Ferrari – From “Prancing Horse” to Billion Dollar Supercar Icon
Ferrari, the iconic brand of luxury and speed, has affirmed its position globally since its launch in 1947. By 2017, the brand value had skyrocketed to 21 billion USD (about 478 trillion), an impressive step forward from its early days as a young racing car company. This sublimation is associated with the name of its founder, Enzo Ferrari.
In 2015, Ferrari made an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, with an initial value of nearly 10 billion USD. Just two years later, this number had doubled. This is a testament to the brand’s continued appeal, with the symbol of a horse standing on its hind legs – a symbol of glamor, wealth and luxury living.
In its early years, Ferrari operated as a small racing car company and had on its team the brilliant Italian-American racing driver, Chinetti. It was Chinetti who helped Ferrari expand its market, turning the brand into a source of luxury supercars for the global elite. This success made Ford want to invest in them, but it failed, and Ferrari later became part of FIAT, while Ford became a racing rival.
Looking back at Ferrari’s 70-year journey, from the first time Enzo Ferrari witnessed a car race in 1908 at the age of 10, to the challenging days after World War I when Enzo sought work in industry car. Although rejected by FIAT, he found an opportunity at Alfa Romeo, and in 1929, founded the Scuderia Ferrari racing team.
After many ups and downs, Enzo closed Scuderia Ferrari in 1937 and later reopened it as Auto Avio Costruzioni, producing the first AAC 815. World War II interrupted production, but immediately after the war, Ferrari developed a new V12 engine and introduced the 125 – the first car to carry the Ferrari brand.
The post-war period saw the entry of Luigi Chinetti, who proposed the production of sports cars. This opened new business doors for Ferrari, leading to the birth of legendary car models such as the California Spider, GTO and Testarossa, and strongly expanding the market in the US.
The 1960s saw Ferrari dominate at Le Mans, until Ford won with the GT40. In 1969, Enzo sold 50% of Ferrari’s shares to FIAT, a turning point for the brand to continue to develop and survive. Enzo died in 1988, but under the guidance of Luca di Montezemolo, Ferrari grew into a global luxury brand.
Ferrari’s journey from a racing car manufacturing startup to a billion-dollar supercar brand is an inspiring story, marked by a successful IPO and the RACE listing code on the New York stock exchange, an affirmation for its career. greatness that Enzo initiated.
