The untold story of Ferrari’s black horse logo
Which car do you dream to own one day? Chances are you would say a Ferrari. Actually, owning or driving a Ferrari is on everyone’s bucket list, thanks to its super iconic status. But when you see a Ferrari, how do you recognise it? Well, it’s easy: The signature Black Horse logo tells you that it is the one. Ever wondered why the company chose a horse to represent this luxurious beauty? Well, you may think that a horse is the perfect representation of a high-performing supercar. But this isn’t why Enzo Ferrari, its founder went with it. Actually, he chose it as a homage to a celebrated pilot and WWI hero, Francesco Baracca, who had a similar horse painted on his plane. Let us dive into the history of this logo.
Why a horse became the Ferrari logo?
A horse was painted on the fuselage of the fighter plane of Francesco Baracca — the famed Italian fighter pilot of World War I who died in in 1918. Later on, Enzo met Baracca’s mother, countess Paulina. This is when she asked him to put his son’s prancing horse on his cars saying that it would bring him good luck. Enzo took the prancing horse symbol and combined it with the canary yellow colour from the flag of his hometown of Modena. This is how the iconic Ferrari symbol was born.
Enzo’s tryst with car racing
A son of a self-employed metalworker, Enzo came from very humble beginnings and started his career as a driver. But talented as he was, Enzo soon rose from being a driver to an entrepreneur in the Italian auto industry. He always dreamt of becoming a racing driver and he started his first stint by working as a test driver for Costruzioni Meccaniche Nazionali (CMN), a car manufacturer in Milan. In 1920, Enzo got closer to his dream when he joined as a racing driver for Alfa Romeo, an Italian luxury car manufacturer. His first big breakthrough in racing came later that year when he finished second at the Targa Florio open road endurance race.
The first horse logo appears
Strangely, Enzo soon realised that he wasn’t really cut out for racing. So, he took upon an organisational and ambassadorial role for Alfa Romeo, encouraging other talented racers to join. In 1929, Enzo founded the racing division of Alfa Romeo, the Scuderia Ferrari racing team. It was on these Scuderia Ferrari race cars that the iconic prancing horse logo first appeared alongside the Alfa Romeo logo at the Grand Prix of Spa in 1932. That black prancing horse really did bring Ferrari luck with Scuderia's 8C 2300 MM dominating the race.
The inception of Ferrari cars
In 1947, Enzo split from Alfa Romeo to form his own company but retained the prancing horse symbol for all his subsequent vehicles. On the 125S — the first Ferrari produced at Maranello, a town in Modena, the prancing horse appeared on a yellow background, and always with the Italian flag at the top. However, it removed the shield and the letters S and F (Scuderia Ferrari) and replaced it by the word Ferrari. The car made its debut at the 1948 Italian Grand Prix and the rest, as they say, is history.