Enzo Ferrari [antikvár]

Foreword FOR MUCH OF HIS LIFE, Enzo Ferrari's public appearances were flawlessly choreographed events, designed to enhance the great man's image. He was a powerful presence, utterly confident of his ability to dominate the throngs of reverential customers, eager suppliers, occasionally pugnacious journalists and curious fans. As he grew older, the "Pope of the North," as he was often called, became increasingly reclusive, which only enhanced his regal reputation. It was no accident that this simple man from Modena achieved a nearly superhuman stature among his devoted followers around the world, which in turn brought enormous benefits to the Modena businesses he operated for nearly sixty years. I met Enzo Ferrari in private but once—in the late summer of 1975. I was in Maranello with Phil Hill, the great American racing driver, who had won the World Championship for Ferrari in 1961 following a tragic race at Monza that had seen his chief rival and teammate, Count Wolfgang von Trips, die in a bloody crash. Hill, a sensitive and thoughtful man, had left the Ferrari team a year later amidst loud recriminations. He had been gone for thirteen years when he and I arrived in the city to work on a documentary film. Without warning, Hill was summoned into Ferrari's dark, blue-walled office. For a reason that escapes me to this day, I was invited along as well, although, as an American journalist with no formal ties