Story of Automobile Legend Enzo Ferrari

We wanted to take a look at the life of Enzo Ferrari, the most legendary name in the automobile world, full of success and sadness, and his adventure on the way to becoming a Ferrari and Formula 1 legend.

Formula 1, the first name that comes to mind when it comes to racing cars, of course, is Enzo Ferrari. The legend of Ferrari, born in 1898, has packed hundreds of successes, dozens of cars and many pains into his life. At the beginning of these sufferings are his father, brother and his own son. We wanted to commemorate Enzo Ferrari, who, despite his humble life, managed to create the world legend Ferrari under extremely difficult conditions, together with his experiences.

A young man in Ferra, who experienced World War II and the epidemic.


Enzo Ferrari


Born in Italy in February 1898, Enzo Ferrari was the child of a middle-income family and therefore had a modest childhood. Ferrari, who loves to be the center of attention, had 3 different dreams in mind when he was a child; to be a sports reporter, a racing driver or an opera singer.

Along with dreams, there was also reality. The Second World War, which affected the whole world at that time, also affected Ferrari's family, and when Enzo was only 18 years old, he lost his brother and father due to the epidemic they were caught in the war. Enzo, who went to the army like other male members of his family in the following period, was caught in the epidemic like his father and brother, but he was one of the rare people who survived the epidemic and managed to recover.

After returning from the army, Enzo began to think about the dreams he had when he was very young, but this time the important criterion was which one he could make money from. Enzo, who preferred to turn to racing driver, first applied to Fiat, but he could not get a positive response from Fiat as the situation in Italy was very bad after the war.

The Alpha Romeo was the first to set foot on the track for Enzo.

Ferrari began test drives and racing for the Vespa with the Alpha Romeo in 1920. Continuing to race for Alpha Romeo for about 12 years, Enzo wanted to quit racing driver after his son Dino Ferrari was born and design his dream car, but he couldn't resist Alpha Romeo's insistence and started working as sporting director of the team. The Italian legend would greatly benefit from the experience he gained here while establishing his own company.

He founded the Scuderia Ferrari team in 1929, a dream for Enzo. performed. Scuderia Ferrari quickly became the official racing team of Alpha Romeo as a result of the young racing driver's excellent management and planning.

 

Ferrari's first foundations were laid in its home city of Modena

It was time to leave Alpha Romeo. Enzo went to his hometown of Modena, where he set up a small workshop for himself and started working to realize his dreams. Enzo's initial plan was to design a car for himself, not for the racing world. While everything was going well, his home was bombed due to the Second World War, and Enzo had to close the shutters and move to Maranello, which continues to be the headquarters of Ferrari today.

The car workshop he built from scratch in Maranello turned into a factory as time went by, and Enzo designed his first eponymous car, the Ferrari Enzo, in 1946. The principles of the workshop he founded in Modena just for himself had also changed because Enzo had to earn money at this time. Therefore, it started to produce not only racing cars, but also passenger cars. The car brand, which took the name Ferrari, started to make a big impact in Italy and later all over the world as time passed.

When the calendars showed 1950, Ferrari was now living its golden age. The successive Le Mans race victories, the 250G and 250GT models hitting the market and becoming cult models started to add strength to Ferrari's power.

Things didn't always go well

Enzo Ferrari's lack of management led to financial difficulties at the company, and Enzo had to borrow money from the mob. Enzo couldn't pay his debt because he had no one to trust.

Meanwhile, Enzo launched a collection of cars called Dino Ferrari for his son, and Dino opposed the use of the classic Ferrari logo on these models. The sad part of the story is that there are still unsolved allegations today. While saying that Dino died from a high dose of drugs, some sources said that the mafia was responsible for the death of Dino, who died at the age of 24. In another source, Dino's cause of death is stated as syphilis.

For whatever reason, Dino's death at a young age was a great trauma for Enzo and he could not recover for a long time. After getting through these bad days, Enzo has made Ferrari a stronger brand than ever before. He continued to produce the Ferrari Dino collection, which he started in memory of his son, who passed away at a young age. Models produced between 1968 and 1976 became the brand's best-selling cars.

"Formula 1 wouldn't be Formula 1 without Ferrari"

The Scuderia Ferrari team was founded in 1929. Enzo, for this team, Alpha Romeo got into a very deep debate. It wasn't until the 50s that the Scuderia could show itself on Ferrari's F1 tracks. Cars produced by Enzo Ferrari, as well as the Ferrari team, began to win consecutive championships in Le Mans, Formula 1 and Formula 2 races until then. Always advancing with determination and ambition, Enzo was unaware that the F2002 F1 vehicle produced by his own brand would be referred to as the best racing car ever.

In 1950, Scuderia Ferrari participated in its first Formula 1 races in Monaco. Scuderia Ferrari was very fast on the Formula 1 tracks. He won his first title just a year later at England's Silverstone circuit. Although the team achieved success after success, Enzo was not satisfied as he could not win many World Champions. Exactly 10 years after Enzo's death, Michael Schumacher, the only driver to please him, would join the team.

Enzo Ferrari dies at 90

His childhood dreams and the loss of his father and brother at an early age caused Enzo to mature early. Just when everything was going well, his place of residence was bombed during the Second World War. The most serious event was the loss of his 24-year-old son while Ferrari was in its golden age. Of course, life has never been easy for Enzo. His own character also stood up to these challenges. He has become more and more introverted.

Enzo, who no longer feels as healthy as before due to his kidney disease, lived 90 years to the fullest. However, we do not know how good it was for him to continue living in a life filled with so much pain, even after all his loved ones died. Enzo Ferrari, the father of Formula 1 and the founder of legendary racing driver Ferrari, died on August 14, 1988 in Maranello, where his factory is located, at the age of 90.

 

Little-known details about the Enzo Ferrari

·         Enzo Ferrari started wearing black glasses to signify that he would never stop grieving after the tragic death of his son.

·         He was the founder of Corriere dello Sports, an extremely popular sports newspaper in Italy.

·         He lost almost everyone in his family due to various diseases.

·         He was married to Laura Dominica Garello until 1978, but he also had an unofficial child with a woman named Lina Lardi.

·         Despite his great reputation, he did not like to go out in public very much and suffered greatly due to his claustrophobia.

·         For manufacturers competing in aerodynamics, "Aerodynamics is only for those who can't produce good engines." had statements.

·         The last model Enzo approved before he died was the Ferrari F40.

·         The logo, which Ferrari has been using for years, was given to Enzo by an Italian countess in 1923.

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