Monday, 18 June 2018

Museo Ferrari Maranello : Driven by Enzo

The current exhibition at Museo Ferrari Maranello is having a special about the cars he drove. And yes, the 400 does get attention:

https://musei.ferrari.com/en/maranello/current-exhibitions

Even once he's hung his helmet up for the last time, a driver will always be a driver. After a commendable career behind the wheel, in 1929, Enzo Ferrari decided to focus on managing the Scuderia. His love of driving, however, would never fade. The Commendatore would personally test every model created at Maranello, and it was through this testing that he found, in the shape of the 250 GT 2+2 from 1960, a car that could fuel his passion for driving even on the roads he had to use every day. This was when he first fell in love with the 2+2 genre for its ability to reconcile comfort with sports performance, and from that day on, his personal car would always be a four-seater GT. After the 250 GT 2+2, Enzo Ferrari's car of choice became the 330 GT 2+2, which he enjoyed driving on a daily basis for years. Even when he decided to employ a driver in 1969, most of the time this was essentially a privileged passenger, and the only witness to Enzo Ferrari's penchant for bowling along the highways at a brisk pace. In late 1972, Ferrari decided to stop driving himself, but only on the route between his home and the Maranello factory. But the Commendatore never let an opportunity to test the latest production model on the track go to waste. He loved testing his cars himself - and his 2+2 models in particular - exploring their limits on the track. And the suggestions he would give the engineers at Maranello on how to improve certain aspects of a car never fell on deaf ears. Enzo Ferrari's predilection for four-seaters only became stronger over the years, with models such as the 400 GTi and 412 letting him take to the wheel and give illustrious visitors to Maranello a ride as back seat passengers. Politicians, royalty, actors and many other celebrities have been treated to the experience of being driven in the 400 by the Commendatore himself who, once the engine started, never missed a chance to showcase not just the abilities of a Ferrari, but also the skills of a man who would always continue to be a race driver at heart. 






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