Making its marque
The early years of how Ferrari built the most glamorous name in motorsport
Rarely seen photographs from the glory years of Ferrari’s grand prix dominance in the Sixties
so entrenched is ferrari’s status as the world’s favourite maker of very fast and very desirable cars, it’s easy to forget how it all started, over 70 years ago, as an idea in one man’s head. A man, Enzo Ferrari, with an obsessional approach to winning motor races. And later an entrepreneur who built a luxury brand without spending a lira on advertising. It was in the golden period of Ferrari racing, particularly the Fifties and Sixties, that Enzo’s vision was formed and the company we know today was forged; a time when drivers would risk everything to win, when death and glamour were two sides of the same coin.
Trio of tragedy
– Previous pages: Before the French Grand Prix in Reims, Ferrari display their three 246s for the public to ogle; driven by Mike Hawthorn, Luigi Musso and Wolfgang von Trips. Musso, in 6, crashed and died soon after the race on 6 July, 1958, after hitting a ditch while chasing his teammate Hawthorn, who went on to win.
© The Klemantaski Collection / Peter Coltrin
Engine room
– Driver Lorenzo Bandini inspects his car’s 12-cyclinder engine. As a mechanic himself, he could provide crucial feedback and suggestions to the team’s technicians. He died following a crash at the 1967 Monaco Grand Prix.
© The GP Library / Geoffrey Goddard
On grid
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Four cars, not the modern-day two, make up the front row of the 1956 German Grand Prix: Argentinian Juan Manuel Fangio (close up) in pole position, beside two more Ferraris driven by Britain’s Peter Collins and Italy’s Eugenio Castellotti. Completing
the line-up on the far side is Stirling Moss in his rival Maserati 250F.
© The Klemantaski Collection / Louis Klemantaski
Road runner
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A Ferrari 118 LM Scaglietti driven by Umberto Maglioli with his navigator Luciano Monteferrario, takes a bend during the 1955 Mille Miglia, the legendary open-road endurance race. The pair would finish third. The race itself stopped for good in 1957
for safety reasons after nine spectators died.
© Broooom.com Archiv Stuttgart
Standing start
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Ferrari won six straight 24 Hours of Le Mans races from 1960–’65. Until 1970, the cars would be parked on one side of the track with the drivers lined up on the other, waiting
for the signal to sprint to the cockpits to begin racing.
© Motorsport Images / Rainer W Schlegelmilch
On the edge
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The Targa Florio in Sicily, the world’s oldest endurance race, had no protective boundaries and was known for its concealed dangers and treacherous corners, as English driver Mike Parkes discovered first-hand
by crashing his Ferrari Dino 206 S in 1966.
© The GP Library / Geoffrey Goddard
Gentleman drivers
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As well as the world’s best professional drivers, skilled amateurs, who had to finance their own entry, would also take part in the Targa Florio. Here locals Salvatore Calascibetta and Pietro Lo Piccolo, soak up the support in their Dino
206 S, on their way to finishing in 11th place in 1970.
© Motorsport Images / Rainer W Schlegelmilch