(Reuters) - Ferrari (>> FERI N) will debut on Wall Street on Wednesday. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA)
Below are some facts about the maker of sports cars with the prancing horse logo:
* Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898-1988) who attended his first race at the age of 10. He was a racing driver for Alfa Romeo, before becoming head of the brand's racing division. Left Alfa in 1939 and opened Auto Avio Costruzioni, the precursor to Ferrari company.
* Ferrari's headquarters moved to Maranello, northern Italy, from Modena in 1943. The factory was rebuilt after being bombed during World War Two.
* The prancing horse logo was first used by Italian World War One pilot Francesco Baracca. Countess Baracca invited Ferrari to use her son's emblem as a mascot on his cars. He placed it on a yellow shield in honour of his hometown Modena.
* The first car built under the Ferrari name was the 125 S in 1947. Cars produced since then include the Testarossa, the 660 horsepower Enzo Ferrari - one of the company's most powerful - and the 1 million euro ($1.13 million) hybrid LaFerrari.
* Ferrari keeps a cap on sales to preserve exclusivity, with a waiting list of over a year. It plans to raise sales to 9,000 a year by 2019 from 7,255 shipped in 2014.
* Ford tried to buy out Ferrari in 1963 but the talks collapsed after the U.S. carmaker refused to leave Enzo Ferrari control over the racing programme. Ferrari sold a 50 percent stake in the company to Italy's Fiat in 1969, which became 90 percent in 1988. The rest is held by Piero Ferrari, son of the founder.
* Scuderia Ferrari - the company's racing unit - is the only surviving team from the original motor racing series that started in 1950 and also the sport's most successful. Plaudits include 15 Formula One Drivers' World titles and 16 Formula One Constructors' World titles. The team became world champions for the first time in 1952.
Source: Ferrari, Reuters
(Reporting by Agnieszka Flak; editing by Susan Thomas)
