There are more books on Ferrari than any other car brand in the world.
This is the power of the brand called Ferrari.
Even if you narrow it down to the vintage Ferrari section – the amount of books is still completely overwhelming. Without a doubt Ferrari has a rich history. Not only was its founder Enzo Ferrari a legend, but Ferrari built some of the best road cars in the world in the 1950s and 1960s. Ferrari also is the brand that has had the most success in racing and had the best racing driver’s drive for them.
While people today buy Ferrari for the great image the brand has, few people understand the history. To be blunt: I fell in love with Ferrari not because of the cars but because of their history. Once you read into it – it becomes a never -ending fascination- even obsession. I can proudly say that I have one of the best collections of Ferrari books out there.
Not only do I have many (about 80 in all different languages including Japanese) but I also have all the issues of the important periodical ‘Cavallino’ as well as all the Ferrari yearbooks from 1951-1970. There is no important vintage Ferrari book written that is not in my library (except for perhaps some Italian ones).
If your interested in Ferrari and want to learn about their history – here are the 10 most important books, resources you should buy. They are in no particular order.
1. Ferrari Berlinetta by Groh / Müssig / Winter
Book summary: I believe that every person interested in classic cars particularly Ferrari should have a great coffee table book.
This book is good because it concentrates on very specific Ferrari models: The 250MM, 250 SWB, 250 GTO Series I, 250 GTO Series II, 250 Lusso, 275 GTB/4. These are some of the most beautiful cars that Ferrari has ever made. The pictures are absolutely first class – this is the main strength of this book (see main picture above of the GTO). Besides the brilliant photography- the book also describes each of the models with good technical information. The book is also written in English, German, French and Italian. Another bonus is that the book has the introduction written by none other than Sergio Pininfarina.
This is in my opinion – the best coffee table book on vintage Ferrari made. The photographs and settings are exceptional- this book cost its publisher a fortune.
2. ‘La Ferrari di Pininfarina’ by Mazzucchelli, Nov 1998
Book summary: This is without a doubt one of the best books to buy if your interested in Ferrari history.
The book is about Pininfarina, the master coach builder for Ferrari. I would argue that in many aspects -the second most important person besides Enzo Ferrari was – Batista Pininfarina (Chinetti & Scaglietti come close behind). Batista and his son Sergio and team are responsible for designing some of the most beautiful cars Ferrari is famous for including: 250 SWB, 250 S2 Cabriolet, 275 GTB, 250 Lusso, 342 America and the 375 Plus. The book offers an excellent history of Pininfarina and how it co-operated with Ferrari. It includes exceptional period photographs of all the beautiful cars Pininfarina made. Even though the 250 TDF and 250 California were not ‘officially’ designed by Pininfarina- the Pininfarina footprints can be seen. The book has a section of road cars but also a section devoted to competition cars including the 375MM. Unfortunately the book is long out of print and is today a collectible (prices start from $500 to $1500).
It is in my opinion one of the best books ever written on Ferrari road cars. Well worth the very expensive price.
3. ‘Ferrari 40 years on the road’ by Stanley Novak, 1988 Dalton Watson publishing
Book Summary: A person interested in Ferrari road cars from 1947 to 1987 is well served by reading this.
The book concentrates on the golden period of Ferrari from 1947-1967 where Ferrari made some of the most beautiful road cars. The book covers the early cars well including the 340, 342 and 375 America as well as the legendary 250 series including the 250GT Cabriolet S1. There are color pictures as well as black and white period photograph including rare pictures of Motor show cars that were actually on the stand. For readers interested in Ferrari road cars this book is a good summary with interesting and rare photographs. For those interested in competition cars like the 250GTO and LM this book is useless as it completely omits these important cars.
The book is very reasonably priced as it is long out of print. For a collector of Ferrari books – this is also a must have.
4. Original Ferrari V12 1965-1973 ‘The Restorers Guide’ by Keith Bluemel
Book Summary: For those who don’t know Keith Bluemel is one of the most important experts on vintage Ferrari.
His knowledge is vast and he knows every single detail of every model right down to knowing if the correct screw is being used. While this book concentrates on the 275 GTB and other later cars – I would recommend any of his ‘Restorer Guide’ books. They exist in the earlier period of Ferrari (from 1950-60) and he has done also Maserati. These restorer guide books are especially useful if you plan to buy an old Ferrari (or own one) and want to have the car correctly restored.
Admittedly this book is more useful for owners than just readers of Ferrari history.
5. ‘Ferrari’ by Hans Tanner & Doug Nye
Book Summary: This book is considered the ‘Bible’ for the serious Ferrari historian. Warning: This book is a heavy and at times difficult read.
It is full of technical detailed information especially on the racing history that Ferrari has. As you might have guessed Ferrari has among the richest racing history of any car brand. Hans Tanner was a Swiss national and took details very very seriously. I will be honest I have not read the book completely – rather skimmed through it. For those who are more interested in road cars – they can skip the first 300 pages (which is what I did). However one day I will read that as well. The sports car section (road cars included) is excellent with superb period photography. Again the detail is very strong. Overall this book, like the Pininfarina book, belongs in any serious Ferrari library.
The book is long out of print but can be found on Amazon for reasonable prices.
6. Ferrari Legend 250 GT Competition by Jess Pouret 1975
Book Summary: When you get one of the worlds best experts on Ferrari writing about the most famous series, the 250, then you have a book that was destined from the very beginning to become a must have, a classic, a bible for Ferrari enthusiasts and collectors.
This book is dedicated to only three models – but they are critically important in terms of Ferrari history. One could even argue that these three models account for the majority of why Ferrari became so well known: The models are the GTO, SWB and TDF. All three cars brought Ferrari important wins and in each category Ferrari beat the competition hands down. Part one of the book is dedicated to technical details of each model and why Ferrari built them. The book also offers excellent period photography of the various cars and details of the owners and car history.
This book is long out of print but can be ordered on Amazon for around $250 for a good edition (note the poor condition of my copy). Well worth the cost.
7. Ferrari by Pininfarina by Etienne Cornil
Book Summary: There were many great coach builders for Ferrari. Vignale, Zagato, but the undisputed king of them all was Pininfarina.
Therefore it is no wonder that there are many books dedicated to Pininfarinas work. An excellent book which covers a wide spectrum of cars is the book by Etienne Cornil. It covers very well the early cars such as the 250 series, the 410, the 375, the 400SA but also the V8 Ferraris that came much later like the 308, 328. Even some ‘supercars’ are covered like the F40 and the F50. This book is a first class all round book written in 1998 but revised in 2002. The price starting at $170 on Amazon is not cheap but also well worth the cost.
This book is an excellent all around summary of Pininfarinas design stretching over 50 years.
8. Enzo Ferrari – The Man by Gino Rancati
Book Summary: It is fair to say that the likes of an Enzo Ferrari will never appear again or at least not for another 100 years.
He was the most important man in Automobile history besides perhaps Henry Ford. He was a legend and Ferrari, the brand, is what it is because of him. He was a genius and extreme visionary who saw what could become of his little brand in the end of the 1940s. Like all exceptional men, Ferrari was not without fault. He was in certain aspects a tyrant, a control maniac who would check and call his employees on Christmas evening to demand last minute changes. His talent lay in finding the best people to work for him (and convince the best drivers to drive for him). From Pininfarina to Scaglietti to Chinetti – Enzo Ferrari had built a dream team around him. Mr Rancati does an excellent job at portraying Enzo from a personal side, indeed even showing the weaknesses of an Enzo Ferrari. Despite being an extremely demanding boss, ruthless to many and wanting to win at all costs (even if that meant the death of his racing drivers) Enzo Ferrari had a very human side to him. Rancati captures this extremely well in his book.
It is therefore obvious that to understand Ferrari- the brand -you have to know about Enzo Ferrari. This book provides a good insight to Ferrari – the person.
9. Ferrari Pininfarina by Sakumi Yayoi – Korinsha Press
Book Summary: Many of you might not remember- but in the 1980s the Japanese were the worlds biggest collectors of Vintage Ferrari.
Therefore Japan has a close relationship with vintage Ferrari. As a result many books on Ferrari are in Japanese (which I don’t speak or read). At the time, I ordered this book thinking it would be in English. It arrived in Japanese and I was disappointed – until I saw the very rare pictures inside. Not only is there a rare picture of Batista Pininfarina and Enzo Ferrari but there are many pictures of just the ‘cages’ of naked Ferrari chassis of models like the 400SA. Even more suprising there is a picture of Batista Pininfarina on his knees doing work (how cool is that). Best of all this book is tiny and the perfect book to skim through when you have 3-4min time (since I don’t speak Japanese it takes only a few minutes).
This book is small, has excellent pictures and gets my vote for among the best 10 books to have. Best of all it does not cost much ($55-60) for this cute out of print book. The book is also available in English.
10. Cavallino Journal
Book Summary: First off- Cavallino is not a book but a journal which is published every two months.
It is written by some of the top experts in the world of vintage Ferrari such as Alan Boe, Jess Pourret, Antoine Prunet and Marcel Massini. This journal is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in Vintage Ferrari. Not only are the articles very detailed and exceptionally well researched but the journal also carries a decent Market section where every single Vintage Ferrari is listed with current market prices and estimates (the estimates tend to be a little conservative). I use the market section to find out how many of a model was built rather than find out the newest value of a 250 SWB. All the important Ferrari events in the world are documented in the journal so it is not necessary to always be at Pebble Beach or Villa d’este.
A great resource which can be ordered right here. Cost $46 for US domiciled $86 for people living outside the US & Canada.
