I8ABMR

I posted a thread on Cavalino Rampante but wanted to high light the actual source of the famous Ferrari image. Its an interesting tale that I think you guys are probably not aware of


The famous symbol of Ferrari is a black prancing horse on yellow background, usually with the letters S F for Scuderia Ferrari.

The horse was originally the symbol of Count Francesco Baracca, a legendary "asso" (ace) of the Italian air force during World War I, who painted it on the side of his planes. Baracca died very young on June 19, 1918, shot down after 34 victorious duels and many team victories; he soon became a national hero.

Baracca had wanted the prancing horse on his planes because his squad, the "Battaglione Aviatori", was enrolled in a Cavalry regiment (air forces were at their first years of life and had no separate administration), and also because he himself was reputed to be the best cavaliere of his team.

It has been supposed that the choice of a horse was perhaps partly due to the fact that his noble family was known for having many horses on their estates at Lugo di Romagna. Another theory suggests Baracca copied the rampant horse design from a shot down German pilot who had the emblem of the city of Stuttgart on his plane. This is supported by the evidence that Barraca's horse looks more similar to the one of Stuttgart (not changed since 1938) than the current Ferrari design, especially as the legs of the horses are concerned.

Interestingly, rivalling German sports car manufacturer Porsche designed its logo by embeddeding the prancing horse logo of Stuttgart into the emblem of the state of Württemberg, just like the city is placed within the state. In the 1920s, Ferdinand Porsche had constructed supercharged cars for Mercedes-Benz in Stuttgart before starting his own engineering company there in the 1930s, designing the Auto Union race cars, amongst others.

Curiously, the name Stuttgart is derived from Stutengarten, an ancient form of the modern German word Gestüt, which translates into English as stud farm and into Italian as scuderia. In turn, the Italians call Stuttgart Stoccarda. Obviously, the Ferrari-led Alfa team often met the Silver Arrow teams of Mercedes-Benz (from Stuttgart itself) and later Auto Union at race tracks in the 1920s and 30s, so each knew of the other.

On June 17, 1923, Enzo Ferrari won a race at the Savio track in Ravenna where he met the Countess Paolina, mother of Baracca. The Countess asked that he use the horse on his cars, suggesting that it would grant him good luck, but the first race at which Alfa would let him use the horse on Scuderia cars was eleven years later at SPA 24 Hours in 1932. Ferrari won.

I8ABMR

The point of this thread is to teach members that the source of the Ferrari symbol was taken from an Italian pilot that most likely borrowed the symbol from the very Germans he was trying to shoot down during the war. This is very interesting to me. I thought you guys would be more into the history of the cars than just talking hp etc.

I placed the symbols with each other so you can see the resemblance beween the two stallions

IS-SV

My last Porsche did have some Ferrari characteristics....

But I do see the similarity as pictured.

Jetfire

iTrader: (3)

very cool history lesson. more interesting than seeing the usual car mag reviews that pit vehicles such as minivan and caravans against each other using 1/4 mile and 0-60.

I8ABMR

I agree and thanks buddy. I think we spend a lot of time talking about subjective stuff or numbers and stats on modern cars. This is info that I know 99% of of the members dont know and that will set you apart from the rest of the crowd at the car show when you start to tell them the history behind the symbol of the car they are drooling over. Most members knowledge of the history of these great brands only goes back as far as they have been alive. I am trying to take you guys back further

Like I have said before ...there are car people and then there are people who like cars. Car people will appreciate this little piece of history I am sure.

mikez

Well when Mr Enzo got permission to use the prancing horse for Ferrari, Porsche didn't use the shield as their logo yet.

I8ABMR

The shield wasn't used by Porsche yet BUT the stallion represented Stuttgart and was on the German war planes that inspired Count Francessco Barraca to select his own stallion. I am taking you back.....way back


I think the coolest thing is that Stuttgart comes from Stuttengarten that can be linked to translation of stud farm which in turn can be translated into Scuderia in Italian. That is the coolest cosmic connection you can imagine in automotive history. Porsche and Ferrari can be linked in a few different ways.

Faymester

Interesting. Thx for sharing

mikez

I thought scuderia means team? How is that related to stud farm? I am confused

I8ABMR

Scuderia means "stable" in the Italian language. It has entered English usage mainly through professional auto racing, in which many Italian teams incorporate the term in their names.
"Scuderia" may refer to:
Scuderia Ferrari, a successful Italian Formula One team
any of a number of other Italian racing teams, such as Scuderia Ambrosiana, Scuderia Bizzarrini, Scuderia Italia, Scuderia Centro Sud, Scuderia Enrico Plate, Scuderia Filipinetti, Scuderia La Fortuna, Scuderia Lavaggi, Scuderia Milano, Scuderia Sant'Ambroeus, Scuderia Serenissima, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Scuderia Volpini, etc.
A version of the Ferrari F430

mikez

So what does stud farm stands for?

Scuderia means team (to me) because scuderia ferrari = team ferrari, scuderia italia = team italy etc

I8ABMR

Pocket Oxford Italian Dictionary © 2006 Oxford University Press:

scudeˡria noun, feminine
stable;
scuderie pl mews



'scuderia' found in these entries:
English:
stable - stud

scuderia: WordReference English-Italian Dictionary © 2010
scuderia horse stables
scuderia (cavalli) nf stable

MR_F1

Haahaha, read that (hi)story before. Nice of you to share.

I8ABMR

I am bumping this thread hoping that we can get more of a discussion and to allow more members to gain this knowledge and to learn the link between the Ferrari symbol and the Porsche symbol.

Very interesting