Enzo Ferrari biography

Yes, I wasn't either...

One thing that was a bit odd was that they made it sound like Chinetti convinced him to sell road cars and that it was a total afterthought. I'm sure there is truth to the story, but nobody knew the economics of racing better than the Old Man. If he hadn't planned on selling road cars, then why would he be identifying the chassis with a "C" and an "S" from the outset......

 

Yes, he fought the manslaughter charges for years and was eventually dropped. Apparently, despite the tragic deaths the public was enamored w/ Ferrari.

 

I was first told the story that it was Luigi Chinetti convincing Enzo to make cars by Lou Chinetti. This has now been repeated in the book "Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans" by A.J. Baime. In the book this is footnoted as told to the author by Bob Grossman.

The story from Lou (and Rick Anderson) was that Luigi had made a commitment to Enzo that he could sell XX cars (cannot remember if the figure was 10 or 20). The snicker by Lou was that Luigi did not have the money to back up the commitment but that it was enough for Enzo to proceed.

I asked one of the ranking international Ferrari experts (a person that does not participate on F-Chat) about this. His response was that this could not be true. His reasoning was that if Chinetti had done this he would have been the first dealer. The first dealer was not Luigi but instead an Italian in one of the major cities.

This is an interesting point that, in my opinion, needs further vetting before it becomes accepted as truth.

Jeff

 

Absolutely true, He was also publicly condemmed by the Catholic church and there is a story they were considering excomunicating him. Even nuch of the Italian press turned against him and there were also stories that he considered getting out of racing altogether. There has never been a difinitive explanation for the crash.The speed of the 335 cars many said exceeded the capabilities of the tires available at the time. There is also a story that Portage was advised to change tires at the last stop but refused, not wanting to loose time. just one man's opinion tongascrew

 

Maybe that's why he snubbed The Pope?

My line of thinking, is if I'm knocking on Death's Door, I'd kind of like The Pope to be in my corner...

Just another man's opinion

BTW, my wife & I rented that movie from Netflix sometime last winter; yes, very interesting, even if not 100% true.

 

Didn't Enzo Ferrari keep a personal diary? Details of the Chinetti meeting might have been noted there...along with a many other comments.
CH

 

I liked the story about his background. I thought some of the vintage driving clips were terrible though. I think there was an ASA, some clips of Indy roadsters...

 

Frankly, I am an athiest and so can't expect or want to have any help from the Pope. The church in Rome can't of had much faith in Enzo nor, from what I understand, did Enzo have in it. After all he did maintain a long standing relationship with'the other woman" and father a child with her who has been prominent with Ferrari even before Enzo's death It was well known he also had relationships with a number of other women. It is said when "Papa" finally came to Maranello it is debatable how ill Enzo was not being able to welcome him. just one man's opinion tongascrew

 

I saw the bio too (CNBC or Biography, check your listings for a repeat). I was aware of the manslaughter charge but it seemed like something from dark ages of justice. With so little effort put into safety by race organizers, it seemed ridiculous to blame a car builder. Reminded me of the charges against Williams after Senna, only far less scientific.

Have to say, most bios of Ferrari focus much more on the racing rather than his life so this was very informative. The friction between his wife Laura and his mother may have, ahem, motivated his work life! And I had no idea he was as involved in Pietro's life as he was or that his granddaughter was so attractive! ; )

 

Didn't Colin Chapman face similar charges in Italy?

 

Or Mercedes Benz in France?