Ferrari is definitely one of the best-recognised car brands in the world and the little black horse on the company’s emblem is most probably as widely known as the McDonalds’ or Starbucks’ logo. The company is founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929 and since then is a high-class vehicle manufacturer associated with premium quality, luxury, and unbeatable power. Enzo’s company initially started as a sponsor of drivers and manufacturing racing cars so the speed has always been a passion of the founder.
Later on, Ferrari’s company moves on manufacturing street-legal vehicles and it wasn’t until 1969 when the brand started making the well-known cars everyone is lusting over nowadays. Nowadays Ferrari is certainly an iconic car brand with a great reputation and respected by millions. However, building such a recognisable and iconic brand is usually a result of many years of hard work so you can expect some very interesting and exciting histories linked to the growth and development of the company.
In fact, Ferrari hides (or more like reveals) some very interesting and amazing facts that are part of the company’s history and some of these are so special that even the fans of the sports car brand are not familiar with. So here we are today sharing some of the most exciting pieces of Ferrari’s history.
1. The most expensive Ferrari car ever made is the 250GTO. Rumour has it that the vehicle has been sold in a private sell for the impressive $15 million. Speaking of knowing how to pamper and spoil yourself, Ferrari owners definitely know some tricks!
2. In 1963 Ford made an offer and tried to purchase Ferrari for 18 million British pounds. However, the deal did not happen because Ford refused to give Enzo Ferrari the full control of the racing programme. We assume that the collapse of the contract was for better… do you imagine Ford-inspired Ferraris wandering around the streets?
3. While Ford hadn’t had the luck of purchasing Ferrari, Fiat actually did! Fiat bought the sports car company in 1969 and they initially took 40% but the number increased to 90% later on. However, Enzo was still able to have control of the racing side of the company. Fiat now had the charge of the road car production.
4. As you can guess, Ferrari is a car with a deep-rooted passion and tradition in car racing. The company is the oldest team in the Formula One championship and it is assumed to be the most successful one too. There is a serious number of Formula One records and Ferrari holds almost each and every one of them.
5. Despite the popular belief, Ferrari engines have actually been used in other cars such as Lancia Stratos, Fiat Dino, Minardi, Scuderia Italia, etc. Well played Ferrari, but it seems that your technology is not a real secret!
6. Ferrari is such an iconic company that not only the brand’s cars are sold for astonishing money but even some marketing materials and merchandise. For example, in 1985 a brochure announcing the launch of the 1960’s Ferrari 250 Le Mans was sold for 1,070 British pounds at the Christie’s auction in Monaco.
7. The cheapest Ferrari replacement component sold on the UK market costs just 5p and it is a washer to attach an undertray. However, the most expensive replacement component is a 599GTB Fiorano engine and it costs the astonishing $64,418. We really hope that if you own this car you won’t need to replace the engine soon!