Ferrari entered a new era,
introducing improved luxury sports cars
that were going faster than ever before,
but also an era of fierce competition.
This is the Evolution of Ferrari Part 2!
As some of you might remember from the Evolution of Lamborghini series,
Lamborghini was founded because of insults made by Enzo Ferrari.
At the time Ferruccio Lamborghini was a tractor manufacturer
and Ferrari told him
Well, this was the start of the ferocious competition between Ferrari and Lamborghini.
In 1969 Lamborghini made the legendary Miura,
which was the fastest production car in the world.
Some of the most famous people in the world owned one,
including Frank Sinatra.
At the time Sinatra was quoted saying
Ouch! That must have hurt for Enzo Ferrari.
In 1973 Ferrari designed the Berlinetta Boxer to rival the Miura.
The production of this car was a major step for Ferrari.
He felt that a mid-engine road car would be too difficult for his buyers to handle,
but his engineers convinced him otherwise.
The first Berlinetta Boxer known as the 4 BB
was the fastest production car Ferrari had ever built.
It had a top speed of 186 miles per hour,
making it much faster than the Miura.
Two years later the 308 GTB and GTS were released,
with the GTS having a Targa roof.
These weren’t that impressive in terms of specifications,
but they were somewhat affordable, at least for a Ferrari.
They were sold for $45,000 dollars,
which adjusted for inflation is $225,000 dollars.
In total 3,219 GTS
and 2,897 GTB models were made,
which made it by far the most produced Ferraris.
The first Ferrari to be produced in the 80s was the V8 grand tourer Mondial 8.
It was named Mondial, which means global in French,
because it complied with all safety and emission standards in 1980.
The Mondial wasn’t well received at the start,
since the specifications weren’t that impressive.
The car underwent many updates throughout its 13 year production cycle.
Even though first impressions weren’t that great,
the Mondial models became one of the most commercially successful Ferrari models at the time.
Fun Fact
When you think of a Ferrari, chances are that you picture it in its famous shade of red.
But did you know that the color red was not specifically chosen by Ferrari?
At least, not initially anyway.
In the early years of auto racing,
red was the color assigned to all Italian Grand Prix race cars
by the International Automobile Federation.
That’s not the case anymore though.
Yet, despite modern Ferraris being available in a wide range of colors
including everything from bright yellow to soft metallic grey,
the color red still represents 45 percent of all Ferraris sold.
It may have been forced upon Ferrari in the first place,
but it’s fair to say that the company has now adopted the color
and has done very well because of it since.
The Testarossa is another standout among Ferrari’s gems.
Its name literally translates as "red head" in Italian
and it paid homage to the earlier Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa
which won the World Sportscar Championship in 1957.
The Testarossa became the quickest Ferrari production car going to 60 miles per hour in just 5 seconds.
It also became one of the most mass-produced Ferrari models ever,
with almost 10,000 units produced!
Ferrari made a road approved car
that was closer to a racing car than ever before with the GTO.
It was one of the quickest and fastest Ferraris at the time!
The car was famously known for its marketing line:
The 328 GTB was the successor of the GTO.
The most notable modification was the 3.2 liter V8 engine, for increased power.
In 1985, the GTB was priced at a modest 58,400 dollars.
The Ferrari F40 was built to celebrate Ferrari’s 40th anniversary
and was the last Ferrari personally approved by Enzo Ferrari,
who passed away at the age of 90 in August 1988.
The 2.9 liter V8 could propel the driver from 0 to 60 in an impressive 3.8 seconds
and it was the first Ferrari ever to reach a top speed beyond 200 miles per hour.
Originally, only 400 units were planned,
with a guide price of $400,000 dollars each,
that’s equivalent to $940,000 dollars today!
Eventually, a total of 1,315 Ferrari F40s were made.
Fun Fact
As with any hugely successful brand,
other companies have attempted to buy out Ferrari.
The Ford Motor Company came close in 1963
after they offered Enzo approximately $18 million dollars.
But, after lengthy negotiations and giving it some serious thought,
Enzo rejected the offer.
Nowadays, Ferrari is primarily owned by shareholders.
Enzo’s son, Piero Ferrari, who is vice chairman of Ferrari,
still owns 10% of the company.
In 1989 the 328 was replaced by the 348 TB.
Both cars looked similar, but the engine was improved making it faster than its predecessor.
Another concept car designed by Italian design house Pininfarina was the Ferrari Mythos.
It made its debut at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1989.
And while you probably wouldn’t have guessed it,
the car was based on the Testarossa, but received a new design.
It was a mid-engine, rear-wheel drive vehicle with a wedge shaped design
and a large air intake ahead of the rear wheels.
Next came the 456, which was a front-engine grand tourer.
While it had a powerful 5.5 liter V12 engine
the car wasn’t as fast as the F40.
Fun Fact
When it comes to test driving their vehicles, Ferrari has its very own racetrack.
It’s called the ‘Pista di Fiorano’
and its purpose is to put each new model through its paces.
The 1.9 mile circuit has corners which are specifically designed to test the
brakes, chassis, road capabilities and other features of the cars.
The design emphasis of the F355 Berlinetta was placed on significantly improved performance.
This led to a sportscar that was much faster than its predecessor.
In total Ferrari produced a whopping 4,871 Berlinetta models.
The F50, as you can probably guess,
was built in celebration of Ferrari’s 50th anniversary.
Its design was inspired by the 1989 Ferrari Mythos concept car
and the 4.7 liter V12 engine was adapted from the engine used in the 1990 Ferrari 641 Formula One car.
The F50 was the closest thing to a road-going Formula 1 car the company had ever built.
In terms of performance, it was marginally superior to the F40,
being capable of a top speed of 202 mph, as opposed to 201,
and accelerating from 0 to 60 in 3.7 seconds compared to 3.8 for the F40.
Ferrari also changed their marketing strategy by making less models compared to the F40,
since they wanted to make sure they would sell them all.
Besides the red only F40, clients could choose between multiple colors for the F50,
including a yellow, black and silver version,
but most clients still opted for the racing red color.
In 1996 the 550 Maranello was launched at Nürburgring.
It had a more subtle design, but still had exceptional performance.
Next came the 360 Modena.
The design of the car anticipated trends for future Ferrari road cars, including a lower weight,
which was achieved by making the entire car out of aluminum.
The two-seater coupe powered by a 3.6 Liter V8 engine
was capable of reaching 60 miles per hour in just 2.5 seconds!
The classic sports car ranks among the best-selling Ferrari’s with 8,800 units sold,
despite costing over $140,000 dollars each.
The Type F140, otherwise known as the Enzo Ferrari in memory of the company’s founder,
was produced between 2002 and 2004.
The design team went all out to honor Enzo,
creating a stunning 12-cylinder mid-engine sports car
that eclipsed all of its predecessors when it came to horsepower and speed.
The car’s 6 liter V12 engine was the first of a new generation and produced up 660 brake horsepower!
This translated to a top speed of 217 mph
while it could go from 0 to 60 in a very respectable 3.5 seconds.
Fun Fact
400 Enzo models were made,
with the 400th being donated to the Pope!
Sadly, the Pope couldn’t be seen zooming around the Vatican City in it,
since he didn’t want the car as his personal popemobile.
In 2005 the 400th Enzo model was sold at an auction in Monterey California for over 6 million dollars!
As we continue Ferrari’s evolution
we will feature all the latest and fastest Ferrari’s
in the final part of the Evolution of Ferrari.
Click the video on the screen to watch it.
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