60 years of Ferrari
Ferrari today
Ferrari boasts annual revenues in the region of €1,450 million and builds around 5,700 cars each year. Its current range spans four models: two 8-cylinders (the F430 Coupe and the F430 Spider) and two 12- cylinders (the 612 Scaglietti and the 599 GTB Fiorano). It is present in 52 markets worldwide and exports almost 90% of the cars built at its sole production facility, the historic factory complex in Maranello. Ferrari has direct regional headquarters in North America (which also has responsibility for Central and Southern America), Germany, Switzerland, Great Britain and France (the latter covers the West European countries).
In other countries, Ferrari is represented by carefully selected importers and dealers. There are 205 Ferrari dealerships worldwide, but since 2004 Ferrari has also launched in several new markets, including China (courtesy of a majority share in a joint venture), Russia, Hungary and Slovenia.
Racing activities
The Prancing Horse story began in 1947, the year that the very first Ferrari, the 125 Sport, made its racing debut. A 12-cylinder designed and built in Maranello, the car won the Rome Grand Prix on May 25th of the same year with Franco Cortese at the wheel. Since then the Prancing Horse has enjoyed over 5,000 wins in circuit and road races across the globe, creating the legend we know today.
As its 60th anniversary approaches, the long list of Ferrari victories numbers include: 14 F1 World Drivers’ titles, 14 World Manufacturers’ titles, 8 F1 World Constructors’ titles and 6 International F1 Constructors’ Cups, 9 wins in the Le Mans 24 Hour Race, 8 in the Mille Miglia, 7 in the Targa Florio and 192 F1 Grands Prix victories. For many years, Ferrari was the only Formula 1 team to build its own single-seaters (chassis, engine, gearbox and suspension) itself.
The Ferrari GTs
Ever since the marque first began building cars, it been transferring technologies developed for its racing cars to its road-going models. These transfers include everything from the 12-cylinder engine built for the very first Ferrari to the F1-Superfast gearbox and the Traction Control system of the current 599 GTB Fiorano. These technological transfers have underpinned the success of the Prancing Horse cars, making them a symbol not only of uniqueness and exclusivity but also of blistering performance.
The most significant models from Ferrari’s long history include the Ferrari California and the SWB of the 1950s; the 250 GTO, the 250 GT Berlinetta SWB, the 275 GTB 4 and the Daytona of the 1960s; the 512 BB and the 512 Testarossa of the 1970s, the F40 of the 1980s, the F50 and the 456 GT of the 1990s and, most recently, the Enzo, FXX and newly launched 599 GTB Fiorano of the 21st Century.
Many of these models are now highly prized by collectors, fetching staggering prices at auction. The most striking example being, of course, the 1962 250 GTO which is now valued at in excess of €10 million.
Company structure and management
In 1969, Enzo Ferrari sold 50% of his shares in the company to the Fiat Group and this figure rose to 90% in 1988. Fiat currently holds an 85% stake in Ferrari while Piero Ferrari holds 10% and the Mubadala fund of Abu Dhabi has the remaining 5%.
In 1997, Fiat signed over to Ferrari a 50% stake in Maserati – another historic and prestigious marque which it had taken over in 1993. In 1999, Maserati was handed over entirely to Ferrari, with both the Triden’ts range and production facilities completely renovated as a result. Once the relaunch was complete, however, the Trident returned to Fiat’s direct control in April 2005.
Luca di Montezemolo has been President of Ferrari since 1991, while in 2006 Jean Todt, who joined Ferrari in 1993, became the Prancing Horse’s CEO and Amedeo Felisa, who joined Ferrari in 1990, became General Manager.
Headquarters and facilities
The Maranello complex is where Ferrari has always designed and built its GT cars. The only parts of the cars that are not built on site are the aluminum chassis and bodyshells which are manufactured at the Carrozzeria Scaglietti facility in Modena which is wholly owned by Ferrari.
Ferrari opened the Fiorano Circuit in 1972 and uses it for testing and developing its F1 and GT cars. The original track was renovated in 1996 to make it faster and more suited to modern single-seaters.
In 1977, Ferrari took over the Carrozzeria Scaglietti, the historic Modenese factory at which its Sports prototype and GT chassis and bodyshells have been made since the 1950s.
Then in 1988, Ferrari also bought the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello and completely renovated the track and facilities for use in testing and competition. Mugello is now one of the world’s leading circuits and hosts top level car and motorbike racing events.
The Galleria Ferrari opened in Maranello in 1990, offering visitors a fantastic journey through the company’s history and giving them the opportunity to see some of the most interesting Prancing Horse cars ever built, at first hand.
In 1997, Ferrari launched a major renovation project known as Formula Uomo which put people at the centre of the design of its new facilities and their functioning. The Renzo Piano-designed Wind Tunnel opened the same year to allow Ferrari’s engineers to simulate the situations its F1 cars would encounter on the tracks. It was followed by the New Mechanical Machining Area, New Logistics, the Product Development Centre and the New Paint Technologies Area.
The Prancing Horse symbol
The Prancing Horse symbol which features on all of Ferrari’s cars was a gift to Enzo Ferrari from the parents of Francesco Baracca, an ace World War 1 pilot and gold medal winner who had used it on his plane. Enzo Ferrari placed the Prancing Horse on a yellow shield in honor of his home town of Modena and adopted it as the symbol for the racing team he had founded.
Brand Development & Partners Department
Brand Development & Partners was founded in 2004 to manage relations with our sponsors and to develop Ferrari’s licensing and merchandising business. Our main licensees are: Mattel (model cars and toys), Microsoft and Sega (videogames), Puma and Jam Session (apparel), Colnago (bicycles), Tod’s (footwear and leather accessories), Panerai (watches), Lego (children’s building sets), Acer (portable computers).
Ferrari-branded products are estimated to generate revenues of around € 600 million at retail worldwide.
The first Ferrari Store opened in Maranello in 2002 as an official retail outlet for Ferrari products. Today the company boasts 14 Shops and Stores across the world, three of which are in China and one in the USA.
Most are franchises. The overall revenues generated by official Ferrari retail outlets is over € 20 million annually.