Enzo Ferrari, the legendary founder of the Ferrari sports car company, was not only a successful race car driver and auto magnate but also a father to two sons, Alfredo (Dino) and Piero. Both additional info children played significant roles in the history of Ferrari, albeit in different ways.
Dino, Enzo’s firstborn son, was born in 1932 and shared his father’s passion for racing. From a young age, Dino accompanied his father in the garages below their home in Italy and at the Modena Autodrome proving ground. Enzo hoped that Dino would become an eventual successor to his racing empire.
Dino earned an engineering diploma from a local technical institute in Modena and began working for the growing auto brand. However, a debilitating illness, muscular dystrophy, affected him as an early teen, and he passed away in 1956 at the age of 24. Despite his short life, Dino left a lasting impact on the Ferrari company. His favorite visitor was Ferrari engineer Vittorio Jano, and the two worked with Enzo to design a prototype 1.5-liter racing engine. Enzo completed the special six-cylinder engine just a few months after Dino’s death and named it in his honor.
Piero, Enzo’s second son, was born out of wedlock in 1945 to Enzo’s mistress, Lina Lardi. Because divorce was illegal in Italy until the 1970s, Piero couldn’t be formally recognized as Ferrari’s son until Laura’s death in 1978.
As a result, Piero never met his half-brother and didn’t legally take the Ferrari name until 1990. Piero learned what he could from the engineers and mechanics around him and built a bond with his father along the way. Once acknowledged as Enzo’s son, he began to assume managerial duties within Ferrari’s racing program. By the mid-1980s, he was effectively in charge of the operation. Piero learned from his father’s sharp temper and took a calmer approach when it came to business matters. He was known for his dedication to the Ferrari brand and his astute business sense.
In conclusion, Enzo Ferrari’s sons, Dino and Piero, both played significant roles in the history of the Ferrari company. Dino, Enzo’s firstborn son, shared his father’s passion for racing and left a lasting impact on the Ferrari company with the engine named in his honor. Piero, Enzo’s second son, was born out of wedlock and couldn’t be formally recognized as Ferrari’s son until Laura’s death in 1978.
Piero learned from his father’s sharp temper and took a calmer approach when it came to business matters. He was known for his dedication to the Ferrari brand and his astute business sense. Both children of the Italian auto magnate are key parts of the new biopic Ferrari, starring Adam Driver, illustrating the complex paternal connections that were as complex as the cars that made Enzo Ferrari famous.