Enzo Ferrari Killed a Ford Buyout Over Who Controlled Racing
The $10 million deal collapsed over racing control, and left Ford and Ferrari as public rivals on the track.
Acquired · Ferrari: What happens when you staple a luxury brand to a sports team?Word of the possible sale had leaked to the press. Americans were about to buy the famed Italian sports car company, and on the desk of Enzo Ferrari, the founder of Ferrari and a former racer who ran his own team, sat the papers to make it real.
Henry Ford II, the third generation head of Ford Motor Company, had decided in 1963 that Ford needed racing to change its image and stimulate sales. Ferrari had won at Le Mans in 1958 and then every year from 1960 through 1965, so the choice was simple. Either Ford had to beat Ferrari, or it had to own Ferrari.
Word had reached Ford through its German subsidiary about a mysterious letter sent by German officials based in Milan. An internationally known Italian auto factory was for sale. It did not take long to learn it was Ferrari.
Ford had talked Ferrari down from an $18 million asking price to $10 million, almost too easily. The draft split the business in two. One company, called Ford-Ferrari and 90 percent owned by Ford, would build road cars. The other, called Ferrari-Ford and 90 percent owned by Ferrari, would be the racing team.
Enzo read the fine print and saw the catch. If he wanted to race and Ford did not, Ford would have the final say because Ford controlled the budget. In dramatic fashion, right at the finish line, he blew up the deal.
For Ferrari, the timing was useful. The leak had made big headlines and put Ferrari in the spotlight as the prize the giant wanted, which helped Ferrari's public standing. For Ford, it was humiliation. In May 1963, an incensed Ford told his lieutenants, "We will go to Le Mans and beat his ass."
Ford poured in money and hired Carroll Shelby, the American racer and car builder, and Ken Miles, the American driver and mechanic, with a crack crew behind them. After a few years of trying, Ford finished first, second, and third at Le Mans in 1966.
For Enzo, that defeat was a sideshow. He had shown the world that Ferrari was the mark to beat, and he had shown any future buyer that he was willing to sell on his terms and be able to race.
Questions people ask
What is Le Mans?
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is an endurance sports car race held each June near the French town of Le Mans. Teams race for a full day and night, and the winner is the car that covers the most distance. Automakers have long used a win there to prove speed and durability.
Why did Enzo Ferrari care so much about controlling the race team?
Racing was the core of his company and identity. He had started as a driver, then ran a racing team for Alfa Romeo before building his own cars under the Ferrari name. Giving up budget authority meant giving up the ability to decide when and how Ferrari raced.
Did Ferrari end up selling to someone else?
Yes. In 1969 Enzo sold half of Ferrari to Fiat, the Italian automaker run by Gianni Agnelli. The deal left Enzo with final authority over racing, the same point on which the Ford deal had failed. Fiat later took a larger stake after Enzo's death.