70 YEARS OF ENERGY

What is Ferrari? Much more than simply a car manufacturer or racing team, that’s for sure. It’s an almost primal force, represented by the colour red, and one of the world’s most immediately recognisable logos. And it’s a vehicle for story-telling, provider of a narrative arc that encompasses much of what excites us as human beings.

Yet even in a world that’s often hysterically inter-connected, Ferrari means different things in different places. In organising its retail business into distinct Hubs, Ferrari has addressed this challenge, standardising processes and applying best practice on a pan-regional basis whilst remaining alert to local peculiarities.

But when it comes to the Americas, the concept of a Hub is already well established. “North America has a contagious energy. This really is still the land of opportunity,” insists Matteo Torre, President of Ferrari North America since 2017. His remit also includes South America. It is a vibrant market, and a region that got on-board with what is a quintessentially Italian brand way before anyone even knew what a ‘brand’ actually was. There are currently 41 dealers in the United States, four in Canada, and seven in South America.

It was Luigi Chinetti, old friend and confidant of Enzo Ferrari, who first persuaded the company founder that the United States was a place worthy of his attention. Chinetti was a formidable racing driver, and a three-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours. But he was also the first official Ferrari importer to the ‘new world’, operating from premises on 11th Avenue in Manhattan.

That was in 1954, though he’d already been selling Ferrari to early adopters in America since the late 1940’s. Soon after came the famed North American Racing Team (N.A.R.T.), whose insignia has a particular resonance to this day. Enzo Ferrari the ‘engineer’ was also a born marketeer, and swiftly appreciated the star power of Hollywood’s new showbiz elite.

This market’s esoteric character continues to this day, as Torre confirms: “A Ferrari has almost nothing in common with the sort of cars Americans drive every day. But what resonates is the heritage, the way the cars look, and the exotic component. For an American it’s a sign that they have arrived.”

With 70 years of experience under its belt, the North American Ferrari Hub is a slick operation. Now based in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, the office is just across the Hudson River from Manhattan, where one of the few Tailor Made ateliers outside Maranello is located, on the corner of Park Avenue and 55th. Torre, who this year celebrates 25 years at Ferrari, is proud of the squad that he has helped assemble in the USA.

“We have 107 people on the team. It’s the largest office outside of Maranello because of the geography we’re covering, but also because of the complexity of this market.” He is also clear about the importance of diversity in the workplace. “Around 35 per cent of the team is female,” he points out. “For the automotive industry in the United States, we’re probably the benchmark.”