Ferrari

Without doubt the world’s most fabled and emotive automotive brand. Even its founder, Enzo Ferrari, became the stuff of legend, starting Scuderia Ferrari as a racing entity in 1929 before driving the Maranello-based company to decades of success on both road and track. Racing cars bearing the prancing horse badge have crossed the chequered flag in Formula One more times than any other manufacturer, though it took Michael Schumacher’s five world driver’s titles from 2000 to 2004 to end a surprisingly long barren spell. Evocative nameplates are too many to list here but include the GTO, Testarossa and one of the great pin-up supercars of the 1980s, the F40 – then the world’s fastest production car. Fellow Italian marque Fiat bought half of Ferrari in 1969 and lifted its stake to 90 per cent in 1988, the year Enzo passed away aged 90. The 2002 V12-powered Enzo supercar paid homage to its founder, and Ferrari continues to build ever-more technologically advanced road cars.