Henry Ford was almost going to buy Ferrari from Enzo Ferrari in the 1960s and The deal didn't go through, Mr. Ferrari didn't want to sell it. OK, now to the question! What do u think would have happened to Ferrari, if Ford had bought it?
I dont think they would be around anymore, just another unheard of classic car, Ferrari was just over a decade old when this went down, and were primarily racers, they did have road cars but not like today.
Food for thought: if Ford had been able to purchase even a portion of Ferrari, would they have made the investment in Cosworth, to produce F1 engines? With the path they took (Ferrari, NO - Cosworth, YES) they got the Ford name onto countless race winners and World Championships. Seems like they did pretty well. As for what would have happened with Ferrari, I think Ford would have let the production car business die when the DOT/EPA regulations got to be a pain in the pocketbook. Too much money to spend for the trouble. The "beancounters" would have pulled the plug.
I agree with the first part of your analysis, but not the second. Given the fact that Ford has been willing to limp along with its prestige brands (Land Rover, Aston Martin and Jaguar) up to now, they probably would have done the same with Ferrari. The bad news, of course, would be platform and engine sharing. Jack
It would have plummeted, without question. But the better question is what would have happened without Luca di Montezemolo? Forza, Cavallini
Ferrari would have been history long before Jaques Nasser, who bought all the ailing British brands, was a mid-level manager. Forza, Cavallini
Ford may only have been interested back then because the Ferrari's were kicking the Fords all over the track. I just love the looks of those P3's and P4's! The Fords came back stronger in the following years with improved GT-40's to dominate for a short time, if my memory serves me correctly.
I think we would be seeing Ferrari SUV's. I am not kidding either. Why not?Especially since Porsche and Lamborghini has done it.
I really hope Ferrari doesn't cave in and start an SUV line. Of course I'd be curious to see any Ferrari/Pininfarina design for an SUV. I'm sure they'd make the most beautiful SUV ever. Everything that team makes looks amazing.
Many things in the rich history of motor racing would be different. As mentioned before, Cosworth probably would not exist as we know it today. Almost certainly their huge number of wins as an engine manufacturer would instead be under the Ferrari badge. The Pantera would never have existed. The GT40 would never have been developed. It is questionable if the later AC Cobras would have been built as well. No one would have ever heard of a Dino before. Maserati would be just another extinct marque. Almost certainly Ferrari would be building more than 4000 cars/year, probably sold at Lincoln dealerships.
