1947. Ferrari. At last!

This is not a paradox: unlike the First World War that had scarred him with the tragedy of losing both his father and his brother Alfredo, the Second World War was an unexpected boost for Enzo’s ambition to become a manufacturer in his own right. For starters, it allowed him to respect the four-year ban on building cars under his name and his Cavallino agreed with Alfa Romeo, which had tolerated the two 815s he built, although they would have protested had he continued to produce them.

Then, he was able to cultivate his entrepreneurial experience using state subsidies to build a factory at Maranello where he produced machine tools to be used in the war effort. By many accounts, Ferrari employed 300 workers in Maranello in 1945. The war also helped develop new technologies: Vandervell’s Babbit Thin-Wall bearings solved the problems of his magnificent V12 which, again out of good fortune, had been designed by the same Gioachino Colombo that Alfa Romeo had let go. Although the grinding machines he produced under the Ferrari brand were an excellent commercial success, Enzo did not hesitate to reduce and then stop production all together in order to realize his dream of becoming a manufacturer.