Words & Images by: Glen Smale
The official Ferrari Museum website refers to the Maranello Museum, as the ‘Home of a dream’. And that’s basically what it is, the ‘home of dreams’, for every young boy around the world. It’s quite amazing, run a bunch of images of sports cars in front of an 8-year old, and most of them he wouldn’t be able to put a name to, but show him a Ferrari image, and he will immediately identify it as such. If he is car-savvy, he might identify a Porsche too, but with Ferrari there is no mistaking it.
It was quite a common thing back in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, for manufacturers of sports and racing cars not to keep examples of their cars year after year. The reason for this was two-fold; after the end of the season in which a race car raced, it was already past its useful life, as the replacement model would already be on the test track preparing for the next season. The second reason was, by selling the previous year’s car, they could use the funds generated for the development of the replacement machine. As a result, most manufacturers did not have examples of their own older race cars to put on display, nor did they have a suitable building in which to house obsolete cars.
Luckily this trend has changed, and almost all manufacturers today have a state-of-the-art museum establishment housing their older cars, both roadgoing and race cars, as today it is deemed good marketing. Having their history and heritage on display in a well-lit, visitor-friendly environment is good for the brand. But in order to have a full complement of cars, many of the top manufacturers have been forced to go out into the market place to buy back some of their older road and race cars that they didn’t hold onto, for display.
So important has the display of the company’s heritage become, that Ferrari has not one, but two museums, dedicated to their road and race cars. In Modena, the Museo Enzo Ferrariis dedicated to Ferrari’s road cars, while also highlighting the life of the company’s founder, Enzo Ferrari. The Modena Museum houses Enzo Ferrari’s original office, this building being where the Scuderia Ferrari (race team) had its home. Of course, separating Ferrari’s racing achievements from their road cars is not that easy, because so many of their roadgoing products did end up on the track. The second museum is the Museo Ferrariin Maranello, just 300 metres from the factory itself. This museum focuses on the manufacturer’s exemplary Formula One history as well as that ofits GT racing cars.In fact, so popular have the two Ferrari museums become, that more than 740,000 visitors passed through the doors of both museums in 2023, an all-time record for the company.
Museo Ferrari, Maranello, region Emilia-Romagna
Enzo Ferrari started his automobile manufacturing plant in Modena, but he was forced to move his factory to Maranello in 1943 due to the Allied wartime bombing campaign. Although Modena and Maranello are just 20 kilometres apart, it was sufficiently off the beaten track for Ferrari to escape the attentions of the Allies. Our journey here though is concerned with the Maranello Museum housing Ferrari’s rich motor racing history, which flourished after the War, and which has been the motor racing dream for many thousands of young boys around the world.
First, a word of advice, get there early, because parking is in short supply and, if you have bought your entry tickets online, it will save you waiting in a queue when you arrive.
The Museum was opened in 1990 but Ferrari onlyassumed management of the sitein 1995. Although the entire display only includes 31 cars, the quality of the display is out of the top drawer. The display consists of both permanent and temporary exhibits, the former making up the bulk of the cars to be seen. These include Supercars (from earlier years as well as current models), Tailor Made (where visitors can see how the finer touches are put to the cars), One-offs (literally, limited editions), Scuderia Ferrari history dedicated areas (specific classes of race cars) and in Sala delle Vittorie (where Ferrari’s trophies are displayed).
From the reception desk, you are led up to the first floor where your tour begins with the Supercars. The Ferrari 288 GTO (GT stands for Gran Turismo and O for Omologata (homologated in Italian)) was a high performance homologation version of the Ferrari 308 GTB produced between 1984 and 1987 in Maranello. Although homologated for competition in Group B racing and rallying, this class of racing was terminated by the FIA and so this beauty never got to show its true colours on the track. A direct Group B rival produced at the same time was the Porsche 959, and the same fate unfortunately befell the German car.
Also in the Supercar arena were the awesome F40 (1987, 3-litre, V8 Turbo, 478 hp), F50 (1995, 4.7-litre V12, 512 hp), Ferrari Enzo (2002, 6-litre V12, 660 hp) and LaFerrari (2013, 6.3-litre V12, 950 hp) and SF90XX Stradale (2023, 4-litre V8 Twin Turbo, 1016 hp). The Supercar display is best described as mesmerising, and I was tempted to linger, but there was a tour group catching up with me and I had to move on, or get swallowed up.
Moving through to the Tailor Made section of the Museum, visitors are shown how a customer may personalise his or her Ferrari. From bespoke detailing to upholstery colours, wheel selection, brake calliper colours, steering wheel finish and even interior seating options. With Ferrari, one-offs are also high on the menu, allowing customers to build cars to their own specific taste, within reason of course. An example is the supercar ordered by guitarist Eric Clapton who placed an order in 2012 for a special to his specification and taste, the SP12 EC. Based on a 458 Italia, the car appeared at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2013 for the world to see.
Next up was the dedicated area highlighting Scuderia Ferrari’s richracing history, and here visitors can follow the evolution of the manufacturer’s legendary growth and development through the models on display, and the graphic imagery on the walls. The first car in this walk-through display, was the 166 MM, a car that unquestionably set the Ferrari brand on path to fame and stardom. It was just such a car as this one on display, which was driven to victory in 1949 in the first Le Mans 24 Hour race held after the War. At the wheel was Luigi Chinetti and Peter Mitchell-Thompson (Lord Selsdon), although in the race it was Chinetti who drove almost 23 hours due to Mitchell-Thompson being ill.
The Ferrari 315 S is a 4-litre V12 engined sports car. Two such cars were entered in the final version of the Mille Miglia in 1957, and they finished in first and second places, helping the manufacturer to secure the World Sportscar Championship that year. In this case, the winning No. 535 car was driven by Piero Taruffi.
Sala delle Vittorie (Hall of Victories)
Ferrari’s Hall of Victories is understandably that area of the museum they are most proud of. From the numerous trophies, scale model examples of winning cars, and the race winning cars themselves, this section of the museum is a magnet for the tifosi.Scuderia Ferrari fansare known for their passion and loyalty to the team. It is here that you will find a selection of Ferrari Formula One cars from across the years.
The first true Ferrari, the 125 S made its debut in the spring of 1947 and was the first of Enzo Ferrari’s creations to bear his name. Powered by a 1.5-litre V12 engine designed by Gioachino Colombo, the car retired from its first race just three laps from the end whilst leading. A fortnight later the car was victorious with Franco Cortese winning the Grand Prix of Rome, and Ferrari went on to rack up six wins from 14 races in just five months. This car was certainly the grandfather of all Ferrari racers in the decades that lay ahead.
The 750 Monza was by no means Ferrari’s first four-cylinder engined race car. This model was powered by a 3-litre engine with bodywork by two of the most well-known carrozzerie in Italy, Pinin Farina (then two words) and Scaglietti. Umberto Maglioli and Mike Hawthorn drove such a model to victory in the 1954 II Grand Prix Supercortemaggoire at Monza. The second placed car was another 750 Monza driven by Gonzalez/Trintignant.
One of the most visually dynamic Grand Tourers of its day was the 365 GTB/4 “Daytona”. This GT model was launched at the 1968 Paris Motor Show, and inherited the name “Daytona” from the 330 P4’s victory at the 1967 Daytona 24 Hours. Designed by Pininfarina (now one word), this GT was powered by a whopping 4.4-litre V12 developing in excess of 350 hp, which gave the car a top speed of around 175 miles per hour (280 kilometres per hour). An early feature of the Daytona was its faired-in headlights set behind a full-width Plexiglass strip. This later gave way to pop-up headlights which swivelled up when in use. In 1971, driving a Ferrari Daytona, Dan Gurney and Brock Yates set a record for the fastest cross-country sprint across America. They won the first official Cannonball Baker Sea To Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash from New York City to the Portofino Inn on the Pacific Ocean. Yates, senior editor of Car & Driver magazine, later wrote a book on this outlawed road race, which makes for a fascinating read.
The Dino 206 GT was Ferrari’s sports saloon with a mid-mounted engine. The attractive design was the work of the Pininfarina Studios and appeared in its (almost) final form at the 1967 Turin Motor Show. The car only went into production the following year, powered by a 2-litre V6 engine, and stayed in production until April 1969 when it was replaced by the 2.4-litre Dino 246 GT.
The Ferrari 330 P4, originally penned by stylist Piero Drogo, is arguably the most beautifully sculpted race car ever built, being both proportionally perfect and stunning to look at. Chassis No. 0856 has an incredible provenance having finished second at the Daytona 24 Hours, was the winner of the Monza 1000 Kilometres, finished third in the Le Mans 24 Hours, and came home fifth in the Brands Hatch 6 Hours, all in 1967. Those sharp-eyed readers will point out that this car is in the Spider format, but it was quite common in those days for the same car to be upgraded and modified to suit aerodynamic improvements, and so this car would have appeared in both Spider and Coupé format during the season. The mighty 330 P4 helped Ferrari secure the World Manufacturers’ Championship in 1967. Of note is the fact that Ferrari scored a memorable 1-2-3 finish at the Daytona 24 Hours in ’67, setting up a superb formation finish, something that Porsche achieved the following year in the same race.
End Of The Tour
On completion of your tour through the museum, visitors are led through a hall where they can indulge in some simulated driving (to be pre-booked), and where some of Ferrari’s latest offerings can be seen.
Fist up here was the (2022) 296 GTB, a phenomenal new GT model featuring a 3-litre V6 engine producing 830 hp driven through an 8-speed dual clutch gearbox. An extremely clean design and aerodynamically optimised, this car will take you to a top speed of 205 miles per hour (330 kilometres per hour).
The fearsome F8 Tributo Spider was announced in 2019, and harks back to the indomitable 308 GTB from the mid-70s. This car was imagined by the Ferrari Style Centre in which designer Flavio Manzoni successfully combined elegance, balance and precision. And if you thought this was just a “poser” with a nod to a bygone era, the F8 Tributo will rocket to a top speed of 211 miles per hour(340 kilometres per hour) thanks to its 720 hp 3.9-litre V8 engine.
The visit ended with the Ferrari Roma, a model developed by the Ferrari Style Centre, combining performance with elegance. Powered by a 3.8-litre turbocharged V8 engine developing 620 hp, this model is described by Ferrari as an ‘exercise of high cultural and artistic value’. The Roma is certainly aerodynamic and sleek in appearance, and definitely driver-focussed being a GT with a sporting character. Summing up the styling, the sharp nose features the familiar Ferrari egg-crate grille that harks back to an earlier era (so many of Ferrari’s models from 1950s had this), the long “Daytona-shaped” bonnet with the cabin set well back. The rear is a pleasing combination of aesthetics and styling, revealing its broad stance.
In Closing
Exiting the final hall, visitors will pass through the Museum Shop where you might be encouraged to acquire a few souvenirs, or perhaps some stylish Ferrari attire. There is just one additional stop you should make, and that is to relax in the Museum Café. Although the café is small, it is well appointed and the coffee was some of the best we tasted in Italy.
The visit to the museum at Maranello was an eye-opener indeed. Not only was there a superb variety of classic Ferraris on view, but the displays were generously spaced and well lit. Despite having only 31 cars on the floor, there is a lot to see, and it would be advisable to join one of the tours in order to benefit from the audio link. On your next trip to Italy, this museum is a must for all sports car and motor racing enthusiasts, whether or not you are a Ferrari supporter, you won’t regret it.
