Ferrari Factory

Cars are not my thing. Plain and simple. I've never understood the fascination with them and just find it odd to salivate over dream cars which probably never make it your driveway. Cars are meant to get you from A to B, simple as that.

Yet, when my friend mentioned he'd be interested in traveling over to Maranello, the Ferrari Capital of the world, I was curiously intrigued. Ferrari is considered one of the biggest car manufacturers in the world and boasts an incredible amount of prestige. I thought that visiting Maranello would be a very different and eventful experience to the stuff I'm into.

So...why not?

We planned out that our day trip to Maranello would be on a forthcoming Saturday.

Soon the weekend arrived and with that, the time to venture to the Ferrari capital.

We had to take two trains (a connecting train in Bologna) + 1 bus to arrive to the tiny town of Maranello.

You could immediately tell you were in Maranello just by the crazy amount of Ferrari stores, memorabilia, and symbols placed all over.

The bus dropped us right outside of the actual factory of Ferrari automobiles. This is where they design, develop, and ultimately manufacture some of the most sought-after and expensive cars in the world.

Admittance into the factory is prohibited from the general public, but if you actually own a Ferrari, you're presented with a personal tour of the exclusive site.

While as you might have guessed by now, neither I nor my friend have keys to a Ferrari.

But we did grab some shots of our pilgrimage to the actual factory:

Afterward, we continued on and found the Ferrari museum located just down the road.

The museum was quite busy, attracting many tourists from all over the world. Here am I just outside with the iconic symbol:

As we walked towards the entrance, we were greeted by a lady offering a very intriguing deal.

For 75-100 euro, you'd be able ride an actual Ferrari. I guess if you're into such things, this would be a dream come true.

Anyways, we continued on.

We picked up our tickets and began the exploring the extensive history of Ferrari.

Ferrari started out in the early 1900s as a racing company, representing Italy throughout the world.

Through their dynamic designs and revolutionary designs, Ferrari slowly dominated the racing scene, outclassing such titan companies as Honda, Mercedes, and Toyota.

They owned the Formula 1 racing circuit with their developments.

As we delved further in, we presented with some of the many modern day Formula 1 cars that have won some serious recognition:

They had some fun memorabilia:

Along with some tires that represented a tough a win for the team during a specific year:

Many signed historical team outfits were on display:

They also had showcased interior engines of revolutionary designs they had developed over the years:

Here are some general pictures of the Formula 1 floor:

We grabbed a rather interesting interior shot of one of the older models:

There was also this random model oddly situated straight up:

It was just plain weird...

They also had this very unique sound room.

You'd step in and by choosing the desired model and style of driving; you could actually hear the visceral sounds of a Ferrari as if you were in the driving seat.

I messed around with it and found it to be quite a thrill. The sounds were booming!

Further in was the prestigious trophy room:

Probably their most treasured item, the Formula 1 trophy.

I recorded some footage of the racing/trophy exhibition:

Ferrari Exhibit

Ferrari enjoyed racing success for quite some time, but reached true public popularity when they invested in manufacturing domestic cars.

On the second floor lay the sexier side of Ferrari:

 

Their road cars were placed on the second floor, showing off some wicked car designs:

During the tour, I noticed that an employee would actually attend to the cars every so often, making sure the cars when in spotless condition:

Talk about dedication!

They housed this quite interesting model:

The essential point is this: For Italy, Ferrari represents speed. So, when NASA prepped for their forthcoming escapade to mars, the Italian government presented Ferrari with the opportunity to symbolize their country. Ferrari responded by giving NASA its famous red dye in a small, clear marble to place onto the shuttle.

Although extremely odd, it was fascinating to learn about.

They also had a collection of the classical dyes:

After the tour, I ended up picking some cool Ferrari memorabilia. They had some outrageous items for sale, including $1000 jackets and a $200 blackberry cover!

I just picked a warm hat and a tiny magnet. Oh yeah, I spent big at the Ferrari store!

On the way out we were presented with another lady, offering us the same chance to ride a Ferrari. After exploring the museum and finally understanding what the Ferrari brand  meant to people, I felt oddly tempted. But, my better instincts prevailed and I declined. If I was more zoned into such things, I'm sure my response would have different. But for me, exploring the history of Ferrari was cool enough.

We actually had trouble leaving Maranello since the bus timetables were screwed up. It didn't help that the streets were practically deserted, with only a few people in sight, none of whom could speak a lisp of English.

Luckily, a bus, with the destination "train station" plastered on the front, turned up. We took our chances, and by good fortune, soon found ourselves back at the train station.

Our return train was going to arrive in about an hour's time, so we decided to explore the local town of Modena (where the train station was located.)

They were some quite pleasant sights to take in:

Modena is a military town and houses a gigantic war memorial:

In the front of the memorial, these two statues stand quite domineering:

But as time evaporated, we decided to head back to the station in order to catch our return train to Florence.

After taking the journey to Maranello, I've come to fully understand and apperciate the art of car manufacturing. Although I'm nowhere near as obsessed or fascinated by the culture of automobiles as many others, I fully respect the hobby.

And after charting the Ferrari world, I've come out with sincere allegiance towards the Ferrari symbol. So, when I see a Ferrari in the racing world or watch as one drives past (not very often, BTW) my heartily support goes with them.

I captured two company defining quotes that I'll leave you with: