History of Ferrari Timeline

In 1937, Alfa Romeo began to reconsider the inefficient state of affairs with Scuderia Ferrari, and at the end of the year they purchased 80% of Scuderia Ferrari's shares, absorbing it into the company.

Enzo remained the team's manager until a restructuring in 1939, in which he was laid off, prompting him to establish his own independent company, Auto Avio Costruzioni.

After Italy entered World War II in 1940, racing opportunities dried up and the company was mobilised for wartime production in 1941. It received lucrative contracts to manufacture military hardware during the war years.

In order to avoid the Allied bombing campaigns occurring throughout Italy, Ferrari moved his factory from Modena to Maranello in 1943. Though the new plant was bombed twice, in November 1944 and February 1945, Ferrari remains in Maranello to this day.

Image source: Maranello

In 1945, Auto Avio Costruzioni was renamed Auto Costruzioni Ferrari, marking the company's transition toward producing cars under Enzo Ferrari's own name.

On 24 December 1946, Enzo Ferrari made Luigi Chinetti his official North American importer. Chinetti had been an immigrant to the United States and had been working towards establishing Ferrari's presence there since 1946.

Luigi Chinetti established the first US Ferrari dealership, Luigi Chinetti Motors, in 1947; he imported his first Ferrari for US sale in 1949, and managed other vehicle sales perhaps as early as 1948.

Ferrari vehicles were shipped to the United States, which was to become one of the automaker's primary markets, as early as 1949, following Luigi Chinetti's efforts to build the brand's American presence.

In 1960, Ferrari was restructured as a public company, Ferrari Società Esercizio Fabbriche Automobili e Corse S.p.A., formalising its corporate structure as it grew.

By 1960, 40 percent of all Ferrari vehicles were exported to North America, reflecting the success of Luigi Chinetti's sales efforts and the growing importance of the American market.

One of the first challenges faced in the new decade occurred in October 1961, when key engineering figures left the company. Before their new venture folded in 1964, they had produced the ATS 2500 GT — the second mid-engined road car in history and the first from Italy — as well as the 'Breadvan,' a custom Ferrari 250 GT.

Ferrari first worked with Fiat in 1965, when new homologation regulations within Formula Two required Ferrari to produce at least 500 examples of its F2 engine, the Dino V6, which was more than its factory was capable of. Between 1966 and 1973, Fiat produced over 7,000 examples of the engine for its Fiat Dino sports car.

Image source: Fiat Dino

As Ferrari struggled with sales and production in the late 1960s, it reluctantly turned to Fiat for financial assistance, and the two would complete an acquisition deal in June of 1969. Between 1969 and 1972, sales increased exponentially, though operating revenue and gross operating income both fell drastically soon after the acquisition.

Image source: Fiat

Enzo Ferrari died in 1988, an event that saw Fiat expand its stake to 90%. His legacy included the versatile Colombo V12 engine, used in various Ferrari models until 1988, having tripled its displacement and nearly quadrupled its power output since its debut.

Enzo was succeeded in 1991 by Luca di Montezemolo, under whose 23-year-long chairmanship the company greatly expanded. Between 1991 and 2014, he increased the profitability of Ferrari's road cars nearly tenfold, both by increasing the range of cars offered and through limiting the total number produced. He was also chairman of Fiat proper between 2004 and 2010.

Image source: Luca di Montezemolo

In January 2016, Ferrari officially split off from its former parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, becoming an independent publicly traded company.

Beginning in 2021, Camilleri was replaced as CEO by Benedetto Vigna, who has announced plans to develop Ferrari's first fully electric model, signalling a new chapter in the company's history.

Image source: Benedetto Vigna

The first Ferrari sports car, as well as the first car to use Gioacchino Colombo's new V12 engine, was the 1947 125 S. Ferrari itself tends to cast the 125 S's production as the starting point of its history, marking 1947 as its founding date during anniversary celebrations.

The America series of grand touring cars began production in 1950, starting with the 340 America racing model. The series used the Lampredi engine until 1959, then switched to the Colombo beginning in 1960, and ended by 1966.

Image source: Ferrari America

The company's partnership with Pinin Farina, which began in 1951, solved production issues and allowed Ferrari to produce its cars at a higher volume, shaping the design language of Ferraris for decades to come.

Image source: Pininfarina

By 1953, Enzo, having grown tired of small-scale sales, hoped to expand and standardise the production of his road cars. The idea of a mass-produced Ferrari could be traced back to the 1953 250 Europa, named after its 3-litre Colombo engine.

Image source: Ferrari 250

Also named after Alfredo Ferrari, Enzo's late son, was the new Dino marque: first applied in 1957, two years after Alfredo's death, to the Dino 156 F2 open-wheel car. In the 1960s the name would come to be applied to a line of lower-priced Ferraris produced in cooperation with Fiat.

Image source: Dino (marque)

The 250 GT Coupé became the first series-produced Ferrari in 1958, following an expansion of Pinin Farina's production facilities, marking the company's transition from hand-built to series-produced vehicles.

Image source: Ferrari 250 GT Coupé

The first of these were the 330 and 275 series, which were first produced for the 1963 and 1964 model years, respectively. These were later joined by the 365 series, which began in 1966.

The Dino 206 GT, first produced for the 1967 model year, was Ferrari's first mass-produced mid-engined street car, as well as the first to be sold under the Dino marque.

Image source: Dino 206 GT and 246 GT

The Berlinetta Boxer, first produced in 1973, was the company's first flagship car to sport a mid-engined design. It was produced, with revisions along the way, until 1984, when it was replaced by the Testarossa.

Image source: Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer

The Dino 308 GT4, the first road Ferrari to use a V8 engine, was launched in 1973. The GT4 was discontinued in 1980, though its engine and underpinnings were used by other Ferraris of this era, such as the 308 and Mondial.

Image source: Ferrari GT4

A new engine tax induced by the 1973 oil crisis led the company to debore its V8 engine; the result was the 208 GT4, which possessed the lowest displacement V8 ever produced for a road car.

Beginning in 1976, the 400 GT was the first Ferrari to be offered with an automatic transmission, a three-speed Turbo-Hydramatic produced by General Motors. The 365 GT4 2+2, 400 and 412 grand tourers, produced from 1972 to 1989, were the final models to utilize the decades-old Colombo V12.

Image source: Ferrari 365 GT4 2+2, 400 and 412

By 1986, Ferrari had produced a one-off car for Fiat's chairman, Gianni Agnelli: in celebration of 20 years at the head of Fiat, Agnelli commissioned the Testarossa Spider, which featured many customisations tailored specifically for him.

Image source: Ferrari Testarossa