Enzo
Anselmo Ferrari was born on February 18, 1898, in Modena, Italy. The second
child of parents Adalgisa and Alfredo, a metal worker, Ferrari was bitten by
the racing bug at age 10, when his dad took him to watch a motor car race in
Bologna.
Ferrari
also dreamed of becoming an opera singer, but the deaths of his father and
brother from the flu in 1916 forced him to grow up quickly, and he left school
to become an instructor for Modena's fire service workshop. Ferrari joined
the Italian Army in 1917 and shoed mules for the 3rd Alpine Artillery Division,
enduring his own serious battle with the flu before earning an honorable
discharge.
Driving
Career and Team Manager:
In
1919, Enzo Ferrari moved to Milan to work as a test driver for Costruzioni
Meccaniche Nazionali. Given the chance to compete with the company's racing
team, he made his debut at the 1919 Parma-Poggio di Berceto hill climb
race, finishing fourth in his division. He left CMN the following year to join
Alfa Romeo.
After
winning the Circuito del Savio in 1923, Ferrari met the parents of World War I
flying ace Francesco Baracca, who suggested the young driver use the emblem
that decorated their son's plane for good luck. The emblem—a prancing
horse—eventually came to represent the power and prestige of the Ferrari
marque. That year, Ferrari also married Laura Dominica Garello.
Said to
be unwilling to damage an engine by pushing it to its limits, Ferrari
nonetheless won his share of races and was honored by his country for his sporting achievements.
In 1929, he pulled together his own team of drivers and engineers for his (Ferrari
Stable). Comprised mainly of Alfa Romeos, the scuderia soon became
the official racing arm of the automaker.
Ferrari
competed in his final race in August 1931, and became a father with the birth
of his beloved son Dino in January 1932. Although he scored a huge victory with
one of his cars at the 1935 German Grand Prix, he had to close his scuderia in 1937 when Alfa Romeo reclaimed its
racing division. He left the company for good in September 1939, with the
stipulation he could not use the Ferrari name in association with racing or
cars for at least four years.
Rise of
Ferrari:
Soon
after leaving Alfa Romeo, Enzo Ferrari opened Auto Avio Costruzioni in Modena
and sought to develop his own racing cars, but the outbreak of World War II led
to government intervention. The company moved its factory to nearby
Maranello, where it focused on building grinding machines.
Ferrari
resumed designing racing cars at the conclusion of the war, and in March 1947
he took the first official Ferrari, the 125 S, out for a test-drive. The
marque scored its first win that year, at the Rome Grand Prix, and went on
to notch victories at the Mille Miglia in 1948, the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1949
and the British Grand Prix in 1951. In 1952 and 1953, Ferrari driver Alberto
Ascari won the world racing championship. Around this time, the company also
began producing cars for road use, with the rich and famous lining up for
a chance to purchase one of these dazzling vehicles.
Personal
and Company Turmoil:
Despite
rocketing to the top of the racing industry in the 1950s, Enzo Ferrari endured
immense personal turmoil during this period. The biggest blow was the death of
his son Dino from muscular dystrophy in 1956, a devastating loss that
turned him into a recluse. In addition, six of his drivers were killed between
1955 and 1965, and he was even tried for manslaughter (and acquitted)
after one of his cars careened into the roadside crowd at the 1957 Mille Miglia
and killed nine spectators.
Ferrari
lost the services of several top engineers and executives in the "Palace
Revolt" of 1961, reportedly after a dust-up over the intruding presence of
his wife. Two years later, he engaged in serious talks with the Ford Motor
Company about merging their operations, before pulling out at the last minute
due to concerns over a loss of control. He eventually did cede some
control of the company in 1969, when financial issues prompted him to sell a
50-percent stake to Fiat.
Inspirational
Quotes:
·
What's behind you doesn't matter.
·
The most important victory is the one which has to
arrive.
·
Aerodynamics are for people who can't build engines.
·
Race cars are neither beautiful nor ugly. They become
beautiful when they win.
·
The Ferrari is a dream - people dream of owning this
special vehicle and for most people it will remain a dream apart from for those
lucky few.
·
No one remembers who took second place and that will never
be me.
·
I am convinced, that when a man tells a woman he
loves her, he only means that he desires her; and that the only total love in
this world is that of a father for his son.
·
I gave (my drivers) three things: a sense of
optimism, a creative environment, and the ultimate motivator-competition. By
competing with each other in-house, we wound up beating our rivals.
·
Death will destroy my body, but my creatures will
keep on living ever after, in the years to come.
·
One must keep working continuously; otherwise, one
thinks of death.
·
Jeep is America's only real sports car.
·
Racing is a great mania to which one must sacrifice
everything, without reticence, without hesitation.
·
Everyone dreams of driving a Ferrari, it was my
intent from the start.
·
There is no triumph or glory in the world that's
worth an inch of human skin.
·
Second is the first of the losers.
·
I believe most things can be said in a few lines.
·
The era of gentleman racing drivers is ended.
·
I build engines and attach wheels to them.
·
You have to have courage to stand up to your critics.
·
I have never gone on a real trip, never taken a
holiday. The best holiday for me is spent in my workshops when nearly everybody
else is on vacation.
·
The Jeep is the only true American sports car.
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