Ferrari in Australia: 70 years of the Prancing Horse

NO OTHER automotive brand is looked upon with quite the same sense of reverence as Ferrari.

It’s a powerhouse of passion and excitement that even people with merely a passing interest in cars somehow manage to latch onto. There’s real magic behind the prancing horse; it attracts an expectation of greatness that starts in children and keeps growing with time.

This year Enzo Ferrari’s car company turns 70 years old. It’s younger than Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Lancia but it has built a reputation beyond all other Italian brands that puts it into its own category.

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Australians have a love affair with motoring culture, and there is a dedicated group of Ferrari Tifosi who fly the Cavallino flag in our land Down Under.

The Ferrari Club of Australia claims to be one of the strongest and most active. To celebrate the marque’s 70th it threw a week-long party that included cocktail galas, street parades and a track day at the world renowned Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit.

And, luckily for me, Wheels was invited to take part. So on a very above average hump day I experienced the charmed life of a Ferrari owner. Driving a 488 GTB to the track and meeting other owners served to whet my appetite for an afternoon spent subjected to the high speed thrills of Ferrari’s 492kW/760Nm twin-turbo V8 supercar.

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It was an eye-opening day like few others are. I had thought I might meet people with no interest in talking to me, as an impostor in their exclusive club; but how wrong I was. These Ferrari lovers were only too pleased to share their enthusiasm, and to really drive their cars at the place they perform best.

Hit play on the video to get an inside look at the way the other half live.