FERRARI

Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1928 as Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy.The company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles in 1947 as Ferrari S.p.A. The company has been noted for its continued participation in racing throughout its history,, especially in Formula One, where it has enjoyed great success.


Since the company's beginnings, Ferrari has been involved in motorsport, competing in a range of categories including Formula One and Sports car racing through its Scuderia Ferrari sporting division as well as supplying cars and engines to other teams.Currently, the Ferrari works team only compete in Formula One, and is the only team to have competed in the World Championship since its inception in 1950.


Ferrari supply cars complete with V8 engines for the A1 Grand Prix series, from the 2008-09 season. The car was designed by Rory Byrne and is styled to resemble the 2004 Ferrari Formula one car.The 599 GTB Fiorano and F430 GT are used in GT racing series. The Ferrari Challenge is a one make racing series for the Ferrari F430. Ferrari's latest supercar, the 2006 FXX is not road legal, and is therefore only used for track events.

Ferrari's first vehicle was the 125 S sports/racing model. In 1949, the Ferrari 166 Inter, the company's first move into the grand touring market, which continues to make up the bulk of Ferrari sales to the present day.The Dino was the first mid-engined Ferrari. This layout would go on to be used in most Ferraris of the 1980s and 1990s. V6 and V8 Ferrari models make up well over half of the marque's total production.

For a time, Ferrari built 2+2 versions of its mid-engined V8 cars. Although they looked quite different from their 2-seat counterparts, both the GT4 and Mondial were closely related to the 308 GTB.



The company has also produced front-engined 2+2 cars, culminating in the current 612 Scaglietti and upcoming California.Ferrari entered the mid-engined 12-cylinder fray with the Berlinetta Boxer in 1973. The later Testarossa remains one of the most famous Ferraris.

Ferrari has considered making hybrids. A F430 Spider that runs on ethanol was displayed at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show. Ferrari has announced that a hybrid will be in production by 2015.