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“If you can dream it, you can do it.”– Enzo Ferrari
Enzo Ferrari led a fascinating life and went on to lead a successful racing career as well as build one of the best-loved sports car companies and the Top automotive brand in the world.
He founded and ran 1 of the most successful racing championship teams in motorsport history. Good work the son of a metal worker from Modena in Italy.
Here I answer some common questions about the legend that is Enzo Ferrari and highlight som interesting facts about his life and dream, as follows:
Enzo Ferrari died on 14 August 1988 in Modena, Italy, he was 90 anni, the cause of his death is unknown, old age likely!
A few wks after Enzo Ferrari’s death, the Italian Grand Prix was held. The result was a 1-2 finish for Ferrari, with the Austrian Gerhard Berger taking 1st place and Milan native Michele Aboreto 2nd. It was the only F1 race the McLaren did not win that season.
Enzo married Laura Dominica Garello on 28 April 1923. They would remain married until her death in Y 1978.
The couple had a son, Dino, and Enzo had a mistress, Lina Lardi, while married to Laura. With his mistress, Enzo had another son, Piero. Because divorce was not legal in Italy then, Piero could not officially be recognized as Enzo’s son until Laura’s death.
Enzo Ferrari fought during WWI. During the war, he served under the 3rd Mountain Artillery Regiment of the Italian Army.
Number 1 son Alfredino, or “Dino” was born in Y 1932. He was groomed to be Enzo’s successor but did not live long enough. Dino tragically died of muscular dystrophy at 24 anni in Y 1956.
Enzo, devastated by the loss of his son visited his grave as often as he could. In life, Dino suggested developing a 1.5-liter DOHV V6 Engine for F2 cars.
After his death, Enzo dedicated the Dino series of road and racing cars to the memory of his son, using the V-6 engine he suggested.
The iconic Ferrari logo, a black prancing horse on a yellow background, has a glorious history. The prancing horse was the personal emblem of WWI ace Francesco Baracca and was painted on his fighter plane during the war.
Officer Baracca would become 1 of the best Italian fighter pilots of the war and was a national hero. He made the first Italian aerial kill of the war and would rack up another 34 kills during the war.
Officer Baracca was killed in Y 1918, and his mother later gave Enzo the emblem for his own personal use. He gratefully accepted the gift, changing the white background to bright yellow in recognition of his home town, Modena.
Enzo Ferrari had and lived a reserved life, despite his fame. He would rarely grant interviews and refrained from leaving his homes in Modena in Maranello. I was in Maranello 4X in the late 1960s, did not meet him, I was told he was not there.
Enzo would leave under exceptional circumstances, like the Grand Prix at Monza and a trip to Paris to settle a feud between FISA and FOCA in Y 1982. He never flew in an airplane, never traveled to Rome, and never set foot inside an elevator. He suffered from claustrophobia, thus his reluctance to enter small spaces like airplanes and elevators.
The iconic Ferrari F40 is a mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive sports car. It was in production from the late 1980s to the early 1990s.
It was the successor to the 288 GTO and was designed to celebrate Ferrari’s 40th anni. And it was the last Ferrari to receive Enzo Ferrari’s personal approval prior to his death.
At the time of production, it was the fastest, most powerful, and most expensive Ferrari ever built. Only 400 were ever built and were sold for a suggested retail price of around $400,000 at the time.
Enzo Ferrari famously once said, “aerodynamics are for people who can’t build engines”.
Ferrari had something to say about everything. With that quote he meant that if the engine is good, you do not need aerodynamics.
It seems his opinion changed over the yrs, as the aforementioned Ferrari F40 was widely considered the most aerodynamic cars at the time.
Enzo Ferrari lived his Dream, and the Ferrari Dream lives on.
Have a healthy, Prosperous week, Keep the Faith!
