ferrari

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Ferrari
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Coordinates: 44°31′57″N 10°51′51″E / 44.532447°N 10.864137°E / 44.532447; 10.864137
This article is about the automobile manufacturer. For other uses, see Ferrari (disambiguation).
Ferrari S.p.A.
Type Subsidiary
Founded 1947
Founder(s) Enzo Ferrari
Headquarters Maranello, Italy
Key people Luca di Montezemolo, (Chairman)
Piero Ferrari, (Vice-President)
Amedeo Felisa, (CEO)
Giancarlo Coppa , (CFO)
Industry Automotive
Products Sports cars
Revenue ▲ € 1,921 million (2008)[1]
Employees 2,926 (2007)[2]
Parent Fiat S.p.A.
Website Ferrariworld.com

Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1928 as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles in 1947 as Ferrari S.p.A.. Throughout its history, the company has been noted for its continued participation in racing, especially in Formula One, where it has enjoyed great success.

Contents [hide]
1 Company structure
2 History
3 Motorsport
3.1 Sports car racing
3.2 Formula One
3.3 Other motorsports
4 Road cars
4.1 Supercars
4.2 Concept cars and specials
4.3 Naming conventions
5 The "Cavallino Rampante" Prancing Horse Logo
6 Racing Red - Rosso Corsa
7 Merchandising and exhibiton
8 Technical Partnerships
9 See also
10 References
11 External links


Company structure
Ferrari was founded as an independent company by Enzo Ferrari. During the 1960s, the company was in financial difficulty, and Mr Ferrari announced his intention to sell the company to ensure continued financial backing. Interest from the Ford Motor Company was rejected in favour of an offer from the Fiat Group, which took control of the company's sports car division in 1969. Enzo Ferrari retained control of the racing division until his death in 1988 at the age of 90.

In 2007 the Financial Times put Ferrari at the top of its list of 100 Best Workplaces in Europe.


History
Main article: History of Ferrari
Enzo Ferrari never intended to produce road cars when he had formed Scuderia Ferrari (literally "Ferrari Stable", and usually used to mean "Team Ferrari", it is correctly pronounced "skoo deh REE ah") 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 hired by Alfa Romeo to head their motor racing department.

In 1941, Alfa Romeo was confiscated by the Fascist government of Benito Mussolini as part of the Axis Powers' war effort. Enzo Ferrari's division was small enough to be unaffected by this. Because he was prohibited by contract from racing for four years, the Scuderia briefly became Auto Avio Costruzioni Ferrari, which ostensibly produced machine tools and aircraft accessories. Also known as SEFAC (Scuderia Enzo Ferrari Auto Corse), Ferrari did in fact produce one race car, the Tipo 815, in the non-competition period. It was 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 by the Allies in 1944 and rebuilt in 1946, after the war ended, and included a works for road car production. Until Il Commendatore's death, this would remain little more than a source of funding for his first love, racing.


166MM Barchetta 212/225.The first Ferrari road car was the 1947 125 S, powered by a 1.5 L V12 engine; Enzo Ferrari reluctantly built and sold his automobiles to fund Scuderia Ferrari.[citation needed] While his beautiful and fast cars quickly gained a reputation for excellence, Enzo maintained a famous distaste for his customers.[citation needed]

In 1988, Enzo Ferrari oversaw the launch of the Ferrari F40, the last new Ferrari to be launched before his death later that year, and arguably one of the most famous supercars ever made.

On May 17, 2009 in Maranello, Italy, a 1957 250 Testa Rossa (TR) was auctioned, by RM Auctions and Sotheby's, for $12.1 Million - a world record for the most expensive car ever sold at an auction. [3]