Chevrolet
Chevrolet, colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors. Louis Chevrolet and ousted General Motors founder William C. Durant started the company on November 3, 1911 as the Chevrolet Motor Car Company. Durant used the Chevrolet Motor Car Company to acquire a controlling stake in General Motors with a reverse merger occurring on May 2, 1918 and propelled himself back to the GM presidency. After Durant's second ousting in 1919, Alfred Sloan, with his maxim "a car for every purse and purpose", would pick the Chevrolet brand to become the volume leader in the General Motors family, selling mainstream vehicles to compete with Henry Ford's Model T in 1919 and overtaking Ford as the best-selling car in the United States by 1929. Chevrolet-branded vehicles are sold in most automotive markets worldwide. In Oceania, Chevrolet is represented by GM subsidiary, having returned to the region in 2018 after a 50-year absence with the launching of the Camaro and Silverado pickup truck.
In 2005, Chevrolet was relaunched in Europe selling vehicles built by GM Daewoo of South Korea with the tagline "Daewoo has grown up enough to become Chevrolet", a move rooted in General Motors' attempt to build a global brand around Chevrolet. With the reintroduction of Chevrolet to Europe, GM intended Chevrolet to be a mainstream value brand, while GM's traditional European standard-bearers, Opel of Germany, Vauxhall of United Kingdom would be moved upmarket. However, GM reversed this move in late 2013, announcing that the brand would be withdrawn from Europe, with the exception of the Camaro and Corvette in 2016. Chevrolet vehicles will continue to be marketed including Russia. After General Motors acquired GM Daewoo in 2011 to create GM Korea, the last usage of the Daewoo automotive brand was discontinued in its native South Korea and succeeded by Chevrolet. In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks.
Due to the prominence and name recognition of Chevrolet as one of General Motors' global marques, Chevy or Chev is used at times as a synonym for General Motors or its products, one example being the GM LS1 engine known by the name or a variant thereof of its progenitor, the Chevrolet small-block engine. On November 3, 1911, Swiss race car driver and automotive engineer Louis Chevrolet co-founded the Chevrolet Motor Company in Detroit with William C. Durant and investment partners William Little, former Buick owner James H. Whiting, Dr. Edwin R. Campbell and in 1912 R. S. McLaughlin CEO of General Motors in Canada. Durant was cast out from the management of General Motors in 1910, a company which he had founded in 1908. In 1904 he had taken over the Flint Wagon Works and Buick Motor Company of Michigan, he incorporated the Mason and Little companies. As head of Buick, Durant had hired Louis Chevrolet to drive Buicks in promotional races. Durant planned to use Chevrolet's reputation as a racer as the foundation for his new automobile company.
The first factory location was in Flint, Michigan at the corner of Wilcox and Kearsley Street, now known as "Chevy Commons" at coordinates 43.00863°N 83.70991°W / 43.00863. Actual design work for the first Chevy, the costly Series C Classic Six, was drawn up by Etienne Planche, following instructions from Louis; the first C prototype was ready months before Chevrolet was incorporated. However the first actual production wasn't until the 1913 model. So in essence there were no 1911 or 1912 production models, only the 1 pre-production model was made and fine tuned throughout the early part of 1912. In the fall of that year the new 1913 model was introduced at the New York auto show. Chevrolet first used the "bowtie emblem" logo in 1914 on The L Series Model, it may have been designed from wallpaper. More recent research by historian Ken Kaufmann presents a case that the logo is based on a logo of the "Coalettes" coal company. An example of this logo as it appeared in an advertisement for Coalettes appeared in the Atlanta Constitution on November 12, 1911.
Others claim that the design was a stylized Swiss cross, in tribute to the homeland of Chevrolet's parents. Over time, Chevrolet would use several different iterations of the bowtie logo at the same time using blue for passenger cars, gold for trucks, an outline for cars that had performance packages. Chevrolet unified all vehicle models with the gold bowtie in 2004, for both brand cohesion as well as to differentiate itself from Ford and Dodge, its two primary domestic rivals. Louis Chevrolet had differences with Durant over design and in 1914 sold Durant his share in the company. By 1916, Chevrolet was profitable enough with successful sales of the cheaper Series 490 to allow Durant to repurchase a controlling interest in General Motors. After the deal was completed in 1917, Durant became president of General Motors, Chevrolet was merged into GM as a separate division. In 1919, Chevrolet's factories were located at Michigan. Y. Norwood, Ohio, St. Louis, Oakland, California, Ft. Worth and Oshawa, Ontario General Motors of Canada Limited.
McLaughlin's were given GM Corporation stock for the proprietorship of their Company article September 23, 1933 Financial Post page
Allard
Allard Motor Company Limited was a London-based low-volume car manufacturer founded in 1945 by Sydney Allard in small premises in Clapham, south-west London. Car manufacture ceased within a decade, it produced 1900 cars before it became insolvent and ceased trading in 1958. Before the war, Allard supplied some replicas of a Bugatti-tailed special of his own design from Adlards Motors in Putney. Allards featured large American V8 engines in a light British chassis and body, giving a high power-to-weight ratio and foreshadowing the Sunbeam Tiger and AC Cobra of the early 1960s. Cobra designer Carroll Shelby and Chevrolet Corvette chief engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov both drove Allards in the early 1950s; the first Allard cars were built to compete in "trials" events – timed rally-like events on terrain impassable by wheeled vehicles. Built in under three weeks, the first Allard was powered by a Ford flathead V8 in a body pirated from a Bugatti; the V8 was moved backward in the chassis to improve traction.
The car used the American engine's high torque to great effect in slow-speed competition. It debuted at the Gloucester Cup Trials, won the 100 miles event at Southport Sands. After a time the front beam axle was converted to independent front suspension. Leslie Ballamy's rather crude method was to cut the beam in half and mount the halves as swing axles and these swing axles were used on nearly all Allard specials. Further Allards were soon built to order. Allard's brother, was a customer, while racer Ken Hutchinson purchased a 4.4-litre Lincoln-Zephyr V12-powered version. It led to the pair forming a team, dubbed Tail Waggers, to race the car, which proved quite successful, including setting a new record at the Prescott hillclimb. In 1937, Allard began selling them for £ 450 each. By the outbreak of war in 1939, twelve Allard Specials had been built. Sydney Allard's planned volume production was pre-empted by work on Ford-based trucks during the conflict. By the war's end, Allard had built up a substantial inventory of Ford parts.
The Allard Motor Company was founded in 1945, setting up in London. Using its inventory of easy-to-service Ford mechanicals built up during World War II and bodywork of Allard's own design, three post-war models were introduced with a newly-designed steel chassis and lightweight body shells: the J, a competition sports car. All three were based on the Ford Pilot chassis and powered by a stock 85 hp 3,622 cc sidevalve V8 with a single carburettor and 6:1 compression, driving a three-speed transmission and low-geared rearend, for superior acceleration. Front suspension was Ballamy swing rear Ford solid axle, they were bodied in aluminium by Allard's friend Godfrey Imhof. Sales were brisk for a low-volume car, demand was high for cars in general, which led to the introduction of several larger models, the drophead coupe M and P. Allard used "J" for the short-wheelbase two-seaters, "K" for two- or three-seat tourers or roadsters, "L" for four-seat tourers, "M" for drophead coupes, "P" for fixed-head cars.
As models were replaced, subsequent models were numbered sequentially. Built from 1946-1947, the J1 was released as a two-seater competition car together with the K1 touring two-seater and the L- Type touring 4-seater; the J1 was a starkly equipped 2-seater competition car on a 100 in wheelbase. Powered by a 140 hp 3,917 cc overhead valve Mercury V8, the J1 had a top speed of 85 mph, limited by the low rear axle gearing. Only 12 went only to buyers who would rally them, they had good ground clearance and the front wings were removable. Copies driven by Allard himself, Maurice Wick, others, was a successful racer. Imhof won the 1947 Lisbon Rally in a J1 powered by a Marshall-supercharged version, while Leonard Potter took the Coupe des Alpes that year. Sydney Allard soon saw the potential of the economically more vibrant – but sports car starved – U. S. market and developed a special competition model to tap it, the J2. The new roadster, weighing just 18.5 cwt, was a potent combination of a lightweight, hand-formed aluminium body fitted with new coil spring front suspension, fitted with inclined telescopic dampers, de Dion-type rear axle, inboard rear brakes, 110 hp, 267 cu in Mercury flathead V8, with the option of an Ardun hemi conversion.
The J2 had a disturbing tendency to catch fire. Importing American engines just to ship them back across the Atlantic proved problematic, so U. S.-bound Allards were soon shipped engineless and fitted out in the States variously with newer overhead valve engines by Cadillac, Chrysler and Oldsmobile. In that form, the J2 proved a competitive international race car for 1950, most powered by 331 cu in Cadillac engines. Domestic versions for England came equipped with Mercury flatheads. Zora Duntov worked for Allard from 1950 to 1952 and raced for the factory Allard team at Le Mans in 1952 and 1953. Available both in street trim and stripped down for racing, the J2 proved successful in competition on both sides of the Atlantic, including a third place overall at Le Mans in 1950 at an average 87.74 mph, powered by a Cadillac V8. J2s returned to Le Mans in 1951, one co-driven again by Cole and Allard, the other by Reece and Hitchings, they had cars failing to finish. Of 313 documented starts in major r
Talbot-Lago
Automobiles Talbot S. A. was a French automobile manufacturer based in Hauts de Seine, outside Paris. The Suresnes factory had been built by Alexandre Darracq for his pioneering car manufacturing business begun in 1896, which he named A. Darracq & Cie, it was profitable. Alexandre Darracq built racing as well as “pleasure” cars and Darracq became famous for its motor racing successes. Darracq sold his remaining portion of his business in 1912. New owners renamed the Darracq business Automobiles Talbot in 1922. However, though its ordinary production cars were badged as Talbots, the new owners continued incorporating the Darracq name in Talbot-Darracq for their competition cars. Owing to the simultaneous existence of British Talbot cars, French products when sold in Britain were badged Darracq-Talbot or Talbot-Darracq, or simply Darracq. In 1932, after the onset of the Great Depression, Italo-British businessman Antonio Lago was appointed managing director in the hope that he might revive Automobiles Talbot’s business.
Lago began this process, but the owners were unable to stave off receivership beyond the end of 1934. The receiver did not close Automobiles Talbot, in 1936 Antonio Lago managed to complete a management buy-out from the receiver. For 1935, the existing range continued in production but from 1936 these were replaced with cars designed by Walter Becchia, featuring transverse leaf-sprung independent suspension; these included the 4-cylinder 2323 cc Talbot Type T4 "Minor", a surprise introduction at the 1937 Paris Motor Show, the 6-cylinder 2,696 cc Talbot "Cadette-15", along with and the 6-cylinder 2,996 cc or 3,996 cc Talbot "Major" and its long-wheelbase version, the Talbot "Master": these were classified as Touring cars. There was in the second half of the 1930s a range of Sporting cars which started with the Talbot "Baby-15", mechanically the same as the "Cadette-15" but using a shorter lighter chassis; the Sporting Cars range centred on the 6-cylinder 2,996 cc or 3,996 cc Talbot "Baby" and included the 3,996 cc 23 and sporting Lago-Spéciale and Lago-SS models with two and three carburettors, corresponding increases in power and performance.
The most specified body for the Lago-SS was built by Figoni et Falaschi, featured a eye-catching aerodynamic form. Lago was an excellent engineer who developed the existing six-cylinder engine into a high-performance 4-litre one; the sporting six-cylinder models had a great racing history. The bodies—such as of the T150 coupé—were made by excellent coachbuilders such as Figoni et Falaschi or Saoutchik. Although the proliferation of cars types and model names that followed Lago's acquisition of the business is at first glance bewildering, it involved only four standard chassis lengths as follows: Short Châssis: Minor T4 Junior 11 Baby-15 Baby 3 litres T150 3 litres Baby 4 litres Lago Spécial Extra short Châssis: Lago SS Normal Châssis: Cadette-15 Major 3 litres Major 4 litres Long Châssis: Master 3 litres Master 4 litres During the early years of the war Walter Becchia left Talbot to work for Citroen, but Lago was joined in 1942 by another exceptional engineer, Carlo Machetti, from the two of them were working on the twin camshaft 4483 cc six-cylinder unit that would lie at the heart of the 1946 Talbot T26.
After the war, the company continued to be known both for successful high-performance racing cars and for large luxurious passenger cars, with extensive sharing of chassis and engine components between the two. The period was one of economic stagnation and financial stringency; the company had difficulty finding customers, its finances were stretched. In 1946, the company began production of a new engine design, based on earlier units but with a new cylinder head featuring a twin overhead camshaft; this engine, designed under the leadership of Carlo Marchetti, was in many respects a new engine. A 4483 cc six-cylinder in-line engine was developed for the Talbot Lago Record and for the Talbot Grand Sport 26CV; these cars were priced against large luxurious cars from the likes of Delahaye, Delage and Salmson. Talbot would remain in the auto-making business for longer than any of these others, the Talbot name had the further dubious distinction of a resurrection in the early 1980s; the Talbot Lago Record T26 was a large car with a fiscal horsepower of 26 CV and a claimed actual power output of 170 hp, delivered to the rear wheels via a four-speed manual gear box, with the option at extra cost of a Wilson pre-selector gear box, supporting a claimed top speed of 170 km/h.
The car was sold as a stylish four-door sedan, but a two-door cabriolet was offered. There were coachbuilt specials with bodywork by traditionalist firms such as Graber; the T26 Grand Sport was first displayed in public in October 1947 as a shortened chassis, only 12 were made during 1948, the models's first full year of production. The car was noted for its speed; the engine which produced 170 hp in the Lago Record was adapted to provide 190 bhp or 195 bhp in the GS, a top speed of around 200 km/h was claimed, depending on the body, fitted. The
French Air Force
The French Air Force Army of the Air) is the air force of the French Armed Forces. It was formed in 1909 as the Service Aéronautique, a service arm of the French Army was made an independent military arm in 1934; the number of aircraft in service with the French Air Force varies depending on source, however sources from the French Ministry of Defence give a figure of 658 aircraft in 2014. The French Air Force has 225 combat aircraft in service, with the majority being 117 Dassault Mirage 2000 and 108 Dassault Rafale; as of early 2017, the French Air Force employs a total of 41,160 regular personnel. The reserve element of the air force consisted of 5,187 personnel of the Operational Reserve; the Chief of Staff of the French Air Force is a direct subordinate of the Chief of the Defence Staff. French military aviation was born in 1909. After the approval of the law by the French National Assembly on March 29, 1912, French Military Aeronautics became part of the French Army, alongside the four traditional branches of the French Army, the infantry, cavalry and engineers.
France was one of the first states to start building aircraft. At the beginning of First World War, France had a total of 148 planes (8 from French Naval Aviation and 15 Airships. By the time of the armistice in November 1918, 3608 planes were in service. 5,500 pilots and observers were killed from the 17,300 engaged in the conflict, amounting to 31% of endured lossesMilitary Aeronautics was established as a "special arm" by the law of December 8, 1922. However, the remained under the auspices of the French Army, it wasn't until July 2, 1934, that the "special arm" became an independent service and was independent. The initial air arm was the cradle of French military parachuting, responsible for the first formation of the " Air Infantry Groups " Groupements de l'Infanterie de l'Air in the 1930s, out of which the Air Parachute Commandos descended; the French Air Force maintained a continuous presence across the French colonial empire from the 1920s to 1943. The French Air Force played an important role, most notable during the Battle of France of 1940.
The engagement of the Free French Air Forces from 1940 to 1943 the engagement of the aviators of the French Liberation Army, were marking episodes of the History of the French Air Force. The sacrifices of Commandant René Mouchotte and Lieutenant Marcel Beau illustrated their devotion; the Vichy French Air Force had a significant presence in the French Levant. After 1945, France rebuilt its aircraft industry; the French Air Force participated in several colonial wars during the Empire such as French Indochina after the Second World War. Since 1945, the French Air Force was notably engaged in Indochina; the French Air Force was active in Algeria from 1952 until 1962 and Suez later Mauritania and Chad, the Persian Gulf, ex-Yugoslavia and more in Afghanistan and Iraq. From 1964 until 1971 the French Air Force had the unique responsibility for the French nuclear arm via Dassault Mirage IV or ballistic missiles of Air Base 200 Apt-Saint-Christol on the Plateau d'Albion. Accordingly, from 1962, the French political leadership reprioritized its military emphasis on nuclear deterrence, implementing a complete reorganisation of the Air Force, with the creation of four air regions and seven major specialised commands, among which were the Strategic Air Forces Command, COTAM, the Air Command of Aerial Defense Forces, the Force aérienne tactique.
In 1964 the Second Tactical Air Command was created at Nancy to take command of air units stationed in France but not assigned to NATO. The Military Air Transport Command had been formed in February 1962 from the Groupement d'Unités Aériennes Spécialisées. Created in 1964 was the Escadron des Fusiliers Commandos de l'Air grouping all FCA units; the Dassault Mirage IV, the principal French strategic bomber, was designed to strike Soviet positions as part of the French nuclear triad. In 1985, the Air Force had four major flying commands, the Strategic Air Forces Command, the Tactical Air Forces Command, the Military Air Transport Command, CAFDA. CFAS had two squadrons of S2 and S-3 IRBMs at the Plateau d'Albion, six squadrons of Mirage IVAs, three squadrons of C-135F, as well as a training/reconnaissance unit, CIFAS 328, at Bordeaux; the tactical air command included wings EC 3, EC 4, EC 7, EC 11, EC 13, ER 33, with a total of 19 squadrons of Mirage III, two squadrons flying the Mirage 5F, a squadron flying the Mirage F.1CR.
CoTAM counted 28 squadrons, of which ten were fixed-wing transport squadrons, the remainder helicopter and liaison squadrons, at least five of which were overseas. CAFDA numbered 14 squadrons flying the Mirage F.1C. Two other commands had flying units, the Air Force Training Command, the Air Force Transmissions Command, with four squadrons and three trials units. Dassault Aviation led the way with delta-wing designs, which formed the basis for the Dassault Mirage III series of fighter jets; the Mirage demonstrated its abilities in the Six-Day War, Yom Kippur War, the Falklands War, the Gulf War, becoming one of the most popular jet fighters of its day, selling widely. In 1994 the Commandment of the Fusiliers Commandos de l'Air was reestablished under a different form; the French Air Force is replacing its aircraft inventory. The Air Force is awaiting th
Offenhauser
The Offenhauser Racing Engine, or Offy, is a racing engine design that dominated American open wheel racing for more than 50 years and is still popular among vintage sprint and midget car racers. The Offenhauser engine, familiarly known as the "Offy", was developed by Fred Offenhauser and his employer Harry Arminius Miller, it was sold as a marine engine. In 1930, a four-cylinder 151 cu in Miller engine installed in a race car set a new international land speed record of 144.895 mph. Miller developed this engine into a twin overhead cam, four-cylinder, four-valve-per-cylinder 220 cu in racing engine. Variations of this design would be used in midgets and sprints into the 1960s, with a choice of carburetion or Hilborn fuel injection; when both Miller and the company to whom he had sold much of the equipment and rights went bankrupt in 1933, Offenhauser opened a shop a block away and bought rights to engines, special tooling and drawings at the bankruptcy auction, he and other former Miller employees took over production.
They and former Miller employee, draftsman Leo Goossen, further developed the Miller engines into the Offenhauser engines. In 1946 the name and engine designs were sold to Louis Meyer and Dale Drake. Meyer was bought out by Drake, his wife Eve and their son John in 1965. From until Drake's son John sold the shop to Stewart Van Dyne, the Drake family designed and refined the engine until its final race days, it was under Meyer and Drake that the engine dominated the Indy 500 and midget racing in the United States. One of the keys to the Offenhauser engine's success and popularity was its power. A 251.92 cubic inch DOHC four-cylinder racing Offy with a 15:1 compression ratio and a 4.28125-by-4.375-inch bore and stroke, could produce 420 hp at 6,600 rpm. Other variants of the engine produced higher outputs of 3 hp per cubic inch. Another reason for the engine's success was its reliability. From 1934 through the 1970s, the Offenhauser engine dominated American open wheel racing, winning the Indianapolis 500 27 times.
By the company had been sold, right after World War II, to Meyer and Drake, who continued to build the engines. From 1950 through 1960, Offenhauser-powered cars won the Indy 500 and achieved all three podium positions, winning the pole position in 10 of the 11 years. In 1959 Lime Rock Park held a famous Formula Libre race, where Rodger Ward shocked the expensive and exotic sports car contingent by beating them on the road course in an Offenhauser powered midget car, considered competitive on oval tracks only; when Ford came onto the scene in 1963, the Offy began to lose its domination over Indy car racing, although it remained a competitive winner through the mid-1970s with the advent of turbocharging. Outputs over 1,000 bhp could be attained; the final 2.65-litre four-cylinder Offy, restricted to 24.6 psi boost, produced 770 bhp at 9,000 rpm. The Offy's final victory came at Trenton in Gordon Johncock's Wildcat; the last time an Offy-powered car raced was at Pocono in 1982 for the Domino's Pizza Pocono 500, in an Eagle chassis driven by Jim McElreath, although two Vollstedt chassis with Offenhauser engines failed to qualify for the 1983 Indianapolis 500.
The Offenhauser shop began to do machine work for Lockheed in 1940, as the arms build-up for anticipated war began. The last prewar engine was shipped on July 17, 1941. After the Pearl Harbor attack, the plant worked overtime on hydraulic systems, getting Fred Offenhauser the money and the fatigue to retire. In 1944, Leo Goossen became a full-time Offenhauser employee. Offenhauser produced engine blocks in several sizes; these blocks could be bored out or sleeved to vary the cylinder bore, could be used with crankshafts of various strokes, resulting in a wide variety of engine displacements. Offenhauser made blocks, pistons and crankshafts to specific customer requests. However, certain engine sizes were common, could be considered the "standard" Offenhauser engines: 97 cu in - to meet the displacement rule in many midget series 220 cu in - displacement rule in AAA sprint cars 270 cu in - displacement rule for the Indianapolis 500 under AAA rules 255 cu in - for Indianapolis 252 cu in - displacement rule for Indianapolis under USAC rules 168 cu in - displacement rule for turbocharged engines at Indianapolis 159 cu in - displacement rule for turbocharged engines at Indianapolis See Indianapolis Motor Speedway race results for a more complete list.
In their 11 world championship years, the Meyer-Drake Offenhauser engine partnered for at least one race with the following 35 constructors
Ferrari
Ferrari is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1939 out of Alfa Romeo's race division as Auto Avio Costruzioni, the company built its first car in 1940. However, the company's inception as an auto manufacturer is recognized in 1947, when the first Ferrari-badged car was completed. In 2014, Ferrari was rated the world's most powerful brand by Brand Finance. In June 2018, the 1964 250 GTO became the most expensive car in history, setting an all-time record selling price of $70 million. Fiat S.p. A. acquired 50% of Ferrari in 1969 and expanded its stake to 90% in 1988. In October 2014 Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N. V. announced its intentions to separate Ferrari S.p. A. from FCA. The separation began in October 2015 with a restructuring that established Ferrari N. V. as the new holding company of the Ferrari group and the subsequent sale by FCA of 10% of the shares in an IPO and concurrent listing of common shares on the New York Stock Exchange. Through the remaining steps of the separation, FCA's interest in Ferrari's business was distributed to shareholders of FCA, with 10% continuing to be owned by Piero Ferrari.
The spin-off was completed on 3 January 2016. Throughout its history, the company has been noted for its continued participation in racing in Formula One, where it is the oldest and most successful racing team, holding the most constructors championships and having produced the highest number of drivers' championship wins. Ferrari road cars are seen as a symbol of speed and wealth. Enzo Ferrari was not interested in the idea of producing road cars when he formed Scuderia Ferrari in 1929, with headquarters in Modena. Scuderia Ferrari means "Ferrari Stable" and is used to mean "Team Ferrari." Ferrari bought and fielded Alfa Romeo racing cars for gentleman drivers, functioning as the racing division of Alfa Romeo. In 1933, Alfa Romeo withdrew its in-house racing team and Scuderia Ferrari took over as its works team: the Scuderia received Alfa's Grand Prix cars of the latest specifications and fielded many famous drivers such as Tazio Nuvolari and Achille Varzi. In 1938, Alfa Romeo brought its racing operation again in-house, forming Alfa Corse in Milan and hired Enzo Ferrari as manager of the new racing department.
In September 1939, Ferrari left Alfa Romeo under the provision he would not use the Ferrari name in association with races or racing cars for at least four years. A few days he founded Auto Avio Costruzioni, headquartered in the facilities of the old Scuderia Ferrari; the new company ostensibly produced machine tools and aircraft accessories. In 1940, Ferrari produced a race car – the Tipo 815, based on a Fiat platform, it was the first Ferrari car and 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 since; the factory was bombed by the Allies and subsequently rebuilt including a works for road car production. The first Ferrari-badged car was the 1947 125 S, powered by a 1.5 L V12 engine. The Scuderia Ferrari name was resurrected to denote the factory racing cars and distinguish them from those fielded by customer teams. In 1960 the company was restructured as a public corporation under the name SEFAC S.p.
A.. Early in 1969, Fiat took a 50% stake in Ferrari. An immediate result was an increase in available investment funds, work started at once on a factory extension intended to transfer production from Fiat's Turin plant of the Ferrari engined Fiat Dino. New model investment further up in the Ferrari range received a boost. In 1988, Enzo Ferrari oversaw the launch of the Ferrari F40, the last new Ferrari launched before his death that year. In 1989, the company was renamed Ferrari S.p. A. From 2002 to 2004, Ferrari produced the Enzo, their fastest model at the time, introduced and named in honor of the company's founder, Enzo Ferrari, it was to be called the F60, continuing on from the F40 and F50, but Ferrari was so pleased with it, they called it the Enzo instead. It was offered to loyal and recurring customers, each of the 399 made had a price tag of $650,000 apiece. On 15 September 2012, 964 Ferrari cars attended the Ferrari Driving Days event at Silverstone Circuit and paraded round the Silverstone Circuit setting a world record.
Ferrari's former CEO and Chairman, Luca di Montezemolo, resigned from the company after 23 years, succeeded by Amedeo Felisa and on 3 May 2016 Amedeo resigned and was succeeded by Sergio Marchionne, CEO and Chairman of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Ferrari's parent company. In July 2018, Marchionne was replaced by board member Louis Camilleri as CEO and by John Elkann as chairman. On 29 October 2014, the FCA group, resulting from the merger between manufacturers Fiat and Chrysler, announced the split of its luxury brand, Ferrari; the aim is to turn Ferrari into an independent brand which 10% of stake will be sold in an IPO in 2015. Ferrari priced its initial public offering at $52 a share after the market close on 20 October 2015. Since the company's beginnings, Ferrari has been involved in motorsport, competing in a range of categories including Formula One and sports car racing through its Scuderia Ferrari sporting division as well as supplying cars and engines to other t
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race is an automobile race held annually at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. The event is held over Memorial Day weekend in late May, it is contested as part of the IndyCar Series, the top level of American Championship Car racing, an open-wheel open-cockpit formula colloquially known as "Indy Car Racing". The name of the race is shortened to Indy 500, the track itself is nicknamed "the Brickyard", as the racing surfacing was paved in brick in the fall of 1909; the event, billed as The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, is considered part of the Triple Crown of Motorsport, which comprises three of the most prestigious motorsports events in the world including the Monaco Grand Prix and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The official attendance is not disclosed by Speedway management, but the permanent seating capacity is upwards of 250,000, infield patrons raise the race-day attendance to 300,000; the inaugural race was won by Ray Harroun.
The event celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2011, the 100th running was held in 2016. Will Power is the current champion; the most successful drivers are A. J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears, each of whom have won the race four times. The active driver with the most victories is Hélio Castroneves, with three. Rick Mears holds the record for most career pole positions with six; the most successful car owner is Roger Penske, owner of Team Penske, which has 17 total wins and 17 poles. The event is steeped in tradition, in pre-race ceremonies, post-race celebrations, race procedure; the most noteworthy and most popular traditions are the 33-car field, the annual singing of "Back Home Again in Indiana," and the victory lane bottle of milk. The Indianapolis 500 is held annually at a 2.5-mile oval circuit. Technically, the track is a unique rounded-rectangle, with four distinct turns of identical dimensions, connected by four straightaways. Drivers race 200 laps, counter-clockwise around the circuit, for a distance of 500 miles.
Since its inception in 1911, the race has always been scheduled around Memorial Day. Since 1974, the race has been scheduled for the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend; the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend is considered one of the most important days on the motorsports calendar, as it is the day of the Indianapolis 500, Coca-Cola 600, the Monaco Grand Prix. Practice and time trials are held in the two weeks leading up to the race, while other preliminary testing is held as early as April. Traditionally, the field consists of 33 starters, aligned in a starting grid of eleven rows of three cars apiece; the event is contested by "Indy cars", a formula of professional-level, single-seat, open cockpit, open-wheel, purpose-built race cars. As of 2018, all entrants utilize 2.2 L V6, twin-turbocharged engines, tuned to produce a range of 550–700 horsepower. Chevrolet and Honda are the current engine manufacturers involved in the sport. Dallara is at present the sole chassis supplier to the series. Firestone, which has a deep history in the sport, dating back to the first 500, is the exclusive tire provider.
The race is the most prestigious event of the IndyCar calendar, one of the oldest and most important automobile races. It has been avouched to be the largest single-day sporting event in the entire world; the Indianapolis Motor Speedway itself is regarded as the world's largest sporting facility in terms of capacity. The total purse exceeded $13 million in 2011, with over $2.5 million awarded to the winner, making it one of the richest cash prize funds in sports. Similar to NASCAR's Daytona 500, the Indianapolis 500 is held early in the IndyCar Series season; that is unique to most sports where major events are at the end of the respective season. The Indy 500 is the sixth event of the 17-race IndyCar schedule. From the 1970s to the 1990s, Indianapolis was the second or third race of the season, as late as the 1950s, it was sometimes the first championship event of the year. Due to the high prestige of the Indianapolis 500—rivaling or surpassing the season championship—it is not uncommon for some teams and drivers to concentrate on preparation for the 500 during the early part of the season, not focus on the championship battle until after Indy.
The traditional 33-car starting field at Indianapolis is larger than the fields at the other IndyCar races. The field at Indy consists of all of the full-time IndyCar Series entries, along with 10–15 part-time or "Indy-only" entries; the "Indy-only" entries popularly called "One-Offs", may be an extra car added to an existing full-time team, or a part-time team altogether that does not enter any of the other races. The "Indy-only" drivers may come from a wide range of pedigrees, but are experienced Indy car drivers that either lack a full-time ride, are former full-time drivers that have elected to drop down to part-time status, or occasional one-off drivers from other racing disciplines, it is not uncommon for some drivers, to quit full-time driving during the season, but race at Indy singly for numerous years afterwards before entering full retirement. Due to safety issues such as aquaplaning, the race is not held in wet conditions. In the event of a rain delay, the race will be postponed until rain showers cease, the track is sufficiently dried.
If rain falls during the race, officials can end the race and declare the results official if more than half of the scheduled distance (i.e. 101 lap
