Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and began to produce its current line of road cars in 1947. Ferrari became a public company in 1960, and from 1963 to 2014 it was a subsidiary of Fiat S.p.A. It was spun off from Fiat's successor entity, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, in 2016. In 2024, the Wall Street Journal summed up the company's reputation in this way: "Ferrari has been synonymous with opulence, meticulous craftsmanship and ridiculously fast cars for nearly a century."
Headquarters in Maranello
Three Scuderia Ferrari cars in 1934, all Alfa Romeo P3s. Drivers, left to right: Achille Varzi, Louis Chiron, and Carlo Felice Trossi.
Ferrari's factory in the early 1960s: everything in its production line was handmade by machinists, who followed technical drawings with extreme precision. Much of this work is now done by industrial robots.
A Ferrari F2004 Formula One car, driven by Michael Schumacher. Schumacher is one of the most decorated drivers in F1 history.
The Mille Miglia was an open-road, motorsport endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi. It took place in Italy 24 times from 1927 to 1957.
Some of the founders posing together in Brescia, here pictured in the 1940s. From left to right: Giulio Binda, Aymo Maggi, Filippo Tassara, Giovanni Canestrini and Renzo Castagneto.
Cars in Brescia before departure at 1955 Mille Miglia.
Memorial in Guidizzolo for the nine victims of the fatal crash during the 1957 Mille Miglia.
Image: 1927 03 27 Mille Miglia winner OM 665 Minoia Morandi