What's your favourite Ferrari? For me? It's the Ferrari Enzo. I still remember the first time I saw it.
That's the thing though, Ferrari does this. They have this special place within everyone they touch and it's created this universal admiration for the Italian carmaker which stretches across the whole world.
The featured image is from YouTube and it's a snapshot of the Italian Grand Prix which is manic!
A sea of red to celebrate one of their most famous and important exports, Ferrari.
Ferrari's influence is absolute.
The creators of Ferris Bueller's day off even re-created one! The car in question was the Ferrari 250 GT California SWB.
A few things have convinced me of Ferrari's unquestionable influence. Firstly, you have Ferrari enthusiasts who are combining different aspects of past Ferraris to create their own monster. Did you hear of the SP3JC? It's a potent version of the F12tdf.
The deciding factor was the time I had the extraordinary feeling of seeing 7 or 8 Ferraris lined up (the Enzo was there). After I saw each one, the excitement carried over to the next car and by the end, I was completely overwhelmed.
The man behind it all was Enzo Ferrari (1898 - 1988). He dedicated his life to Ferrari from their formation in 1947. His drive, vision and determination earned him the nickname of 'il Commendatore'.
Inspired by his story, contemporary artist, Leesa Kensington, created a tribute to Enzo called 'Wild Stallion'.
Ferrari's journey into motorsport started from the get-go and they started in style as they were already making a name for themselves.
The first car to drive out of Maranello's gates was the 125 S. It had a 12-cylinder engine capable of 1,500cc..
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You could argue that it was a born winner because Franco Cortese took the chequered flag at the 25th Rome GP in 1947. The success of this car set the tone for the upcoming decade but we'll get to that later.
Fast forward over 70 years and times have certainly changed, the SF90 Stradale is their first PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) which is capable of 986bhp!
The '50s saw a massive upturn in fortune for Ferrari. They formed a famous collaboration with Carrazzeria Scaglietti to work on their chassis.
Does that name ring a bell? He was the mastermind behind the iconic 250 series which included the 250 GTO.
A serial record breaker, it caused pandemonium when it received a monster $45m estimate.
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On the production side, they wanted to modernise the company to give it more of an industrial scale and did two things. First, they became a limited company in 1960. Later, Fiat purchased 50% of the company in 1969 and increased their share to 90% in the late '80s. Piero Ferrari, the son of Enzo, held the remaining 10%.
This move gave them the scale they needed to take the company to the next level. In regards, to their racing? It went from strength to strength.
You already know about the 125 S and how it won the Rome GP. What followed was incredible. Over a 5-year period, Ferrari become a worldwide force.
They won the famous Mille Miglia in '48, Le Mans 24 hours in '49 and won an F1 World Championship in '52 and '53.
Ferrari's success in Le Mans reached its peak when they were dominating the competition and one of their biggest success stories was the Ferrari 275P.
Other successes in motorsport include the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Daytona.
They also tried their hand at rallying and entered the infamous 1968 Monte Carlo Rally with a 275 GTB.
Sitting at the pinnacle of motorsport is Formula 1 where you'll find Ferrari.
It can be argued that Ferrari are the living heartbeat of Formula 1.
They are the biggest team in the sport and that took some doing. They have contested in 900 Grand Prix races and won 15 Drivers' crowns and 16 Constructors' titles. They are the most successful team in Formula 1 and completely dominated from 2000-2004.
Trivia - the 2001 championship winning car was sold in auction for $7.5m.
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Their 2002 challenger was consigned to auction.
It's true they have iconic racing cars but this was transferred to the road as well.
Ferrari has these moments where they turn the car market on their head with a new car which takes performance, design and beauty to new levels. Here, we look at some of their most famous cars.
The Ferrari Enzo is a fascinating car. Not only the fact it was laden in state of the art F1 technology at the time but it was named after their founder.
The previous supercars of Ferrari such as the F40 and F50 don't share many resemblances to the Enzo. Its radical design was a first for Ferrari and spectators. However, it went down extremely well after winning numerous accolades and selling out before production even began!
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The car could move like anything though. A monster 6L V12 engine, it could go from 0-60 in 3.14 seconds to leave people breathless. Designed by Ken Okuyama, he included many F1 references such as the pointy nose at the front.
What a car. Ferrari entered the hypercar era with some serious swagger with the LaFerrari. It joined the Holy Trinity of Hypercars along with the Porsche 918 and McLaren P1.
Boasting around 950 horsepower, it became a worthy successor to the Ferrari Enzo and pushed speed, design and aerodynamics to phenomenal levels.
The car was a major success. In fact, they had to create more! For example, to benefit the victims of an earthquake an Italy, chassis #500, a special edition, was donated for auction with all proceeds going to charity.
The final car approved by Il Commendatore himself, the Ferrari F40 was a world's first.
With a top speed of 200mph, it was able to bring new meaning to performance and reasserted Ferrari as the pinnacle of speed.
Although this car doesn't contain the elegant interior of a 458, the mission of that car was speed. This is one of the major components of what a supercar is because they let aesthetics fall out of a window and built this car to be a speed demon and did that they did.
The original Ferrari supercar? This car came to out to a wave of excitement when it was announced at the 1984 Geneva Motor Show. Often confused with the 308, eagle-eyed car enthusiasts can differentiate from the engine design when you pop the hood.
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Originally destined for racing, the series never happened but we were left with a ferocious 2.8L turbocharged V8 dream. With a top speed of 189mph and 0-62mph in 4.9s, it kicked off a new era of Ferrari cars with obscene levels of performance.
To further illustrate the importance of this car to Ferrari, Its heritage can be likened to royalty. The F40, F50, Enzo and LaFerrari are part of that bloodline.
The 288 is incredibly scarce though. Originally, Ferrari only planned to create 200 of the cars as per competition requirements. However, they ended up creating 272 cars. An exclusive club indeed, it pales in comparison to the 1,315 F40's or the 500 LaFerraris.
No list isn't the same without this. What made this car so incredible was its racing heritage and also the fact that only 39 were ever made.
Owning one would be one thing but seeing one is something else. These rare angels can be found in select places around the world and often shatter auction records whenever they appear.
One buyer, in particular, made headlines when they paid £52m for one!
The 3L V-12 engined car produced 300hp which at the time was huge! Furthermore, it had a top speed of 174mph and competed across an array of different racing disciplines and created an enviable racing reputation.
Ferrari has exhausted every superlative over the course of their life which illustrates how much of an impact they have had on design and performance.
You only need to look at the 812 Superfast which channels both speed and design to new levels.
Staying true to their founder, they continue to experience success across an array of motorsport and will endeavour to bring more trophies to Maranello.
Today, Ferrari is bringing back those days of raw driving experiences with the launch of the Monza SP1 and Monza SP2.
Imagine Via - Around Magazine
Now, these cars are beasts. They disregard today's gadgets and active aero and put the fun and hair raising experiences back into driving!
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