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Enzo Ferrari Constructor's

2021-04-25 02:29

Osservatore Sportivo

#Enzo Ferrari, Fulvio Conti, Nicola Battello,

Enzo Ferrari Constructor's

At the beginning of the autumn of 1939, while on 1 September German troops crossed the Polish border and the Second World War began, Enzo Ferrari retu

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At the beginning of the autumn of 1939, while on 1 September German troops crossed the Polish border and the Second World War began, Enzo Ferrari returned to Modena. For Ferrari, returning to Modena as a well-known figure in Italian motorsport is a revenge against those who in his youth considered him a strange boy, passionate about cars and sports, who was not recognised as having any particular abilities. Now, as an established sportsman, Ferrari wants to convince his fellow citizens that the degree of notoriety he has achieved is made legitimate by his stubborn work and his attitude. It is the attempt to prove to others and to himself that at Alfa Romeo he did not live only by reflected light. At forty-two, the time has come to show how far his forces can go. After leaving Alfa Romeo, on Tuesday, 5 September 1939, Ferrari wrote a letter to Gobbato, in which he approved a clause under which he renounced all technical-agonistic activities for four years. Enzo Ferrari accepts the agreement thinking that the war, unleashed with the German invasion of Poland, would have in fact temporarily suspended motor racing. Considering the superficiality in the interpretation of the agreement reached, Ferrari will be able to build a car to which to assign a name different from his own and bring it to the race with a different organisation, only in name, from Scuderia Ferrari. To achieve this goal, Enzo Ferrari collaborates with engineer Alberto Massimino, who remained in Modena as head of the technical office during Ferrari's militancy in Milan, alongside Vittorio Bellentani, a Modena industrial expert coming from Guerzoni e Guarinoni, a company that produces Mignon motorcycles in Modena, which Enzo Ferrari has known well since his Scuderia had a motorcycle department between 1932 and 1934. Without being able to use the Scuderia Ferrari brand, on Monday, 2 October 1939, Enzo Ferrari founded a sole proprietorship (with the money received from Alfa Romeo for his liquidations, three in the last three years) called Auto Avio Costruzioni. The name misleads one of the purposes of the company, which is supposed to build mechanical parts for the Compagnia Aeronautica di Roma, a growing sector thanks to ongoing international events. It is Franco Cortese, a Scuderia Ferrari driver in 1930 who Enzo Ferrari has known for years, who allows contact between the Modenese company and the Roman one. In early November 1939, Renzo Castagneto, director of the R.A.C.I. of Brescia and creator and organiser of the Mille Miglia, announced that, after the impediment of the organisation of the 1939 edition, the Mille Miglia will be held for the year 1940. This time the great Italian classic race, called the 1st Brescia Grand Prix of the Mille Miglia, will not cover the Italian peninsula but will develop around a shortened route, to be repeated nine times, covering the provinces of Brescia, Cremona and Mantua. On Monday, November 6, 1939, Enzo Ferrari revealed to his friend Castagneto - through a letter - not only that he was already operational after returning to Modena, but also that he was not surprised by his announcement:

 

"I was sure of it, so much so that passing through Modena you can see to what extent I am convinced of it".

 

Ferrari's words convey his intentions: with his men, however, he will be forced to race against time to prepare two cars for the Mille Miglia, which is just over five months away. In the absence of Alfa Romeo material, which he cannot use, Ferrari is forced to purchase two Fiat 508C chassis to use as a base for the two new cars. This choice is not random, but targeted, because the Turin-based company has given away 5.000 lire to those who will come first in each of the three classes in which the 1940 Mille Miglia is divided, logically with Fiat production cars or chassis. The team of technicians led by Massimino intervenes on the chassis, which must be modified and reinforced in order to support the greater power of the engine compared to the one that equips the production 508C. The other changes concern the suspension, brakes, transmission and steering; the gearbox and differential remain unchanged. For the design of the engine, Ferrari would have the dream of being able to build a twelve-cylinder engine, but having to make a virtue of necessity, the choice falls on an in-line eight-cylinder. To avoid direct comparison with the 2000-cc BMW and the 3000-cc Alfa Romeo, Ferrari enrols his cars in the class with up to 1500-cc displacement. Massimino takes and combines two Fiat engines of 1100 cc, and then reduces the total displacement to one and a half litres. The crankshaft and camshafts are modified, while to obtain the monobloc and the oil cup, Ferrari turns to the Fonderia Calzoni in Bologna. With the increase in engine displacement, Massimino has to build and install a new water pump, while a new ignition distributor takes the place of the pair of ignition distributors inherited from the Fiat 508C. Then Massimino designs four new carburetors to power the engine, positioned between the exhaust manifolds and leading to a single exhaust manifold, which ends at the right rear of the car. Finally, the compression ratio of the engine is increased. Ferrari, thinking of the name to identify the new car, takes into account the reasoning made with the first car built entirely in Modena, the Alfa Romeo 158: 15 was the 1.5-litre displacement, 8 were the cylinders. The new car, therefore, will be called 815, eight as the cylinders of the engine and 1.5 litres as its displacement. This is the car with which Ferrari begins his adventure as a manufacturer. Due to the clause imposed by Alfa Romeo, Ferrari cannot use his name to identify the car and does not even think of calling it Auto Avio Costruzioni. For everyone, the car is called only 815, as written on the engine head. The bodywork of the 815 will be made at the Carrozzeria Touring in Milan. In his first meeting, Ferrari, which already has clear ideas about what it wants, is explicit towards the owner and founder of the business, Felice Bianchi Anderloni: he wants a car that differs from the others, that is instantly recognisable, and that reflects the style of the Carrozzeria Touring, sporty, captivating, but always elegantly sober. Overall he wants a sports and luxury car. Bianchi Anderloni begins to make some sketches, which are then analysed by the designer Formenti. Touring uses an aerodynamic channel from the company Breda e Bresso. In fact, for Bianchi Anderloni, weight is the enemy, air resistance is the obstacle. Following the approval of one of the proposals on the style of the car by Ferrari, Touring shapes the bodywork, built with an expensive aluminium and magnesium alloy called Itallumag, of only 54 kilograms. The car globally weighs 552 kilograms. The first aerodynamic test on the road of the first 815 model is carried out on the Milan-Como motorway, in a flat section after Lainate discovered and often used by Vittorio Jano with his Alfa Romeos. With the presence of Ferrari, the 815, whose bodywork is covered with wool threads, is launched at high speed. A photographer, on board a second car that follows the 815, makes still images of the behaviour of the wool threads against air resistance. Based on the analysis of the photographs, Bianchi Anderloni with his men will make the necessary changes. Wednesday, 14 February 1940, La Gazzetta dello Sport talks about Ferrari's design of a dozen examples of his sportscar. It does not indicate the name, but only the 1100-cc displacement, which turns out to be incorrect, and the in-line eight-cylinder engine. Ferrari immediately denies the news. But the indiscretion is true. Not only is Ferrari building a car, despite going against the agreement with Alfa Romeo, but he is really thinking of creating a series of ten cars, with the same bodywork made by Touring, but slightly different from the sportscar he is building at this time. The constructions are now known, despite the denials. In the spring of 1940, no one is surprised if, just six months after the reorganisation of the small workshop in Modena, Enzo Ferrari can announce his first model. Towards the middle of April 1940, the two 815 find their respective buyers. These are the Marquis Lotario Rangoni Machiavelli, a Modenese nobleman known to Ferrari because he brought back to victory a shortened version of the Alfa 2300 when the Modenese manufacturer was director of Alfa Corse, to whom the unit with the most luxurious set-up, with leather upholstery and the hidden gasoline nozzle, is sold; and Alberto Ascari, the son of Antonio, the never-forgotten master and friend of Ferrari in his youth. Alberto already runs with motorcycles, but decides to start racing with cars and for this reason decides to turn to his family friend. Ferrari decided to satisfy him, giving him the model with the sportiest set-up. Ferrari takes Rangoni’s 815 on Via Giardini, the long straight road lined with centuries-old trees that leads from Modena to the foot of the Apennines, up to Serramazzoni, on which the car has already sped numerous times in the winter, while Ascari picks up his 815 directly from the Touring of Milan, where it is later immortalised in front of the Certosa di Garegnano and then tested on the Milan-Laghi motorway. Sunday. 14 April 1940, Ferrari writes to Castagneto to confirm the presence at the Mille Miglia of the two 815, which will be driven by the Marquis Rangoni and the young Alberto Ascari. Ferrari is careful to point out that Auto Avio Costruzioni would have taken care of the registration and participation, but the competitor card is in the name of the drivers. The team, therefore, will assist the two participants only with regard to the logistical aspect. Ferrari clarifies that the decision is due to various reasons. The idea is to circumvent the clause signed with Alfa Romeo: if the Portello manufacturer cornered him, Ferrari would be able to say that his is not an official commitment with professional drivers, as highlighted in the clause, but unofficial and with two amateur drivers, who turned to him to only get assistance in the race. In the meantime, however, the prancing horse belonging in the past to Baracca returns to be present in the letterhead of Auto Avio Costruzioni, putting the name of the company in the background. The 1940 Mille Miglia is held on a 165-kilometre three-peak circuit, to be repeated nine times. The three summits are the cities of Brescia, Mantua and Cremona. The organisers move the boxes of all classes along the route. In Brescia there will be the 2L and 3L classes, in Piadena the 1100-cc, in Guidizzolo the 750-cc and in Cremona the 1500-cc, where - a few days later, for the last tests - Enzo Ferrari shows up with the two 815 and his men: Massimino, Bellentani, Bazzi, Colombo, Giberti, the two drivers - the Marquis Rangoni and Alberto Ascari - and some mechanics. Ferrari silently watches the steps of his 815s sitting on a curbstone, with a hat lowered on his forehead and a turtleneck under his jacket. With Rangoni Machiavelli and Ascari alternating at the wheel of their cars with the testers, the 815 demonstrates a good top speed, but with the passing of hours the concern about the difficulty of the engine to maintain a fast pace and a good traction increases. Reliability must also be verified, because the race will reach almost a total of 1.500 kilometres. Practice ends at sunset and the 815 certainly needs more time to tune up. But now the Mille Miglia is close and Ferrari has decided: on Sunday 28 April 1940 he will compete. On Tuesday, April 23, 1940, the entire team arrives in Brescia, including the drivers with their respective race mechanics: Giovanni Minozzi for Ascari, of whom he is first cousin; and Enrico Nardi, an experienced test driver who carried out most of the development tests of the 815, for Rangoni Machiavelli. Enzo Ferrari appears in public for the first time in a different guise, without the traditional Alfa Romeo hat that he has worn for twenty years: few are surprised to see him again so early in the racing environment. On Wednesday, 24 April 1940, the Marquis Rangoni Machiavelli completed the purchase of his 815, while on Thursday, 25 April 1940, it was Alberto Ascari's turn. Same destination, but the voice - especially the bodywork - says Torpedo. Indeed, the official name of the new Ferrari cars is Torpedino Superleggero Tipo Brescia. Ascari's car, with the number 021 on the chassis, has a declared price of 20,000 lire, while the car with the number 020 of Rangoni Machiavelli has an unknown price, probably higher than Ascari's car given the more luxurious set-up. On Thursday, 25 April 1940, in the evocative square of Piazza della Vittoria, pulsating with tricolour flags for Marconi's day and gigantic oriflammes that repeat ten, a hundred times the now famous red arrow, a symbol that is identified only with the Mille MIglia, the first official act of the great Brescia competition begins, which returns to the forefront of world motorsport with all its exciting technical and sporting motifs. In Piazza della Vittoria, among a very large mass of crowds that for three days will be stationed around the large fence set up for the occasion, the verification and punching operations of the machines begin. Among the earliest to appear before the stewards are the drivers of the five BMWs to whom those present give a warm applause. During the first day, as is a bit the tradition, there are few cars that pass the scrutiny of the stewards, a dozen in total. On Friday the rate of attendance will increase and on Saturday there will be a lot of work for Castagneto and his collaborators, for whom, however, the field day will be on Sunday, when 86 cars will be launched on the largest circuit in Europe, which already constitutes for itself the conquest of a technical and organisational record. On Friday, April 26, 1940, the cars presented themselves in Piazza Vittoria in Brescia to undergo technical checks. Coloured in an amaranth red, darker than that of the Alfa Romeo and Maserati, the 815 of the Marquis Rangoni Machiavelli and Ascari will carry the numbers 65 and 66 painted on the respective engine bonnets, respectively. The cars are currently without the shield depicting the prancing horse. On the eve of the race there is talk of stretches of road with a mediocre bottom, of some narrow gait, of some insidious curves. Drivers, on the other hand, find the road regularly arranged, almost all excellent and in any case more than good even in inhabited crossings; difficult curves, but no technically insidious ones; a width always sufficient to tackle at any speed. And, above all, a plenty of reports already arranged or in progress and logistical preparations. Each curve is provided with very visible signs at fifty metres and the distances from the obstacle in hundreds of metres are painted on the road surface. Each bridge, each junction, each inhabited area is protected by appropriate iconography; in each centre of some importance, stands and walkways are being completed at each junction, the shelters that will guarantee the not symbolic but really perfect closure of the route are being accumulated. The new banked corner of Cremona has also its surface settled; the towns are flooded with signs urging caution. A meticulous sports preparation, therefore, along the 165 kilometres of the triangle. And it is certainly the first time that a circuit of such length has been blocked as one of the usual intercity tracks. Despite all this, however, the hypercritical people are right to a certain extent: it is a road, and not a track. And this road is not at all easy: certainly less flat and less impetuous than what a glance at the topographic map may suggest. But this is the value of the work, it is precisely the essence of the Mille Miglia, which has not already wanted to transform itself into a carousel of bare speed, but to preserve all its qualities of selection testing. Certainly, after having completed the test lap in the car, insisting on average speeds higher than 150 km/h (even if already approached on an open circuit) is a good sign of confidence in the competitors. Only Comotti's Delage, which arrived in Brescia on Friday, 26 April 1940, pushes in training throughout the lap, recording the unofficial time of one hour and 10 minutes: more than 150 km/h. Not bad, for a first try. Enough to establish that, despite the rumours of imperfect preparation, French cars will also be top-ranking protagonists on Sunday in the fight for the absolute record that promises to be thrilling. Brescia, already fully paved and ready for the ceremony, exulting in the joyful anticipation of his race, offers a quiet oasis on the eve: the characteristic fence set up in Piazza Vittorio for punching operations. Everywhere in the city there is an intertwining of cars, sounds, calls, braking but in the Sancta Sanctorum of the race, where the vigil judges await the competing cars for preliminary checks, no one is in a hurry to show up. A dozen all day, after the ten cars on Thursday. The other sixty will tumult all together on Saturday. And if the Technical Commissioners retain the severity demonstrated in today's checks (several cars failed checks and must complete or regularise the equipment prescribed for the sport category), there will be the usual picturesque assembly of the workshops, the makeshift reconstructions in the middle of the street, the roaring night tests of the last hour. Even the sleepless night is, for the whole city, part of the tradition of the Mille Miglia. The most assiduous, today, on balance, is the bookmaker, who is already beginning to collect bets. On Saturday, 27 April 1940, the two 815s were repeatedly tested on the long straights around Cremona. The top speed is respectable, but the reliability is all to be verified. For Enzo Ferrari, this Mille Miglia represents a test, rather than a real race to participate in to win. The Modena manufacturer has no illusions of winning, but hopes not to make a bad impression. Therefore, during the evening, Ferrari advises drivers to pay attention during the race. At 4:00 a.m. on Sunday, 28 April 1940, on a humid and cloudy day that does not exclude a wet race, the departures for the first Brescia Grand Prix of the Mille Miglia start. Rangoni Machiavelli starts at 6:21 a.m.; Alberto Ascari starts at 6:22 a.m. Ferrari awaits the passage of his cars in Cremona. Rangoni Machiavelli is the first to pass before him, and Ascari passes immediately after, proving to be the fastest between the two. Despite Ferrari's recommendations, the drivers start pushing from the early stages of the race, putting themselves both against the opponents in the race, and above all against each other. During the first lap, between Cremona and Mantua, Ascari overtook the sister car of Rangoni Machiavelli, taking the lead of the 1500-cc class, the National Sport category, and moving on to Mantua under the watchful eyes of Nuvolari and the Maserati brothers, Ettore, Ernesto and Bindo, sitting on the grandstand. During the next lap, Ascari withdraws from the race, due to the failure of a balance wheel, and consequently it is the Marquis who takes the class first place. Lap after lap the Marquis is able to increase his advantage over the second, taking it to a maximum of 33 minutes. On the third lap the Marquis is eleventh overall; the next lap he is tenth. On the penultimate lap, Rangoni Machiavelli began to experience road holding problems and, despite the contrary opinion of his teammate, decided to continue the race. But at the moment when the Marquis remains only with the third gear, the retirement is practically inevitable: at the beginning of the last lap the two stop. If on the eve of the Mille Miglia he is realistic about the possibility of appearing well, during the race Ferrari comes to hope to win a well-deserved class victory, faded away only a hundred kilometres from the finish line. This first race holds the class lap record set by Rangoni Machiavelli on the 815, with an average speed of 122 km/h and a maximum speed reached of 172 km/h. It was therefore a very great race, even if unfortunate for Italian cars and drivers, worthy of the expectation and of the glorious tradition, indeed of the double tradition: that of the very first speed circuits that, thanks to the city, had opened the cycle of the great Italian speed races at the dawn of the century, right on these Lombard roads, and that of the unforgettable Mille Miglia on the classic peninsular eight. However, this race did not let itself be regretted, because, since this first of a long series of new editions, its successor has worthily replaced it in all its characteristic tasks: sport, combativity, emotionality, technique, testing, passion from the crowd. Beaten in the international Grands Prix, contested by racing cars, the Italian industry seemed to be able to emerge, at least in the field of normal sports cars, on the great road routes. The last seven Mille Miglia races had been the uninterrupted prerogative of the Italian colours, which had also triumphed against the German cars in the very heavy race on the Libyan coast last year, in the absence of the Mille Miglia. This seemed like a solid record. And instead, Italians must also reconsider this. The German victory is not due to chance or lucky coincidences. The race could not be more regular, more persuasive. The speed superiority of the German 2-litre BMW (and as such competitors in the lower class) against the 2500 Alfa Romeos of the maximum class, is self-evident from the first lap and continues with an inexorable provision of minutes of advantage, lap by lap, chronometrically. The Alfa Romeo, led by the admirable Giuseppe Farina, author of a great fight, one of the most beautiful of his career, can only fit with difficulty between the first and second of the German crews, after having defeated the Delange, which appeared threatening and, indeed, overwhelming in the first two laps. But of course this is the best that he could do, as on the third lap the prudent team orders that imposed a certain reserve in the thorough exploitation of the engine are loosened and the race of the red cars consequently takes on a crazy all-out fast pace. Nor can the protagonists of the official team complain about stops or incidents of a certain importance. Their race, on the contrary, is remarkable for its regularity, fullness and balance of form. It is therefore a flattering result, which should be highlighted. This time the organisation and preparation also seemed impeccable at Alfa Romeo. But the highly favourable power-to-weight ratio of German cars could not be matched. However, the large gap from the overall winner, Hanstein, on his own teammates leads to a partially comforting reflection: this cannot be explained - with the same mechanical means and class of the drivers, a peaceful element - except with a more favourable aerodynamic penetration coefficient of his bodywork. On the other hand, the comments of the Italian press are positive regarding the first test of 815. L'Auto Italiana consoles Ferrari stating that the 815 has affirmed its competitiveness and adds that not all the organs, in the very first experimental edition, can be commensurate with the effort of a Mille Miglia started with laps at 146 km/h of average speed: no one could expect to see it reach the finish line, but the test was persuasive and flattering. Now that the Mille Miglia event is over, among other things with the positive judgement of the press, Enzo Ferrari knows that the 815, with an additional part of development, could compete with still difficult opponents. To advertise his car, Enzo Ferrari prints folders for potential racing enthusiasts all over Italy. His intention is - after finding buyers for the first two cars built - to set up another eight units. The text of the printout, not signed but clearly dictated by Enzo Ferrari, reads: 

 

"By creating this small sports car, which we will call 815, we did not intend to build a new car but simply to present a new TYPE, the result of modifications and existing complexes, of our studies and constructions. Our twenty years of experience in motorsport, the good knowledge of the many needs that arise from the use of the car driven by sports competitions, have guided us in creating this 815".

 

Ferrari then addresses the gentleman drivers saying that the 815 offers, with its very particular characteristics that are not reflected in any standard construction, the sure possibility of satisfying their sporting passion. The cover of the small brochure depicts the Scuderia Ferrari prancing horse, which appears behind a car reminiscent of one of the Alfa Romeo single-seaters that the Scuderia deployed in the 1930s. Below the rectangle there are the words Auto-Avio Costruzioni - Modena Italy, while at the top there are the three colours of the Italian flag. Ferrari is wrong, like many, when he thinks that the war would end soon and his intentions to build the remaining eight units of the 815 vanish at dawn on Friday, May 10, 1940, the day when the German army invades Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg. Shortly thereafter, the Battle of France began and a month later Mussolini declared war on France and Britain. During the First World War Ferrari was not an interventionist, and of course it will not be during the Second World War either. At the end of the Battle of France and the subsequent start of the Battle of Britain, Ferrari understood that the war would not be short-lived and that automotive events would stop. Ferrari decides to look for a job for his forty employees. In the Avio perspective of his new company, which until now he has followed only distractedly, Enzo Ferrari contacts the Compagnia Aeronautica di Roma, which builds small four-cylinder engines for school planes, used for the training of young pilots. It is not a tragedy from a work point of view to go from building engines for cars to building engines for small aeroplanes, which is the same path implemented by Alfa Romeo a few years earlier. The people of Modena, like most Italians, think that the war will be won and in a short time. The first theatres of war in Greece and Albania are far away, and the only emotions are given by the departures of the boys to the front. Ferrari, who has already experienced the wear and tear of war, does not share the general optimism of the first months of the war and with him also his mother, who, after losing her eldest son during the First World War, is against the fanatical enthusiasm of those who greet the war as the dawn of a new day. As in other cities, activities continue to operate in Modena, but anti-aircraft shelters begin to be built and the marble lions of the Duomo are protected by brick walls. While the Military Academy again sees an increase in the number of young officers trained to be sent to the war fronts. Although there is - for the moment - no risk of air raids, the total darkening of the cities comes into effect. In Modena, from dusk to dawn, the lights stay off and people carefully cover the window shutters from the inside with blue paper, which is used to contain sugar, and which is rationed by the people of Modena in these first months of the war, along with soap. Ferrari continues to live with his wife, Laura Garello, and his son Dino on the first floor of the building in Viale Trento Trieste, at number 13. During the autumn of 1940 Ferrari made aesthetic changes to the windows of the building, taking them from a vertical dimension with a lowered arch to a horizontal and wider one, framed by a contour containing two or three of them, interspersed with pillars covered with exposed bricks. Subsequently, he expanded the building in the direction of Via Emilia, building a concierge, so as to have, for the first time in ten years in which he resides, two distinct entrances: number 11 for workers that opens to the workshop, and number 13 that leads to the exhibition halls and the apartment. In addition, with the substantial liquidation paid by Alfa Romeo to be released, Ferrari buys a four-storey building overlooking Largo Garibaldi, the Palazzo del Centro, to move the family there. Meanwhile, the war does not extinguish the interest that Enzo Ferrari feels towards Lina Lardi, and their relationship remains increasingly strong and hidden from the eyes of Laura Garello. At the beginning of 1940, Auto Avio Costruzioni had about forty employees, and these remain even with the arrival of the war. Vittorio Bellentani, who manages the technical direction, goes from the design of the 815 to aircraft engines, and he is the responsible for the head of the technical office, Federico Giberti, and the head of the production office, Rolando Paolo Rosso; Lorenzo Rosa is the administrative director, and finally the chief tester of the 815, Enrico Nardi, who became Ferrari's confidant over time, receives the role of general manager. Subsequently, according to the statement issued on Thursday, July 17, 1941, the Auto Avio Costruzioni - Scuderia Ferrari - Modena plant is declared auxiliary to the war effort, and all employees become mobilised civilians. This means that from now on employees will have to submit to the military laws in force in time of war, and if someone does not have a valid written justification in case they return from an absence, they will be considered a deserter. During the second year of the war, there was no shortage of work for the Compagnia Aeronautica di Roma in the workshops of Viale Trento Trieste, so much so that a night shift was also added, but the profit remained modest. Ferrari is constantly looking for commissions and there is no talk  - momentarily - of cars. This is how, in 1942, an unexpected profit opportunity opened up for Enzo Ferrari's business: the trusted and new general manager Enrico Nardi introduced to him Corrado Gatti from Turin, a dealer in machine tools for the manufacture of ball bearings. During the interview, Corrado Gatti offered Enzo Ferrari the opportunity to manufacture hydraulic grinding machines for him. Ferrari accepts without any second thought; with the prospect of having to face yet more years of war, this opportunity becomes for himself and his employees a matter of survival. A little later, in the workshops of Modena, the workers began to build machine tools, on which Ferrari decided to apply a plate with Baracca's Prancing Horse, and the words Scuderia Ferrari - Modena on each machine. However, one very important detail should not be underestimated: the hydraulic grinders with the prancing horse are the perfect copies of products already patented and built in Germany, of which the Germans rejected Ferrari's request to be able to take advantage of the production licence in Italy. But Gatti, who apparently knows international laws well and consults with his lawyer, discovers that Italian law does not prevent the production of a component covered by a patent, as long as it has not been produced for at least three years from the date of issue of the patent itself. During the third year of the war, Ferrari found a moment of serenity, and perhaps hope, when he received the visit - as an officer - of an old friend, Trossi, accompanied by Villoresi, Count Lurani and Franco Cortese. For a whole day the festive company chases away thoughts of war, and thinks back to the good times spent together on the race fields, with the hope that these moments can return shortly. Ferrari talks about the moment when the war will end and sporting activity will resume, designing new cars and resuming projects already underway.

 

"If I save something, if they do not take everything away from me, the time will come, I am very sure, that I will only be able to dedicate myself to the construction of racing cars and that will allow me to see my cars race, every Sunday, at the same time in two or three parts of the world". 

 

But in Modena war gardens are beginning to emerge, that is public gardens or small school gardens transformed into plots of land used by citizens and schoolchildren to grow vegetables and legumes in a spirit of sharing with the military sent to the front. A little later, in 1942, when Allied bombing began to destroy Italian cities and the government launched the law on industrial decentralisation, Ferrari considered the possibility of transferring the company's production sector outside the town of Modena, to avoid a possible bombing of the structures responsible for the production of hydraulic grinding machines. Less than twenty kilometres from his city, in Carpi, which for Ferrari has a particular meaning on a personal level because it is the birthplace of his father, the Modenese manufacturer finds some old disused structures. By restoring these plants, Ferrari could transfer the production of hydraulic grinders there, while in the building on Viale Trento Trieste - present in Modena - the assistance for old Scuderia Ferrari customers and the part of automotive design that has never really stopped would remain. But the local authorities oppose it. Therefore, Ferrari's search continues and this time, looking south of the city, he finds a small town in the municipality of Formigine along the Abetone road, about ten kilometres from Modena, an area that may interest him. But even this time Ferrari finds the firm opposition of the local authorities, in particular that of the mayor, which prevents him from buying the land. Ferrari does not give up and once again sets out in search: this is how he finds an area available to the municipality of Maranello, the town next to Formigine. Among other things, in Fiorano, the municipality adjacent to Maranello, Ferrari already owns land comprising a spacious farmhouse, purchased years earlier with the liquidation received by Alfa Romeo. The mayor of Maranello grants and facilitates Ferrari the purchase of the Fondo Cavani, owned by the Colombini spouses, adjacent to the one already owned by Ferrari: by combining the two lands, the total area would reach a unit of 300,000 square metres. At the end of November 1942, Ferrari submitted the application for a building permit, which was promptly accepted, indicating the use of the structure for the construction of agricultural machinery, and in September 1943 he transferred the business there. The new company headquarters, which is located on the outskirts of Maranello, coming from Modena, has a much larger surface area than that present in Modena, in Viale Trento Trieste. In this way, in 1943 Auto Avio Costruzioni expanded, thus being able to count on the support of 160 employees, almost all of whom are involved in the processing of hydraulic grinding machines. On the left side of Via Abetone, at number 4, Ferrari erects a long and narrow building, marked by yellow walls, as in Modena, and red tiles, which form a sort of triangle. Two sides are occupied entirely by buildings, leaving free the one that overlooks the state road, from which the large internal courtyard can be accessed, only one third of the entire distance. Nevertheless, Enzo Ferrari decides not to move his residence to Maranello, despite the fact that the fuel supply is rationed and therefore he cannot travel by car to reach Maranello. During this period, Ferrari moved from Modena to Maranello by bicycle, usually along the country lanes that follow the course of the ditches, avoiding the main road, albeit straight, to escape the frequent Allied aircraft machine guns. With Ferrari, Peppino Verdelli is always present, who has become his official companion, and to them, on some occasions, his son Dino is also added. Ferrari and Verdelli have to travel forty kilometres a day (twenty on the way and twenty on the way back): a number destined to increase when Ferrari goes to see Lina Lardi, who in the meantime has settled in a house owned by the Modena manufacturer, in the countryside, in Settecani, part of the municipality of Castelvetro. And Verdelli, who also keeps him company on these trips, will collect his secrets. This type of life continues to be regular, despite the ongoing war, until Wednesday, 8 September 1943, the day on which the German army decides to occupy Enzo Ferrari's plant in Maranello, as it is still an auxiliary factory for war purposes. Upon entering the plant, the officer in charge of carrying out the inventory is amazed by the quantity of machine tools produced by the company, and with a certain irony he exclaims: 

 

"Mr. Ferrari, I know that you make excellent German grinders, therefore everything you are building will be seized by us".

 

It seems, however, that the grinders have never reached Germany. They will never even reach Modena, since they are taken to Formigine, where there is the first railway station, but from here they actually disappear. The workshop is therefore ordered to be fully operational, and Enzo Ferrari and his motor vehicles are granted a privileged operating status, in addition, the workers will be granted safe-conduct to protect their movements, including exemption from the curfew. Despite the move out of the city centre, the new headquarters of Auto Avio Costruzioni, present in Maranello, were bombed twice by Allied aircraft, on Saturday, 4 November 1944, and in February 1945 respectively. Fortunately, in both cases there are no casualties, but only serious damage to the structures. The enemies, however, are not only outside the Italian border, but from Wednesday, 8 September 1943, they are also inside. In fact, not only do the Nazis feel betrayed, but the representatives of the Republic of Salò are also present, who occupy the Palazzo Ducale in Modena and establish a real regime of terror. But they are not the only ones. There are enemies, invisible, desperate and, especially in Emilia, exasperated: the partisans. In their struggle to survive, the partisans make no distinction between those who support the Regime, those who even worse support the Republic of Salò, and those who have accepted the state of affairs, continuing their lives without allying with any political front. Ferrari is not a fascist, but only a realist. He only became a card-carrying member of the fascist party when it became mandatory to be able to travel abroad, and he never had any particular favours from the regime led by Benito Mussolini. His friendships with some members of the fascist party, more than anything else only at the local level, are certainly not responsible for his rise during the 1930s and not even for the well-being that his company has generated for his family and for the 300 families during the war years. During the fascist period, Ferrari fought his personal, not political, but private battle against unjustified violence, as for example could have been the case of Enzo Levi, an Israeli lawyer who suggested he give his name to the Scuderia Ferrari, instead of the Latin one of Modena. Ferrari, having learned that the fascists are waiting for Levi at the Bologna station to beat him and do who knows what else with his person, waits for him with his car near the train tracks, and then picks him up and takes him at maximum speed to Modena. After a long chase, the squadron members are not able to match the driving skills of this special driver. This escape is justified by a healthy dose of youthful swagger, but also by the certainty that his important friendships with the fascist party, such as Count Testa, Senator Vicini and Leandro Arpinati himself, will continue to protect him in some way. In a small city like Modena, Enzo Ferrari's gesture could become public domain and some more rebellious squadron members could settle the bill in their own way. But the courage and generosity of Ferrari to help a friend in difficulty remains, in a country such as Italy that is gathering more and more support on the subject of anti-Semitism. In the fascist period, Enzo Ferrari knew that he could not change a political situation that was already largely favourable to the population, like many other artisans and industrialists, and consequently he turned his attention to his own work. The Modenese builder takes neither before nor after a clear position and indeed, during the occupation of the German army, in his new structure in Maranello he leaves freedom of movement to that group of workers who, in hiding and at night, forge three-point nails for the partisans, who in turn use them to block the Nazi armoured columns. Ferrari knows that when those workers were discovered, the Germans would not shoot only them. And he also knows that in one of the most secluded rooms of the building in Viale Trento Trieste, in Modena, some of his workers are repairing weapons for the partisans. Furthermore, in his building in Largo Garibaldi in Modena, precisely on the first floor, Ferrari gives refuge to the mother of Sandro Cabassi, a partisan killed by the Republicans, and is aware that anti-fascist exponents and members of the underground Italian Communist Party gather in the same apartment. The situation is similar to that of Luigi Ranuzzi, a partisan known by the battle name of Caminito: wounded by the Nazis, he was urgently treated at the factory in Maranello, and later Ferrari decided to host him and hide him for months in one of the attics of the factory. In addition, Ferrari lends him on several occasions one of the vans of the Auto Avio Costruzioni, with which Ranuzzi shuttles with his fellow refugees in the mountains. Thanks to the laissez-passer that the German army handed over to Ferrari, so that his vehicles and the people of his company can circulate freely even with the entry into force of the curfew, Ranuzzi sees his life saved one evening: the Nazis, stopping one of his vehicles, do not search the van with the movement authorization he has in his possession, and Caminito can bring weapons and ammunition to the partisans hidden in the woods above Montefiorino. Not only the partisans, but also the Jews are helped by Ferrari, more than what was already done for the lawyer Levi before the war. This is the case of a Polish woman with her three young children. Enzo Ferrari, taking them to safety from the Germans, takes personal care of them, in silence and at the risk of personal safety, hiding them in a farmhouse between the city and the hill until the end of the war. Ferrari also agrees to keep under a tree of his land in Fiorano a box containing the money of the CLN (The National Liberation Committee, an Italian political and military organisation made up of the main anti-fascist parties and movements of the country, formed in Rome on September 9, 1943, in order to oppose fascism and the Nazi occupation in Italy; it will be dissolved in 1947), transited inside a matchbox through the usual Auto Avio Costruzioni van; it will be the brothers Aldo and Mario Barozzi (the latter with the nickname Sereno, a worker of the Scuderia Ferrari, who will be the godfather at the baptism of Enzo Ferrari's second son, Piero Lardi). And, in his apartment in Modena, to hide the archive of the Communist Party. In addition, he contributes financially to the Resistance movement, paying a sum of 500,000,000 lire in 1000 lire notes. Nevertheless, Enzo Ferrari ends up on the blacklist of some partisan departments, probably the most extreme of the movement. When, in the spring of 1945, with the end of the war, the Patriotic Action Groups took control of the situation taking advantage of the institutional chaos, the partisan brigades killed Edoardo Weber, an entrepreneur and designer of carburetors, as well as a friend of Ferrari, considered a collaborator. In 1945, as soon as the war ended, the factory was ready to resume its activities: however, on Thursday, 17 May 1945, due to his sympathies for the Republic of Salò, Edoardo Weber was taken by three partisans who invited him to follow them and from this moment on Edoardo Weber would disappear. Forty years later, Dr. Giuseppe Zanarini will confess that the next name - on the list of killings at the hands of the gap (the Patriotic Action Groups, formed by the general command of the Garibaldi Brigades at the end of October 1943, were small groups of partisans who were born on the initiative of the Italian Communist Party to operate mainly in the city, based on the experience of the French Resistance; but it is important to know that, by extension, even the least numerous socialist and actionist citizen partisan units were called Patriotic Action Groups) - would have been that of Enzo Ferrari, and that the one who would have made the final decision on condemning or saving the Modena builder would have been himself, as the person in charge of collecting the cash tributes for the CLN (Committee of National Liberation, an Italian political and military organisation made up of the main anti-fascist parties and movements in the country, formed in Rome on September 9, 1943, in order to oppose the German occupation and Nazi-fascism in Italy). One morning in October 1944, in the studio of Enzo Ferrari, present inside the Scuderia Ferrari headquarters in Modena, in Via Trento and Trieste, a doctor from San Cesario, Giuseppe Zanarini, appears under the guise of the partisan Altavilla. Officially, he only shows up to ask for money for the CLN: 

 

"Contribution to the Liberation Struggle". 

 

It is actually there to study it, to judge it and to pronounce a sentence. Ferrari does not know, but he is on death row. The GAP want to kill him for collaborating with the Germans. Ferrari figured it out; he might humiliate himself, or try to buy his own life. Instead ,he pays. A few minutes later, the partisan Altavilla pedals towards his secret hiding place; on the barrel, tied with twine, there is a package with 500,000 lire. A small fortune. As other entrepreneurs in Modena and other areas of Italy will do, Enzo Ferrari also pays, regularly. After the war in Italy (Wednesday 25 April 1945), in May 1945, a few days after Weber's death (Thursday 17 May 1945), Zanarini met Ferrari at the Scuderia Ferrari headquarters in Modena, in Via Trento Trieste. This is a previously agreed visit: Ferrari is in the company of three or four men. But he begs Zanarini to postpone the meeting. The Modena manufacturer, probably shocked by what happened to his friend Weber, says:

 

"I have a bad headache and I haven't slept".

 

Ferrari, in fact, has a very pale face and reddened eyes, as well as a slight tremor of the hands. At this point, according to the diaries found by Giuseppe Zanarini, five days later, just before meeting Ferrari again in Modena around 10:00 a.m., near the Scuderia Ferrari headquarters, a guy from the GAP comes out of the fog, on a bicycle, and says to the doctor: 

 

"The elimination of Ferrari has been decided, but before proceeding we need your judgement. Let us know in three days".

 

Zanarini notes that the evaluation elements available to him for such a judgement are inadequate. Politically, he must merge the judge and the judged in that evaluation. But the boy from the GAP repeats, before disappearing into the fog, how he had come.

 

"We only wait for you, as a last resort, to decide".

 

Giuseppe Zanarini enters the Scuderia Ferrari headquarters, while the Girondins and the Montagnards of the French Revolution, Danton, Robespierre flash through his mind, feeling out of the history in which he lives. He would not make judgements of any kind, based on the current political situation, but only in relation to the historical condition that had conditioned the Italians for twenty years, on both sides. A value judgement, in short, to be defined in front of man, and this man loved terribly his idea of a manufacturer. His idea was in fact; his fascism, in that love. More than just thinking, Zanarini is seized by a whirlwind of intuitions and feelings, as he passes by the cars that have been involved in very visible accidents. Then he introduces himself to Ferrari, indifferent. The constructor is alerted, perhaps forewarned, and does not make the mistake of offering money, but prefers to focus on the contents.

 

"I worked so hard to build and realise a dream that was born in my father's workshop when I was a boy. My father was a hard worker, from him I learned tenacity... I don't feel sorry for myself. I'm sorry for the work that remains to be done".

 

Ferrari looks ten years older. He evidently perceives or, perhaps, has understood that the death of his friend Edoardo Weber, a Bolognese carburetor industrialist executed on the street by the GAP for his German origins and his republican sympathies, is for him an announcement of death. In front of the man and his company, Zanarini does not feel like contributing to a death trial. And, after all, what task, if not financial, had been assigned to him? Now, just as he would do nothing to cover the convict politically, he would do nothing to lose him as a factor of movement. Stacks of corpses mark the end of Nazi-fascism, and the CLN is looking for money. Once again, Zanarini says to himself:

 

"L’argent fait la guerre".

 

And here the life of a prancing horse is at stake. He reflects as the meeting draws to a close. Ferrari pays his share. But Zanarini tells him that he needs another one, the same amount, within a week. The request goes beyond the limits provided for, arbitrarily inserted in a warp that no longer provides for anything to be borne by a convicted person, given that the payment on that day would have been the last.

 

"I can’t". 

 

Ferrari replies.

 

"It's necessary".

 

Zanarini replies, nor would he have had anything else to say if Ferrari had remained of a negative opinion. A silence full of meaning intervenes between Zanarini's response and Ferrari's.

 

"I need more time".

 

Ferrari replies.

 

"How long?"

 

Ferrari asks for at least twelve days. Zanarini leaves the Scuderia Ferrari headquarters, and goes to Via Iacopo Barozzi with the five-hundred 1000-lire banknotes, where he will be joined by Alfeo Corassori, the future mayor of Modena. The next day, at the set time, along a peripheral road, Zanarini tells his companion who is waiting for his judgement on the already decided elimination of Ferrari:

 

"He's a hard worker in his own business. If you leave him another ten or twelve days he will pay another half a million. It's about knowing whether, money aside, the Liberation War can earn more with a dead or alive Ferrari".

 

The dilemma, thus proposed, brings back to the rational and political order a problem that has already been solved in power. It will be another five days before Zanarini meets the messenger of the Modena GAP again. The latter asks if Zanarini intends to confirm the already expressed assessment. Zanarini confirms this and adds:

 

"Faced with cases like this, life or death, I'm not used to washing my hands of it".

 

In fact, Zanarini had always chosen for life: even when, in Bologna, in April 1944, a certain Dario had asked him to take on a role in Operation Grande Italia, which planned to poison Wehrmacht officers, who frequented the Grande Italia restaurant, in Via dell'Indipendenza. But Zanarini replied, also on that occasion:

 

"I studied medicine to save lives, not to suppress them".

 

Ferrari therefore makes use of all his resources and a few days later pays the promised sum. Ferrari will pay, breaking the bank: but his life is saved. Ferrari is not an enemy. And even a friendship will be born between the two, so much so that Enzo Ferrari will give him a signed copy of the book Le mie gioie terribili on 22 March 1963. In 1987, Zanarini will send Ferrari a copy of the book in which the former partisan will recount what happened, and the Modena manufacturer will answer him on Friday, April 3, 1987, telling him: 

 

"Dear Altavilla, I have read your forty-six pages with retrospective interest. I knew quite a few things, others I learned by surprise. It's a tormented, tormenting life. The wish I am sending you is for a little peace in this new residence of yours. Best regards, Ferrari". 

 

Nevertheless, Ferrari is not eliminated and indeed, members of the Communist Party have no doubt in saying that as an anti-fascist and democrat he did his part in favour of the war for liberation. In addition, Enzo Ferrari himself will be the only industrialist from Modena to donate 1,500 lire to each of his employees to celebrate the end of the war, and the return of peace. And many years later, on Tuesday 20 February 1979, on the occasion of Enzo Ferrari's eighty-first birthday, the Associazione Partigiani d'Italia will travel to Maranello and officially - without solemnity as he will take it to be the ceremony - they will award him the Gold Medal of the Resistance. Returning for a moment to talk about the friendship that was born between Enzo Ferrari and Dr. Giuseppe Zanarini, it should be noted that the latter also asks for the favour of finding a job for his brother, Antonio Zanarini. And Enzo Ferrari, in 1945, took him within the Scuderia Ferrari with the assignment of Prosecutor for the purchase of certain supplies. On the untimely death of Antonio Zanarini, in December 1957, Enzo Ferrari will send a letter of condolence to Dr. Giuseppe Zanarini:

 

"Dear Zanarini, I acknowledge the painful news and I do not struggle to understand all that you have suffered and that you will have to suffer due to the death of dear Antonio. My Dino was also affected by cerebral haemorrhage and after five days he expired. When witnessing the death of such loved ones, it is natural to ask: what do we have left? But since man is a beast with a formidable spirit of adaptation, I became convinced that you can learn to live even without loving life and above all without understanding why you came into the world. Best wishes to you and your loved ones. E. Ferrari. Modena, 26 January 1957".

 

Giuseppe Zanarini was born in Codigoro (Ferrara) on 21 December 1910, but the family is originally from Sestola (Modena). He graduated in Bologna in 1939 despite having undergone a procedure of radiation from the Universities of the kingdom for anti-fascist propaganda in 1936. Communist, a pupil of Gramsci, during the Second World War he was a partisan and marked important pages in the War of Liberation: depending on the tasks (political secretary to the Republic of Montefiorino, tax collector to finance the armed struggle, clandestine doctor, collaborator with anti-fascist forces) he was called by different pseudonyms, from Sasso to Marsili, from Bevilacqua to Altavilla. His discovery and delivery to the partisan forces of the fortification plans of the famous Gothic Line, an act that will earn him an official commendation from the Queen of England, an honour that he rejected. RadioMonaco, in November 1943, citing him as an enemy to be shot down on sight, sentenced him to nine years by the special Nazi-Fascist court. During the Resistance, he risked his life several times, fighting strenuously among the Emilian mountains. After the war he was called by the leadership of the PCI (Italian Communist Party) in Botteghe Oscure: there he remained for some time working closely with Umberto Terracini, then he decided to go to Chieti, to put a section of the Italian Communist Party back together; after achieving this goal, few years later, he reached the northern coasts of Africa to work as a doctor in a field for the extraction of oil of the British company BP. He stayed there for over a year, then returned to Rome. Meanwhile, again in May 1945, despite not being aware of what the future holds, Enzo Ferrari receives the joy of a second son. But the mother is not his wife, Laura Garello, but Lina Lardi degli Aleardi, the woman with whom Enzo Ferrari has had an extramarital relationship since 1929. Dino Ferrari, his eldest son, will not be aware of having a brother for years. In the previous autumn, Lina Lardi, knowing that she was pregnant, did not know what the reaction of Enzo Ferrari, who had and still has a wife and a child, could be: but Ferrari's reaction was one of pure joy, although he embraced Lina, holding her close to him, at the time of the announcement. The already difficult situation now becomes even more complicated, but there will be time to think about how to deal with it. 

 

"What should we name him?"

 

It is the first thing Enzo Ferrari asks after hugging Lina Lardi. The woman suggests the name of her brother who died two years earlier, Piero, and Ferrari accepts the proposal. Piero Lardi was born on Tuesday, 22 May 1945, in Castelvetro, in the province of Modena. The war has been over for less than a month, Dino Ferrari is thirteen years old and Enzo Ferrari will save his own life. The Modenese manufacturer does not choose a relative as the child's godfather, but Mario Barozzi, an old collaborator of his at the time of Scuderia Ferrari, known to Enzo Ferrari and the partisans by the battle name of Sereno. After the Second World War, Ferrari continued to produce machine tools until mid-1946. The idea is to keep production going only to finance the development and construction of his first car. So, after raising the necessary money, Enzo Ferrari proposes the old technical drawings again and begins to look for an engineer, among those who were close to him before and during the war, who is still alive. Among these, he finds a survivor, Gioacchino Colombo, the great technician with whom he shared important moments in the second part of the 1930s. In August 1945, Enzo Ferrari summoned Colombo to Maranello and immediately began working with him. But since Colombo is an Alfa Romeo employee, the latter does not move to Emilia, but stays in his home in Milan to draw. His first racing car, Ferrari clarifies, must have a twelve-cylinder engine, the engine that has always fascinated him, the one he noticed on the cars of American officers during the Great War and the one that Antonio Ascari had bought in 1919. To follow this path, Ferrari also takes charge of the technical indication repeated several times by Raymond Sommer, a driver he esteems like few others, who considers the twelve-cylinder engine without compressor the ideal choice for the future. Colombo agrees. In addition, the twelve-cylinder engine, if accompanied by the compressor, would become ideal for Grand Prix races, which is the stated goal to which Enzo Ferrari aspires. There is no shortage of criticism about Ferrari's choice to create a powertrain considered complex and rarely used in the past. But the constructor from Modena does not think about it, since he knows he can count on the precious return of Luigi Bazzi, of which he will say: 

 

"His skill in fine-tuning the engines reassured me". 

 

Colombo, so infected by Ferrari's enthusiasm, begins to write down on paper the first ideas about the 12-cylinder engine from Wednesday, August 15, 1945, while he spends the holiday sitting in the garden of his sister's country house. The design work continues in his studio in Milan and, before the end of August, the first drafts are viewed by Ferrari. Colombo continues his work during the month of September, and in October he shows Ferrari the four colour views of the car. The drawings are marked with the symbol C which stands for Columbus. The directors of Alfa Romeo, after evidently overcoming the resentments of the past, view Ferrari's new adventure with benevolence and agree, to translate Colombo's drawings into lucidity, to send the young designer Luciano Fochi, Colombo's confidant, to Modena. The work of Colombo and his men continues throughout the winter and spring of 1946, which includes the studies of every possible solution of Colombo, accompanied by lively discussions of a technical nature with Ferrari. Once a decision has been made, the team moves on to the implementation of the project. On Wednesday, June 5, 1946, during the period in which Italians vote for the institutional referendum for the new government, of which Ferrari prefers the maintenance of the monarchy, not so much because he is monarchical, but because he is resistant to novelties, Ferrari sees the first design of the chassis. Then, on Wednesday, July 10, 1946, he looks at the design of the longitudinal section of the engine-transmission unit and on Monday, August 5, 1946, he can see the cross section. From this moment on, Enzo Ferrari, advised by Colombo, entrusts the technical management to the young Giuseppe Busso, an engineer from Turin recalled to Milan by Alfa Romeo, just reborn from the ashes of the war. After the bombings suffered in the last months of the war, the Maranello factory is rebuilt and the new departments are modern and well equipped, with the work tables illuminated by large windows. In the summer of 1946 there are 300 workers, most of whom work on the construction of the twelve-cylinder engine to comply with the roadmap set by Ferrari, while the remaining part of the employees make hydraulic grinders, but soon they will also be moved to the automobile department. So proud of his factory, Ferrari calls Canestrini, the journalist friend of the Gazzetta dello Sport, to invite him to visit the factory. In his article, where he takes the first steps of Ferrari as a manufacturer, Canestrini indicates in the secret of Lyon, among which he is among the very few aware, the starting point of the new adventure as a manufacturer in Modena. Before making the tour of the factory, Ferrari explains to Canestrini that the car that is about to be born should not only be an exceptional car, which will have to honour Ferrari's technique and work, but also a car within the reach of a large clientele and will have to cost little. Ferrari believes that the new car should not only be used by Scuderia Ferrari drivers, but should also be used privately for those gentleman drivers and professionals to whom it will be sold. Ferrari proudly confides, while showing Canestrini the various departments and in particular the pieces being processed:

 

"In two months the engine will be on the bench; at the end of the year the car will be ready".

 

And knowing Ferrari for twenty years, Canestrini has no way of doubting the words of the Modena manufacturer, telling his readers that the roadmap will be respected: 

 

"I'm sure he won't miss the appointment. He has prepared everything accurately, precisely. Day by day, a new piece, a new organ of the new product is put into the production cycle. First the sports car will be built, then the racing car, according to a rational program, industrially conceived and realised". 

 

Giovanni Canestrini leaves Maranello in the evening, thinking he knows that Enzo Ferrari not only wants to win his battle as a manufacturer, but also and above all that of an industrialist. Meanwhile, Busso, a stubborn and capable person, takes over the work begun by Colombo, and on Thursday, 26 September 1946, the twelve-cylinder 1500-cc engine runs on the bench for the first time, respecting the deadline communicated in July by Enzo Ferrari to his journalist friend Giovani Canestrini. The engine power is 70 HP, a good figure, but Ferrari wants more. Busso explains that the loss of power is attributable to the excessive fragmentation of the displacement, so new experiments are tested in the autumn. Busco tries to raise the engine rotation speed to find more performance, but in doing so, the valves give way and the bronzes fail. To overcome this problem, Gioachino Colombo proposes to Enzo Ferrari to use floating bronzes for the connecting rods, so that they are free to turn on the pins of the crankshaft distributing the wear on the two sides, but the idea does not work, while Busso thinks of considering the use of normal bronzes. The problem will finally be solved with the intervention of Giulio Ramponi, an Alfa Romeo technician who Enzo Ferrari has known since the days of Scuderia Ferrari, who returned to Italy after his imprisonment in England. Ramponi, right on British soil, had been employed in the aeronautical industry and personally knows the new thin-shell bronzes produced by Vanderwell. Called back to Maranello by Ferrari, Ramponi solves the problem thanks to the Thin Wall bronzes shipped from England. Having overcome this problem, Bazzi takes matters into his own hands: an engine wizard as he is, and for whom he does not betray the hopes placed in him by Ferrari, he patiently works on the engine in search of solutions for timing the distribution, carburetion and ignition, and he is able to increase the maximum power up to 118 HP. Meanwhile, Ferrari, who wants to have a rigid and lightweight chassis, turns to the Milanese company Gilco, which specialises in the processing of high-strength steel pipes for the aeronautical industry. A company he has known since the days when Auto Avio Costruzioni had not yet undertaken the construction of hydraulic grinders. The code that Ferrari assigns to this new car is 125. The number refers to the unit displacement of each cylinder; in fact, by multiplying 125 by the number of cylinders, twelve, the displacement is obtained, that is 1500. The number will be accompanied by one or more letters of the alphabet; Ferrari thinks of the 125 as the S for Sport, the C for Corsa and the G for Grand Prix. In December 1946, Ferrari perfected the contract of Franco Cortese, who thus became his first official driver. Born in 1903, therefore no longer very young, Cortese already raced for the Modenese manufacturer in 1930, at the time of Scuderia Ferrari. Cortese is a driver who is not particularly fast and not particularly loved by Ferrari, but he is reliable and highly experienced. Ferrari recognised him for his style and technical ability; the man suitable for the presentation of a new car, with which he had never raced. In the contract, Ferrari offers Cortese road tests, presentation to customers and exhibitions of prototypes, participation with the 125C model and with the 125 GP model in sports competitions, in exchange for a salary of 600,000 Italian lire, accompanied by 50% of the starting and ranking prizes for each race in which he will participate. The remaining percentage of the prizes will be taken by the Modena manufacturer, as in the days of Scuderia Ferrari. This would undoubtedly be an attractive offer, if it were not for the fact that the year before Ferrari had entrusted Cortese with the mandate to sell the machine tools and now the gentleman driver, who became an official driver, would lose his turnover. For this reason Franco Cortese tries to convince Enzo Ferrari to continue the manufacture of machine tools, but the Modena manufacturer does not change his decision. Although in this period the turnover of machine tools is still important, Ferrari wants to build racing cars. And so, at the end of the year, he announces to the world that he is building his first car, with his own name. To the press he sends a series of illustrations of the Berlinetta seen in transparency, of the engine and of the frame, including a sheet illustrating the technical characteristics of the three-seater Berlinetta: 4500 millimetres in length, 1500 millimetres in both width and height and a weight of eight hundred kilograms. A detail, in the end never realised, would have been the control at the wheel. To the sportsmen to whom he hopes to sell it, Ferrari prepares a leaflet containing the information, whose cover is marked by the Prancing Horse on display. The title is: Manufacturing program 1946/47. The leaflet describes the three models, Sport, Competizione and Grand Prix, all powered by the Tipo 125 engine, with their respective technical characteristics. Logically, being still in development and without a bodywork, there is no photograph of the car, just a short text and Ferrari's signature. The team's relentless work continued in the winter of 1946-1947. There is no specific deadline, but Ferrari is pushing for the work to be completed as soon as possible. In the spring of 1947 the racing season will open, that of the recovery after the war, which Ferrari does not want to miss; in this regard, Federico Giberti, one of Enzo Ferrari's most loyal men, having been at his side since 26 December 1934, is appointed sports director. At 4:00 p.m. on Monday, March 12, 1947, the first 125 was pushed from the workshop towards the centre of the courtyard, near the entrance to the Maranello factory. Around the car without bodywork there are the technicians and mechanics who worked frantically on its construction: among them are Busso, Colombo, Bazzi and Nando Righetti, the tester who from now on will have the task of preparing the car before the debut race. Enzo Ferrari, in a suit and tie and with his hair now whiter than grey, silently watches and controls his men, until he makes his way between them to sit behind the wheel of the car. By turning it on, the twelve-cylinder seems to be coughing, but gradually acquires intensity until it reaches levels never felt before in the countryside surrounding Maranello. After warming up the engine for a few minutes, Ferrari enters the first gear and travels a few metres, stopping in front of the factory gate. Then he takes the Abetone road coming out on the right from the main gate, and heads towards Modena. The Modenese manufacturer climbs with the gears until the 125 speeds and, arriving in Formigine, three kilometres away from the factory, reverses the direction of travel and returns to Maranello. Returning to the entrance of his factory, Ferrari turns left and stops not far from the point from which he had left a few minutes earlier, where his men anxiously await him to know the outcome of the first historic test. Ferrari is satisfied. From now on, however, while the mechanics finish the second unit, the first one - tested by Ferrari himself - will have to undergo a more consistent test. Righetti will be the author of most of the testing work, but Franco Cortese will also be involved and Enzo Ferrari himself will often sit in his car. To cover the first chassis, Ferrari plans to rely on a spider-type bodywork, so it commissions this task to a local craftsman named Giuseppe Peiretti, although he is not an employee. Peiretti manufactures the bodywork in the Maranello factory. The second model, on the other hand, will have a bodywork similar to a single-seater, with small removable mudguards, personally designed by Busso. During the manufacture of this second model, Ferrari chooses what will be the race of its debut: the Circuito di Piacenza, scheduled for Sunday, May 11, 1947. The loyal Meazza and Marchetti spend sleepless nights in the workshop to finish the assembly. On the hood of the 125 Ferrari he decides to continue using the Prancing Horse symbol, as in the days of Scuderia Ferrari, which remains black, always framed in a yellow background, the colour of Modena. It is the logo that goes from the shield, the emblem of Scuderia Ferrari, to a rectangular shape and decides to call the new company logo simply by his name, Ferrari. However, the shield remains the symbol of the sporting activity of the new Maranello team. The new rectangular logo, like the badge, has the colours of the Italian flag on top, green, white and red from above. While in the lower part of the shield there have long been the letters S and F for Scuderia Ferrari, in the lower part of the rectangle the word Ferrari is written in black, with the same size as the Italian flag placed at the top. In particular, the F is long, as could already be seen in the catalogue of past hydraulic grinders. A feature adopted by the Pirelli logo, with which Ferrari is very close and continues to have not only an excellent professional relationship, but also personal for the quality of the men he has got to know until twenty years earlier. The new logo, designed by Ferrari's technical office and created by the company Castelli e Gerosa of Milan, later joined by Cristiglio of Bologna, remained unchanged until the 1950 season. 


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