History of Ferrari Racing

The beginnings

The dream of Ferrari interestingly began with another Italian marque, Alfa Romeo. Born in 1889, Enzo Ferrari turned to low profile jobs including that of a mule skinner in the Italian army before he finally got to live his passion of racing cars.

Alfa was successful in racing since its inception in 1910. A young Enzo Ferrari was racing for Alfa Romeo in the 1920s winning local races when he lured Fiat’s designer Vittorio Jano to design race winners for Alfa. Jano instantly produced masterpieces for the racetrack, beginning with the Alfa Romeo P2.

Enzo then founded Scuderia Ferrari (which means ‘Ferrari stable’ or ‘Team Ferrari’) in 1929 that tuned racing cars and also sponsored drivers to help them succeed in the highly competitive field of motor racing. Alfa asked Enzo to head its racing department in 1938. But Alfa Romeo also went ahead and bought 70 per cent of the Scuderia’s assets. Enzo wouldn’t be told what to do. He tore himself from the relationship with Alfa, and from 1939 was on his own. Mussolini took charge of Alfa Romeo in 1940, while Scuderia Ferrari was too small to account for anything. Enzo got what he always wanted – his way!

The birth and aftermath

Enzo founded Auto Avio Costruzioni during the Second World War to manufacture aircraft accessories for Italy’s war efforts. But Enzo still managed to bring out the Tipo 815 powered by a 1.5-litre straight-eight-cylinder engine from the Fiat 508 C Balilla 1100 for the 1940 Mille Miglia.  

Following the war, the scarlet passion would be re-born as Ferrari Auto SpA in 1947. 1948 would witness the first true Prancing Horse – the 125S. This racing car for the road signalled Ferrari’s intentions – winning where it mattered, on the racetrack. Fitted with Ferrari’s own 1.5-litre V12 engine designed by Enzo’s latest recruit, the brilliant Gioacchino Colombo, it gave out 118PS and set the tracks on fire by winning the Grand Prix of Rome. Franco Cortese would also take it to five other race victories in 1947. Scarlet fever had broken out!  

Ferrari was now attracting wealthy partners who keep Enzo from racing to bankruptcy. Luigi Chinetti was one of them, who made Ferrari enter the hitherto Detroit-dominated supercar world of America. The first Ferrari showroom was established in New York in 1949, following Ferrari’s first Grand Prix machine, the 125 F1. Powered by the Colombo 1.5-litre V12 engine of the Ferrari 125S now supercharged and producing 231PS@7000rpm, the 125 F1 finished third at the Valentino Grand Prix on September 5, 1948. The 125 would also spawn the creation of the 166 S sportscar racer and Ferrari’s first Grand Touring (GT) car, the 166 Inter. The 166S set a really lofty benchmark by winning the Mille Miglia in 1948 and 1949, the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1949, the Targo Florio, and the Spa 24 Hours in 1949!