The evolution of the mighty horse, Ferrari

Who would have thought that Enzo Ferrari would one day become one of the best pioneers in the
automotive sector. Its a symbol of luxury, speed and power. Having faced so many hurdles on his way,
he finally showed his true potential with a win at the 1950 world championship Grand Prix. Its been 60
years yet the Italian brand Scuderia Ferrari has always reached new heights with each passing era.
Based in Maranello, Italy another Italian counterpart Fiat owns 85% of its share as of 2008 and is still
holding. Ferrari is mainly known for its active participation in Formula 1 racing where it had a great
success in the recent past with the help of Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 and is known for one of the best
drivers it ever had, Niki Lauda. It has current partnership with Shell oil and Ducati. It is also under
agreement to supply engines to Marrusia and Sauber Formula One teams.
Ferrari debuted with Ferrari 125S (125 Sport) on May 11, 1947. It was powered by a 1.5 liter Colombo
V12 engine 118 Brake Horsepower with 5 speed transmission gear box. It claimed its first win at the
Grand Prix of Rome and has won a total of six races of fourteen in 1947 which marked a strong push into
future and success. Before his death in 1988, Ferrari F40 was launched which was the most expensive,
fastest and the most powerful car ever sold to the public for 1.6 million US $. It was encompassed by a
much powerful 2.9 liter twin-turbo V8 engine which produced 471 horsepower, 5 speed manual
transmission and was designed with complete aerodynamics. It was one of the best in its name.
The brand failed to make any impact for a few years post the founders death. But ever since the F1
legend ushered into Ferrari there was no turning back as they just kept soaring and rising in the mid-
90s. The first decade saw some magnificent sports cars like the F40, 458 Italia and so on.
The advancements in technology have brought upon a drastic change in the sports cars and that led to
the introduction of Ferrari F430. It was equipped with an E-diff, ESC (Electronic Stability Control) which is
a completely computerized way of detecting wheel lock, steering failure and automatically brakes under
such circumstances thus avoiding serious accidents. A great step towards passengers safety. Later on in
2008, the 430 Spider Biofuel was introduced for the first time which runs on ethanol as a replacement to
petrol and diesel in the 2008 Detroit Auto Show.
The 430s successor the 458 Italia had a new design and incorporated with high tech from F1, 6 speed
sequential manual gearbox and a longitudinally mounted 4.7 liter V8 naturally aspirated engine. It was
the only car that produced the highest specific output among road cars at 127 PS/liter. Later in 2011 a
GT was introduced the Ferrari FF which was Ferraris first four wheel drive car which provides power to
all the four wheels instead of the conventional rear wheels and is the worlds fastest four-seat car. Two
new cars were later introduced the F12berlinetta and LaFerrari which had the conventional V12 engine
but the unique feature of the latter was it was a limited edition hybrid sports car which is said to
produce the highest power output and simultaneously limiting the fuel consumption to only 40%. The
additional feature of KERS (Kinetic Energy Regeneration System) used in F1 which adds to a total output
of 950bhp and the carbon fiber structures make its strong and light. It is the most high tech car ever
built by Ferrari with traction Control, ABS and active aerodynamics for maximum performance.