Ferrari

Ferrari
Ferrari (Ferrari), an Italian company specializing in the production of racing and luxury cars. Since 1989 it has been a subsidiary of the FIAT concern. The headquarters is in Maranello.
The company (its original name was Auto Avio Costruzioni) was founded in 1939 by the famous racer and test car “Alfa Romeo” Enzo Ferrari. Initially, it produced various equipment for cars. The cars made by the company were produced under the Alfa Romeo brand. Ferrari had an agreement with this company. The first car bearing the actual name “Ferrari” appeared in 1946. It was the Ferrari 125 model, with a powerful 12-cylinder aluminum engine, designed to realize the dream of its creator: to give an ordinary road car racing properties without compromising comfort. As a trademark of Enzo Ferrari, he chose a galloping stallion on a yellow background.

By the end of 1947, there were already two modifications of the Ferrari engine, and its displacement increased in the 166 model to 1995 cm3. The following year, Ferrari’s own team won the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio for the first time. 1949 brought the team a new triumph in the same competitions, and a little later a victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race.

In 1951, the landmark 340 America appears with an engine originally developed for the Ferrari GT with a displacement of 4.1 liters. In 1953, the same car was equipped with a 4.5-liter engine and received a new name – 375 America. In the same year, Ferrari introduces the 250 Europa, with a three-liter engine.

In total, by the beginning of 1954, Enzo Ferrari produced about 200 of his cars in an exclusive road version and 250 racing models. Creating their road cars, Ferrari turned to different design companies, making their models different from each other. But the 1954 250 GT marked the beginning of a long and fruitful collaboration with the Pininfarina company, which perfectly adjusted its bodies to the new short-wheelbase chassis, in which the rear axle was suspended on springs.

Already the 250 GT model was released not only as a coupe, but also as a convertible, and the custom-made 250GT California, which appeared in 1959, is a striking example of an open sports-type 250 GT model. In 1958, Pininfarina created specially angular bodies for the 250 GT: these cars, equipped with a 12-cylinder engine, even outwardly gave the impression of enormous power, perfectly obedient to any desires of their owners.

The 375 America and its successor in 1956, the 410 Super America (there were only 14 of them) were designed for the “powers that be”: their design evoked a sense of strength and self-confidence.

From 1957 to 1962, a modified Ferrari 250 GT California was produced with a predatory pointed profile and a removable roof. This car won its first victory in the 1960 Tourist Trophy at Goodwood Circuit.

Ferrari owns the most memorable cars of the 60s of our century: the 250GT in 1960 was transformed into a fastback 250GTE with a 2 + 2 body, elegant and popular, from which the 330GT 2 + 2 was created in 1964 with a four-liter engine and original “squinting” headlights. The feminine, elegant, impetuous Berlinetta Lusso of 1962, which develops speeds of over 225 km / h, remained unsurpassed. The 330GT “2+2” was replaced in 1967 by the 365GT “2+2” with self-balancing rear suspension and power steering. In 1971, it was replaced by the stricter zeitgeist 365GT4.

In 1966, the company developed a new V-shaped

engine originating from racing engines: 12-cylinder, four-cam, with two camshafts in each cylinder head, dry sump lubrication system, providing high torque and flexibility, which had a power of 300 hp.

In 1968, Ferrari released the legendary Daytona, or 365GTB/4, with a front-mounted 4.4-liter V-12 engine producing 352 hp and reaching super speeds of 282 km/h. This model, outwardly restrained and functional, is the fastest car in the world and, of course, its advertising assessment as “the best in the world” is not so far from the truth.

In the early 1970s, the “Dino” model appeared, named after the deceased son of Commendatore, with a centrally located FIAT-made V-shaped 6-cylinder engine; the model was also produced in an 8-cylinder version, but the 6-cylinder model is considered a classic. At one time, “Dino” was actually a separate brand. The car “Dino-206GТ” was produced since 1967 with a V6 engine (1987 cm3 180 hp at 8000 rpm; since 1969 – “246 GT” -2418 cm3, 195 hp at 7600 rpm) . Exactly the same, non-traditional for Ferrari engines were on the sports Fiat Dino.

The 1971 365GT4, or Berlinetta Boxer, had many of the features of a Ferrari racing car: its 4.4-liter engine could reach speeds of 275 km/h; it was located horizontally in the middle of the body, and the gearbox for more rational use of the internal volume of the body was located under the engine. The chassis also used the experience of racing cars: a spatial tubular frame and steel body panels. Based on the Ferrari 308GT4, elegant models with Pininfarina bodies were made; equipped with V-shaped 8-cylinder engines, they attracted the attention of buyers until the early 80s.

By fitting a horizontal 12-cylinder Boxer 512BB racing engine to the Testarossa, the company has created a massive heavy machine that meets the most demanding requirements of both racing athletes and “star” customers. The Pininfarin’s bright, eye-catching design carried the quintessence of an advertising spirit, and its creator achieved not only an external effect: the ribbed side air inlets, which found many imitators, served to supply air to the side radiators that replaced the 512BB front radiator. The technical performance of the model was also impeccable: the five-liter Testarossa engine, with four valves per cylinder, reached a power of 390 hp, and its maximum speed was 274 km / h.

In 1987, the founder of the company, Enzo Ferrari himself, led the team of designers who prepared the F40 model, designated as “the sum of the efforts of the company over the years of its existence.” The F40 dates back to the 1984 GTO and, at first glance, has much in common with the Ferrari 308GTB, but has significant technical innovations: turbocharging, a V-shaped 8-cylinder longitudinal (rather than transverse) engine, mounted on a tubular frame reinforced load-bearing Kevlar panels, super power 478 hp – everything suggests that only the configuration remained the same. The body of this supermodel is made of carbon fiber and Kevlar, and its cramped interior is quite consistent with the sports nature of the car: it does not even have a mechanism for adjusting the seats. Amazing performance and no comfort is the motto of the 1118-kilogram Ferrari F40: the rigid suspension did not absorb road bumps, the steering responded to every pothole, and the magnificent engine showed endless power. Demanding, uncontrollably energetic and attractive – this was the last brainchild of the founder of the company.