18 February 2022
After 20 years in development, director Michael Mann finally plans to start filming ‘Ferrari’ in Rome beginning in May. Brock Yates’ 1991 book Enzo Ferrari: The Man, the Cars, the Races inspired the film.
Enzo Anselmo Giuseppe Maria Ferrari was born in 1898, with the exact date a mystery thanks to multiple accounts of snowstorms and delays at the birth registration office; Enzo was born to Alfredo and Adalgisa Ferrari. With the family business fabricating metal parts, it’s no wonder Enzo was born with a passion for shaping and racing metal.
His racing debuted in 1919; a year later, Enzo would join Alfa Romeo as a team driver, Alfa Romeo supported Scuderia Ferrari’s birth in 1929. Unfortunately, in 1937, Scuderia Ferrari would be dissolved, and Enzo would leave Alfa due to a disagreement with Alfa’s managing director.
The film was set in 1957; with bankruptcy looming over Ferrari, Enzo sees the Mille Miglia race as his last chance at success. The story follows Enzo when his marriage to wife Laura was on the rocks due to his affair with mistress Lina Lardi and following the death of his 24-year-old son Dino in 1956.
By 1957, with numerous victories, Ferrari still faced the collapse of his company. Now criminal charges as his Ferrari 335S of the time was responsible for his driver’s death, and nine spectators after a tyre blowout at 155 mph, during the Mille Miglia.
In 1969 Fiat started its involvement with a 50% stake investment in Ferrari S.p.A., leading to new road cars. Enzo Ferrari retired in 1973 from his sports car racing team and died in 1988, aged 90.
In 2002, Ferrari built the Enzo Ferrari, a 12 cylinder Berlinetta as a homage to the company’s founder.
Enzo Ferrari’s success is a story with many setbacks that didn’t stop him from living his vision and creating a myth despite these early setbacks.