Ferrari Automotive Heraldry

A history of the Ferrari emblem can be found at the Ferrari Official Web Site, which includes an explanation from Enzo Ferrari himself, as well as in [Setright2]. The Ferrari emblem is “Or, a horse rampant sable” with some later modifications. It derives from the arms of the Baracca family (Argent a horse saliant beneath a star gules and a chief of the Empire).

The “prancing horse” was a badge used on the fighter plane of Italy’s top pilot in the First World War, Francesco Baracca. When he was shot down in 1918, a piece of the fuselage with this badge was recovered and sent to his parents, Count Enrico and Countess Paolina Baracca. In 1923, they witnessed a young Enzo Ferrari win a race at the Savio circuit in Ravenna. They gave him the honor of using their son’s prancing horse on his car for good luck. The canary yellow background was added because it is the color of Modena (Or, a cross azure.) The shield made its debut on the Alfa Romeo racecars run by Ferrari’s team in 1932 and the first Ferrari to sport the emblem was in 1947.

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Last Update: June 25, 2000