Ferrari in the Sixties

The Ferrari automobiles were mainly an article of fashion, nevertheless, they started to provide its costumers with real quality cars.

That was no sooner than in the sixties and, indeed, it was high time by then, since many new brands producing luxury automobiles emerged in this period. These new brands came and went meanwhile the Ferrari brand became a legendary quality standard. By the end of the fifties, new models of quality cars started to emerge, such as Ferrari 400 Superamerica or the continuator of the sport-racing tradition, the 250 GT model. The pinnacle of the first generation of cars manufactured in series are 330 GTC, 500 Superfast and, naturally, the classic 250 GTO. In 1967 a new model appeared in the new series. It was the legendary 365 GTB/4 Daytona that became the connecting link between the past and the future of Ferrari. It was equipped with the engine based on Lampredi's long version of V12 (racing prototypes), but these had already a new, modern type of wheelframe with all wheels attached independently, and a wonderfully shaped car body. But the costumers began to neglect the philosophy of the front-placed engine, because they started to think of it as out of date. In the seventies, engineers in Maranello finally decided to replace the engine to the rear thus meeting the costumers' wishes. This happened not only to smaller models, but to the GT series as well. On top of this, the flat 12 cylinder engine, derived from the F1, was added. Thus, a series of extremely low-lying automobiles was introduced and labelled BB (Berlinetta Boxer). These went into retail in 1973. The BB series was replaced by Testarossa, or rather 512 TR, which was brought to an end in 1996 with 512M with no successor (if we do not regard F40, F50 an Enzo as its continuators). Instead, there appeared a new, massive GT 550 Maranello following the classic concept (long forked 12 cylinder engine placed behind the front wheels). The combination of a spacious interior and luxurious design made the new GT 550 Maranello a new standard of the upcoming generation of Ferrari automobiles. It allowed even less skilled drivers to handle the car without the need of professional knowledge of car racing. Its successor happened to be the improved version of 575M which was replaced in 2006 by the contemporary 599 GTB Fiorano. Since 1960, Ferrari offers 4 passenger coupés 2+2. Gradual increase of the 12V engine's capacity and new changes to the automobile's body led to the beautiful 456 (was replaced and continued by 612 Scaglietti). In the year 1968, a small, V6 Dino engine driven automobile started being manufactured as the answer to the rivaling Porsche 911. This new type was actually a revolution in car manufacturing, for its engine was situated behind the front axle. A small 6 cylinder Dino was eventually replaced by a more powerful V8 engine. Consequently, the continuation of this model leads across the models 308, 348, F355 and 360 Modena to the contemporary F430. Starting with the model Mondial T from the year 1989, there was a change in the way gearbox was attached horizontally in the fashion of the F1 monoposts. Before his death, Enzo Ferrari initiated the conception of the F40 superautomobile which was to demonstrate the supremacy of Ferrari as well as bring the F1 concept to trial in terms of series manufacture. Technically, its fundamentals formed the to-be-released 288 GTO Evoluzione. This car never actually entered professional racing. An aerodynamically shaped body designed by Pininfarina first made use of carbon composite parts.
A three-liter capacity 352 kW compressor engine enabled the F40 to boast the status of  the world's fastest automobile, allowing it to achieve the speed of 322 km/h. Originally, there should have been only 500 exemplars made (worth $400 000/each), but they managed to sell as much as 1315 of these. In 1995, the F50 was introduced as a continuator of F40. It stalked from the same technology as its predecessor, only that it turned into a cabriolet equipped with a 383 kW V12 4,7 liter non-compressor engine which was directly inspired by the then actual F1 3,5 liter engine. The carrying structure of its body was constructed in the fashion of the carbon composite monoposto. Again, Ferrari had upped the speed standard of selling automobiles to 325 km/h. At that time, Ferrari staked on greater exclusivity and manufactured only 349 exemplars. In 2003 and 2004, another  moderate series counting no more than 400 superautomobiles emerged, manifesting the supremacy of Ferrari. The price of each one exemplar of this series was precisely $1 million. The new Berlinette was dubbed after the founder of the company, Enzo Ferrari. The use of the F1 technology allowed for another giant leap forward. Carrying structure of body is again carbon composite-based, semi-automatic 6-gear transmission is controlled exactly the same way as in the F1 (without the need of pedal or clutch), and the brakes are carbon-ceramic-disc based. On top of that, it has extraordinarily effective aerodynamics of body (producing 8kN pressure at 300 km/h, which equals to 775 kilograms). The engine is a six-liter V12 with a 485 kW power and it represents the fastest non-compressor engine in the world. Thanks to all these components, the Ferrari Enzo can achieve up to 355 km/h. From this automobile, there were derived its special versions: FXX and FXX Evoluzione, with their engine's capacity of 588 kW and 633 kW and a series of other specialized components derived from the F1. However, these exemplars are available only to the chosen few and are not suitable for everyday common use (these are intended rather for racing circuits). Ferrari nowadays produce around six thousand automobiles a year. They do not feel the necessarity to increase the number of cars produced. Their main concern still remains the continuously increasing quality which allows Ferrari to boast unique status on the  automobile market.