Ferrari History: How a Racing Team Became a Luxury Carmaker

Ferrari’s name appeared in motor racing long before a car bearing the Ferrari badge took to the track. Enzo Ferrari first organized a racing team for Alfa Romeo cars. Only later did he establish an independent business and introduce a sports car of his own.

That sequence matters to the rest of the story. Racing established the identity associated with Ferrari, but the enterprise that emerged in Maranello also needed a road-car business, outside investment and, eventually, a new corporate structure. Its history connects those changes with repeated shifts in racing performance and automobile technology.

A Quick Look at the History of Ferrari

From Alfa Romeo Racing to an Independent Marque

On November 16, 1929, Enzo Ferrari and investors established Società Anonima Scuderia Ferrari. Its job was to field Alfa Romeo cars in competition, not to manufacture Ferrari-badged road cars. By 1933, the racing organization had become closely integrated with Alfa Romeo’s racing activities.

The relationship eventually changed. After leaving Alfa Romeo, Enzo founded Auto Avio Costruzioni in Modena in September 1939. The Design Museum’s account describes a restriction on the use of the Ferrari name in racing during the following four years. That is one reason the company’s early history cannot be reduced to a single founding date.

In late 1943, the business moved to Maranello. The defining automotive milestone came in 1947 with the 125 S, Ferrari’s first car to carry its own marque. Its early tests and first racing victory marked the transition from a racing organization identified with Alfa Romeos to an identifiable Ferrari automobile business.

Enzo’s earlier racing experience did not disappear from the new operation. Instead, a recognizable connection between road-car manufacturing and competition became central to the Ferrari story.

Road Cars and Racing Build an International Reputation

Competition supplied visible results, while manufacturing cars for customers built a separate commercial operation. Ferrari’s corporate history identifies the 166 Inter, introduced in 1948, as its first road car.

Formula One supplied another international stage. Scuderia Ferrari entered the World Championship at Monaco in 1950. José Froilán González took its first championship Grand Prix win at the 1951 British Grand Prix, and Alberto Ascari followed with drivers’ world championships in 1952 and 1953.

Success on track was never uninterrupted. Rival teams and manufacturers challenged Ferrari, setting up one of the best-known episodes in its business history.

The Failed Ford Talks and Fiat’s Investment

In 1963, Ford Motor Company and Ferrari discussed a possible business arrangement. Their May 22 public statement described the negotiations as “suspended by mutual agreement.” Ford did not buy Ferrari. The talks ended without a sale.

Ford subsequently developed its GT40 racing effort, which won Le Mans in 1966. The GT40 became a formidable competitor on the track, but Ferrari’s subsequent ownership change was a separate transaction.

In 1969, Fiat acquired a 50% stake in Ferrari S.p.A. Ferrari’s automotive business now had a significant outside shareholder, while its racing and road-car operations continued to be associated with Maranello.

Ferrari’s Formula One results continued to fluctuate. Niki Lauda won drivers’ titles in 1975 and 1977, followed by Jody Scheckter in 1979. Those victories were substantial achievements, yet the team would not win another drivers’ world championship for more than two decades.

Enzo Ferrari’s Final Years and the Post-Founder Business

Ferrari introduced the F40 on July 21, 1987, with Enzo Ferrari present at the unveiling. The performance car reflected the manufacturer’s technological and sporting identity during the founder’s final years.

Enzo died in 1988. That year Fiat’s stake in Ferrari S.p.A. increased to 90%, while Piero Ferrari retained 10%. Fiat became the dominant shareholder as Ferrari entered the post-founder era.

In Formula One, a sustained competitive resurgence arrived around the turn of the century. Ferrari won six consecutive constructors’ championships from 1999 through 2004. Michael Schumacher claimed five consecutive drivers’ titles in Ferrari cars from 2000 through 2004.

It was a sustained run of titles after the long gap since Ferrari’s previous drivers’ championship in 1979. Kimi Räikkönen also secured the drivers’ championship for Ferrari in 2007.

Ferrari Becomes an Independent Public Company

For decades, Fiat and its successor corporate group held controlling interests in Ferrari. The next major structural change came in 2015 and 2016, when the Ferrari business was separated from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA).

Ferrari N.V. was incorporated in the Netherlands in September 2015 as part of the restructuring. Its shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in October. The separation from FCA was completed in January 2016, making Ferrari an independently listed public group.

The 2015 incorporation date belongs to the modern holding company, not to Ferrari’s original racing team or automotive marque. Ferrari S.p.A. remained the principal Italian operating business. Investors could now hold shares in Ferrari separately from FCA, giving the automotive and motorsport group its own public-market identity.

Hybrids and a Return to Le Mans

In May 2019 the manufacturer introduced the SF90 Stradale, its first series-production plug-in hybrid. That launch added an electrified powertrain to an image long associated with combustion-engine performance.

Racing remained active alongside these road-car changes. In 2023, the Ferrari 499P won the 24 Hours of Le Mans overall, Ferrari’s first overall victory there since 1965. The No. 50 499P won in 2024, and an AF Corse-entered No. 83 499P won in 2025. That third successive win belonged to the AF Corse entry, not to one of the two factory-entered cars.

Those victories extended the marque’s endurance-racing record decades after its earlier Le Mans success.

Ferrari Luce and the Move to Battery Power

On May 25, 2026, Ferrari unveiled the Luce, its first battery-electric production model. The five-seat car was developed with design collaboration from LoveFrom. Reuters reported an indicative price of €550,000 and a plan for initial deliveries in the final quarter of 2026.

Ferrari’s October 2025 strategic plan targeted a 2030 model line-up of approximately 40% combustion-engine cars, 40% hybrids and 20% battery-electric models. These percentages describe the intended composition of available models, not the future proportion of vehicles sold.

Ferrari in 2026

In November 2026, Ferrari N.V. was a publicly traded parent overseeing a performance-car and motorsport business centred on Maranello. Its chief executives and directors included executive chairman John Elkann, CEO Benedetto Vigna and vice chairman Piero Ferrari.

The nine months ending September 30, 2026 brought €5.682 billion in reported revenue and 10,170 vehicle shipments, against 10,488 shipments in the comparable previous-year period. These are interim figures, not full-year 2026 totals.

Ferrari now operates independently of its former automotive parent. Its story links racing to road-car production and later shifts in ownership and propulsion technology. The announced 2030 model plan points toward a mixed-powertrain range, while Formula One and endurance racing continue alongside the car business.

Timeline

These milestones highlight Ferrari’s main changes in racing, ownership, road cars and technology.

1929

Enzo Ferrari and investors establish Scuderia Ferrari to field Alfa Romeo racing cars.

1939

Enzo Ferrari establishes Auto Avio Costruzioni in Modena.

1943

The business moves to Maranello.

1947

The 125 S becomes the first Ferrari-badged car.

1951

José Froilán González wins Ferrari’s first Formula One World Championship Grand Prix.

1963

Ford and Ferrari suspend their business negotiations without a sale.

1969

Fiat acquires 50% of Ferrari S.p.A.

1987–1988

The F40 is unveiled; Enzo Ferrari dies the following year, and Fiat’s stake rises to 90%.

1999–2004

Scuderia Ferrari wins six consecutive constructors’ championships, while Michael Schumacher wins five consecutive drivers’ titles from 2000 through 2004.

2015–2016

Ferrari N.V. lists shares in New York and completes its separation from FCA.

2019

Ferrari introduces the SF90 Stradale, its first series-production plug-in hybrid.

2023–2025

Ferrari 499P cars take three consecutive overall Le Mans wins, including the AF Corse No. 83 entry in 2025.

2026

Ferrari unveils the five-seat battery-electric Luce.

FAQs

Question: When was Ferrari founded: 1929, 1939 or 1947?

Answer: Each year describes a different milestone. Scuderia Ferrari began as a racing team in 1929; Enzo Ferrari formed Auto Avio Costruzioni in 1939; and the first Ferrari-badged car, the 125 S, appeared in 1947.

Question: Who owns Ferrari today?

Answer: Ferrari N.V. is publicly traded. As of February 4, 2026, Exor and Trust Piero Ferrari held significant shareholdings and voting rights, but neither owned Ferrari outright.

Question: Is Ferrari still part of Fiat or Stellantis?

Answer: No. Ferrari completed its separation from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in January 2016 and has operated under its independently listed Ferrari N.V. parent.

Question: Did Ford buy Ferrari?

Answer: No. Ford and Ferrari suspended their negotiations in 1963. Fiat later bought a 50% stake in Ferrari S.p.A. in 1969.

Question: What was Ferrari’s first fully electric production model?

Answer: The Ferrari Luce was unveiled in May 2026 as a five-seat battery-electric model. Initial deliveries were planned for late 2026 at the time of its unveiling.

Question: Has Ferrari introduced a five-seat model?

Answer: Yes. Ferrari presented the battery-electric Luce in 2026 as a five-seat model.

Sources

• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission / Ferrari N.V.: 2016 Form 20-F: Company history and ownership, 2015 prospectus and separation, 2015 registration statement: early company history, 2019 SF90 Stradale announcement, 2030 strategic plan, Nine-month 2026 interim report, 2021 annual filing.
• Museo Alfa Romeo: Scuderia Ferrari’s origins.
• Design Museum: Enzo Ferrari and the early company.
• Formula One: Ferrari year by year.
• Ford Motor Company: Ford GT40 origins and Ferrari negotiations.
• The Henry Ford: Ford at Le Mans in 1967.
• Fondazione Pirelli: Ferrari F40 unveiling.
• FIA: 2023 Le Mans result, 2025 Le Mans results.
• Reuters: Ferrari Luce unveiling.