In the year 1947 on 12th March, a Ferrari 125 S was fired up, it was the first car to bear Enzo Ferrari’s name. The test-drive of this car on the streets of Maranello marked the beginning of modern Ferrari history. The then-modest factory has now grown into one of the great internationally-renowned Made in Italy icons. Now, 70 years later Ferrari is celebrating this milestone anniversary.
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To coincide with the official start of the celebrations and to remember the events of 70 years ago, Ferrari has released a special video featuring a re-enactment of the original 125 S driving through the factory gates on Via Abetone Inferiore and, in doing so, symbolically transferring the baton of the Ferrari legacy to the LaFerrari Aperta.
The 125 S was the first car to wear the Ferrari badge and the Cavallino Rampante (Prancing Horse) emblem on its hood. The S in the name refers to its sports car-type bodywork. It was powered by a 12-cylinder engine that was designed by Gioacchino Colombo with Giuseppe Busso and Luigi Bazzi also contributing to the project. On 12 March 1947, the 125 S, still an unbodied steel rolling chassis, roared to life for the first time and the great Ferrari adventure began.
The Ferrari 125 S made its track debut at the Piacenza Circuit on 11 May 1947 and at the wheel of the car was Franco Cortese. This maiden outing of the 125 S was dubbed as “a promising failure” by Enzo Ferrari after the car was forced to pull up with a fuel pump problem whilst leading the race.
Just nine days after the debut, Franco Cortese drove the 125 S to victory in the Rome Grand Prix on 20 May 1947. The 40 laps of the circuit and the 137 kilometres of the race were completed at an average speed of 88.5 km/h. This was the first of six victories the 125 S delivered in 1947, the most remarkable of which was the Parma Grand Prix with Tazio Nuvolari as the driver.
To mark the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the company, the LaFerrari Aperta was launched. This car represents Ferrari’s unique core values and brings with it technological excellence, performance, style and exclusivity. The new limited-edition special series is the spider version of the acclaimed LaFerrari supercar model and is dedicated to Ferrari’s most loyal clients. LaFerrari Aperta is equipped with the same hybrid 6262 cc V12 engine as the coupe. The engine develops a power of 800 cv which is coupled with a 120 kW electric motor for a total power output of a 963 cv.
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In the course of 2017, over 60 nations will host events organized to treat clients and enthusiasts of Ferrari to a series of special experiences as part of the “Driven by Emotion” concept, one of the pillars on which the Ferrari story was established and has grown.
“Driven by Emotion” is a tribute to the importance placed by the Cavallino Rampante on emotion throughout the last 70 years: be it in terms of delivering the most riveting and rewarding driving experience possible, Ferrari’s universally lauded and acknowledged styling, or innovation via the astonishing pioneering technological solutions revealed by each new Maranello model.
March 12 2017 marks the start of the anniversary events with Australasia opening the programme. The LaFerrari Aperta will be showcased at each of the locations as the symbol of the 70th anniversary. The spectacular celebrations will tour through Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Oman, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and India respectively. The series will feature an exhilarating schedule of showroom openings, Gala Dinners, Parades and Exhibitions, as well as presenting the LaFerrari Aperta against some of the world’s most revered architecture, such as the Royal Opera House Muscat, the Kuwait Towers and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. The anniversary celebrations culminate in Maranello on the weekend of September 9 and 10, but will also be flanked by other initiatives paying homage to Cavallino Rampante history, not least special exhibitions and the first “Cavalcade Classiche”.
A special website www.ferrari70.com has been created to flank the celebrations as they unfold throughout the year as well as to introduce the pivotal moments and individuals in the company’s history.
Ferrari history at a glance:
- 1947 – Ferrari is founded
- 1950 – Ferrari makes F1 debut
- 1951 – First win in Formula One with Jose Froilan Gonzales
- 1952 – Alberto Ascari wins the first Formula 1 Championship
- 1958 – Mike Hawthorn becomes F1 World Champion in a Ferrari 246 F1
- 1962 – Unveiling of the 250 GTO, winner of the International Championship for GT Manufacturers in 1962, 1963 and 1964
- 1964 – John Surtees becomes Formula 1 World Champion with the 158 F1
- 1967 – Three Ferraris – two 330 P4s and a 412 P –deliver a spectacular 1-2-3 parade finish in the 24 Hours of Daytona
- 1968 – The 365 GTB4 (Daytona) is unveiled at the Paris Motor Show
- 1969 – Fiat becomes a Ferrari shareholder
- 1972 – The Fiorano Circuit, Ferrari’s test track, is officially opened
- 1975 – Niki Lauda takes the Formula 1 World Champion title in the 312 T
- 1981 – Gilles Villeneuve delivers first ever victory in a turbocharged F1 car in the 126 K at Monaco
- 1984 – The Ferrari Testarossa is unveiled at the Paris Motor Show
- 1987 – The F40 debuts at the Frankfurt Motor Show
- 1988 – 14 August: Enzo Ferrari passes away at the age of 90
- 1993 – The marque’s first single-make championship, the Ferrari Challenge, is launched
- 1998 – The new Renzo Piano-designed GES Wind Tunnel opens
- 2004 – Ferrari sets a new F1 record of 6 Constructors’ and 5 Drivers’ World titles in a row
- 2006 – The exclusive XX programme, designed to deliver extreme performance to top clients, debuts
- 2007 – Kimi Räikkönen and the Scuderia Ferrari are World Champions
- 2013 – The Cavallino Rampante’s first hybrid model, the LaFerrari, goes into production
- 2015 – Ferrari is listed on the New York stock exchange
- 2016 – The LaFerrari Aperta, an iconic model celebrating the marque’s 70th anniversary, is launched at the Paris Motor Show
- 2017 – The latest addition to the Ferrari family, the 812 Superfast, debuts at Geneva.
