Car Fule

In the pantheon of major automotive brands, Ferrari probably sits at the top. Everyone associates the Italian brand with its red sports cars, Formula 1, and passion for cars. Yet in addition to 70 years of history, the builder of Maranello still knows how to keep his share of mystery… Here are 5 anecdotes that only the most fan of Prancing Horse already know!

The first Ferraris were Alfa Romeos

And yes, before producing his own cars, Enzo Ferrari worked for Alfa Romeo. A driver in his youth, Enzo is gradually moving towards a career as a team manager. On behalf of Alfa Romeo, he entered cars in competition, and in particular in Grand Prize, in the 1930s. The cars, painted in the red which is the national color of Italy in motor racing, are already stamped with the famous Prancing Horse crest on the background. Modena Yellow. But these are indeed Alfa Romeos!

Auto Avio Construzioni, the Enzo brand without the name

But in the late 1930s, Ferrari quarrels with Alfa Romeo (the start of a long line of legendary arguments for Enzo), and ” The Commendatore »Leaves the parent company. He then wanted to found his own brand of cars, but a non-competition clause prohibited him from using his name, until then synonymous with the Alfa Romeo racing team. He then launches Auto Avio Construzioni (construction of airplanes and automobiles). Only one model will be built, theAAC 815, a small racing tray.

The first Ferrari V12 is 1.5 liters!

At the end of the Second World War, everything is to be built for Ferrari. It will be necessary to wait 1947 to see the very first model of a brand new brand: the Ferrari 125 S. If you know how to decipher the many methods that Ferrari uses to name its cars, you will know that this 125 S is equipped with an engine with each cylinder measuring 125 cm3. It is a twelve cylinder, developed by the engineer Columbus toy, debauched from Alfa Romeo, and who therefore cube 1.5 liter displacement. Or the size of the engine of a current compact! When it was launched in 1947, the Ferrari 125 S produced approximately 120 ch, a beautiful figure for the time. This heavily modified engine will also equip the first F1 cars of the Scuderia.

The Scuderia Ferrari, in F1 since… The second race!

On 1950, a whole new championship was born: the Formula 1. If today F1 is closely linked to Ferrari, this was not yet the case at its launch. Indeed, Enzo decides not to enter a single-seater during the very first race of F1, run on May 13, 1950 at Silverstone, in England. Faced with the success of the event, and the triumph of Alfa Romeo who then signed a hat-trick, Ferrari decided to join the F1 circus in the second race counting for the championship, Monaco. It was not until Silverstone 1951 to see the first official victory of a Ferrari in F1.

Ferrari has its own amusement park

Newer this time: Did you know Ferrari has its own theme park? Near Yas Marinas, in Abu Dhabi, where the last round of the F1 season takes place, you can indeed visit the Ferrari World. There are obviously many thrilling attractions, starting with the fastest roller coaster in the world, Formula Rossa. The attraction simulates driving a Formula 1, with peaks at nearly 5 G and a burst of speed 240 km/h !

Read also :