You might think Ferrari was always a car company, but it didn't start that way. The man behind the legend, Enzo Ferrari, didn't even plan to build his own cars at first. He was a racer and a team manager, first for Alfa Romeo. He was very successful in that. But when in 1939 he resigned, he was prevented from using his name on a racing car for four years, and so the Auto Avio Costruzioni was formed (which made machine tools and aircraft components).

When the company's Modena workshops were bombed twice during the Second World War, and its owner had to start from scratch, Enzo never stopped thinking about building his own racing machine. With the end of World War II the company renamed itself Ferrari, although the agreement with Alfa Romeo had expired, and the first engine designed by Gioacchino Colombo was installed on the 125 S. A 1,5 litre V12, which sounds small, but it revved like crazy and made a noise that people still talk about today. The car had its first engine trial on 12 March 1947 and made its public debut at the Piacenza race circuit on 11 May. Although the 125 S did not win the debut race, only a few weeks later the car took victory at the Rome Grand Prix.

The prancing horse is from the coat of arms of the Italian World War One fighter ace Francesco Baracca, who painted it on his plane. Baracca's mother told Enzo to use it for good luck. The emblem was painted in a yellow background (the colour of Modena, Enzo's hometown) and is the most famous symbol in automotive industry. "Aerodynamics are for people who cannot build engines" was Enzo's motto. The history of Ferrari was based on this motto from day one. The history of a man with stubborn, demanding personality who refused to quit even from the smallest of side jobs!