were available: the coupe Berlinetta, and the targa topped GTS. The Spider (convertible) version was introduced in 1995. 1998 saw the introduction of the Formula One style paddle gear shift transmission with the Ferrari 355 F1 (note the dropping of the F before the 355) adding £6000 to the dealer asking price.

1999-2004: Ferrari 360

The 360 Modena was designed as an interpretation of the Ferrari berlinetta with a V8 engine for the 21st century, radically innovative features such as significant weight reduction, a larger body and a higher level of equipment. One extremely important element, which is new on a Ferrari road car, is the use of aluminium to build the entire frame, combined with the bodyshell and chassis components which are also fabricated in aluminium.

Powered by a normally aspirated, 400 hp, 3.6-litre, 40-valve, 8-cylinder engine the 360 Modena will be available with the second generation of the highly successful F1-type gearbox as well as the conventional six-speed manual transmission.

2005 F430

The F430 signals the arrival of a brand new generation of Ferrari 8-cylinder models. This new car takes Ferrari's extraordinary achievements with aluminium technology, begun with the 360 Modena, to a whole new level, and offers a series of extremely significant innovations directly derived from the Ferrari Formula 1 single-seaters.

Two of these innovations are world firsts for production cars: the electronic differential (E-Diff) and the steering wheel-mounted switch (better known to the Formula 1 Scuderia's drivers as "manettino"), which manages the integrated systems governing vehicle dynamics.

The other main characteristics of the new F430 are its light, compact 4,300 cc V8 engine, which punches out 490 hp to achieve a specific output of 114 hp/litre, also providing the new Ferrari berlinetta with a weight-to-power ratio of 2.8 kg/hp (dry weight); a braking system with carbon-ceramic discs for optimal efficiency under extreme use (optional); a Formula 1-derived gearbox that cuts gear shifting times down to 150 milliseconds allowing the driver to make the very most of this truly high performance car (0-62 mph acceleration in 4 seconds flat, a top speed in excess of 196 mph) and an aerodynamic design that embodies the very latest competition technologies, specifically the flat underbody and large rear diffuser to increase downforce.

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Front-engine 2+2

1960-1973: 250, 330, 365, 365 Daytona

The Ferrari 250 is a series of sports cars from the 1950s and early 1960s. It was the company's most successful early line of vehicles, produced for over a decade from 1953 to 1964 and spawning countless variants. The 250 was replaced by the 275. The most celebrated 250 is the 1962 250 GTO, a true supercar that spawned countless imitators.

The Ferrari 330 cars are the successor of Ferrari 250, first introduced by Ferrari in 1963. The first 330 America was simply a 250 GT with a larger engine, and the 330 GTC/GTS shared their chassis with the 275. Only the 330 GT 2+2 was a truly unique product. Production ended in 1968 with the introduction of the Ferrari 365 series.

All 330 models used an evolution of the 400 Superamerica's 4.0 L Colombo V12 engine. It was substantially changed for the 330 cars, however, with wider bore spacing and the notable use of a true alternator rather than a dynamo generator.

The Ferrari Daytona (correctly named the 365 GTB/4) is a Gran Turismo automobile produced from 1968 to 1973. It was first introduced to the public at the Paris Auto Salon in 1968 and replaced the 275GTB/4 but, although it was also a Pininfarina design (by Leonardo Fioravanti), the Daytona was radically different.

Its sharp-edged styling resembled a Lamborghini more than a traditional Pininfarina Ferrari. The Daytona name commemorates Ferrari's triple success in the February 1967 24 Hours of Daytona with the 330P4. While it was initially used as a pre-production internal denomination, Ferrari still insists that this was never the model's official name.

1976-1989 400/412

The Ferrari 400 and 412 models are lesser-known front-engined 2+2 coupés. Their design is derived from the 365 GT4 2+2 version of the famous Daytona. Production began in 1976, with the improved 412 introduced in 1985 and phased out in 1989. Today, the 400i has depreciated to the point where it could be easily be purchased for the price of a new family car, while it's sleek, Pininfarina-designed lines and relatively limited production numbers give it potential as a future classic.

The 400 was improved for 1985 with an increase in displacement (to 4943 cc) and a restoration of the original car's 340 hp. ABS was offered for the first time on a Ferrari, and the automatic transmission was retained.Production was stopped in 1989 with only the mid-engined Mondial offering 2+2 seating. The classic front-engine layout returned in 1992 with the 456.

2004-2005 612 Scaglietti

Named after famous Ferrari coachbuilder Sergio Scaglietti, the 4.9-metre long, all-aluminum 612 Scaglietti will blend the perfect combination of performance and comfort in the best traditions of a true Ferrari berlinetta designed to accommodate four people in high-speed luxury and safety.

For the first time, Ferrari is offering a 12-cylinder model with both the space-frame chassis and body panels in aluminum, built entirely in-house at Modena, Northern Italy, in the dedicated Scaglietti light-alloy technologies facility. The benefits of this construction method include a 60% increase in structural rigidity and significant weight savings of 60 kg compared to the current 456M GTA - despite the new car's larger dimensions.

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Ferrari's Symbol

The famous symbol of Ferrari is a black prancing horse on yellow background, usually with the letters S F for Scuderia Ferrari. The horse was originally the symbol of Count Francesco Baracca, a legendary "asso" (ace) of the Italian air force during World War I, who painted it on the side of his planes. Baracca died very young on June 19, 1918, shot down after 34 victorious duels and many team victories; he soon became a national hero. Baracca had wanted the prancing horse on his planes because his squad, the "Battaglione Aviatori", was enrolled in a Cavalry regiment (air forces were at their first years of life and had no separate administration), and also because he himself was reputed to be the best cavaliere of his team.

The Scuderia Ferrari logo Coat of Arms of the City of StuttgartIt has been supposed that the choice of a horse was perhaps partly due to the fact that his noble family was known for having plenty of horses in their estates at Lugo di Romagna. Another theory suggests Baracca copied the rampant horse design from a shot down German pilot having the emblem of the city of Stuttgart on his plane. Interestingly, German sports car manufacturer Porsche, from Stuttgart, borrowed its prancing horse logo from the city's emblem. Furthermore astonishing: Stuttgart is an over the centuries modified version of Stutengarten (an ancient german word for "Gestüt", translated into english as mare garden or stud farm, into italian as "scuderia").

On June 17, 1923, Enzo Ferrari won a race at the Savio track in Ravenna, and there he met the Countess Paolina, mother of Baracca. The Countess asked that he use the horse on his cars, suggesting that it would grant him good luck, but it the first race at which Alfa would let him use the horse on Scuderia cars was eleven years later, at SPA 24 Hours in 1932. Ferrari won. Ferrari left the horse black as it had been on Baracca's plane; however, he added a yellow background because it was the symbolic color of his birthplace, Modena. The prancing horse has not always identified the Ferrari brand only: Fabio Taglioni used it on his Ducati motorbikes. Taglioni's father was in fact a companion of Baracca's and fought with him in the 91st Air Squad, but as Ferrari's fame grew, Ducati abandoned the horse; this may have been the result of a private agreement between the two brands. The prancing horse is now a trademark of Ferrari.