The fastest racing car

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“Ferrari” plays at the M.V. Film Center on Thursday, Dec. 21. No racing car has had the success of Ferrari, the Italian sports car developed in 1929, when Enzo Ferrari formed the Scuderia Ferrari racing team. Ferrari has shown a remarkable skill at both designing and developing the sports car company over the years. The following is a brief history of the company and its inventor.

Ferrari began as a racing car driver for Alfa Romeo in 1919. Then in 1929 he formed his own racing team, Scuderia Ferrari. The company was based in Modena, Ferrari’s hometown.

Ferrari joined forces with Giorgio Rimini of Alfa Romeo, a team that lasted until 1939. He waited four years, due to a noncompeting agreement with Alfa Romeo. Ferrari then began to mobilize production as part of Italy’s wartime effort in 1941.

To protect Ferrari from allied bombing, Ferrari moved the company from Modena to Maraello, where it remains today. Although he did not build cars during the war, he did design new racing cars.

The Alfa Romeo engineer Gioacchino Colombo designed a new Ferrari V12 engine that could be used for both sports cars and Grand Prix racing cars. It was used until 1988. Starting in 1946, Ferrari began selling sports cars in the U.S., and by 1949 it became the major market for Ferraris. In the meantime, Ferrari won the 1947 Grand Prix of Rome. The company went on to win six out of the 10 races it entered.

The sports car won so many races that it also boosted its sales. By 1957, Ferrari had earned three Formula One World Championships, three World Sportscar Championships, seven Mille Miglia wins and two at the Le Mans 24 Hours.

In 1963, Ferrari partnered with Ford Motor Co., and the new partnership formed two divisions: Ford-Ferrari, which manufactured road cars, and Ferrari-Ford, which built racing models. The partnership fell apart when Ford developed its own racing team, and beat Ferrari at Le Mans. The Ferrari-Ford rivalry continued, with Ford earning championships over Ferrari.

In an attempt to resolve its financial difficulties, Ferrari partnered with Fiat. While the partnership proved to boost Ferrari’s sales from 1969 to 1972, the company declined financially again until 1975. In recent years, Ferrari continued to develop through a variety of partnerships.

Enzo Ferrari died in 1988, after a remarkable career in which he brought the automobile company to increased success. In 2022, Ferrari celebrated its 75th anniversary with the 2022 Italian Grand Prix.

Information and tickets to “Ferrari” are available at mvfilmsociety.