“When I won, in 1923, the first Savio circuit, which was ran in Ravenna, I met count Enrico Baracca, father of the hero, and later Paolina Baracca, the mother. It was her to tell me “Ferrari, put on your cars my son’s prancing horse. It’ll bring you good luck” [...] The horse was, and is, black. I made the background yellow, which is the color of Modena”. –Enzo Ferrari
In fact, the now famous prancing horse was the logo that WWI flying ace Francesco Baracca used to sport on his plane.

Enzo Ferrari was born in Modena, February 18, 1898. He interrupts his studies to take on the management of the family’s foundry, after his father’s death. When the business collapsed he started work as a metalworker at the Modena Fire Brigade workshop as a turning instructor in order to support his widowed mother.

Enzo was later drafted into the Italian army where he used to shoe mules for the mountain artillery, but after a few months he became seriously ill and was released from the military service. Not interested in going back to school, and against his mother’s will, he then found work as a test driver in Turin in late 1918.

Ferrari then moved to Milan to work at CMN (Costruzioni Maccaniche Nazionali) as a racing car driver. His first real race came in the 1919, the Parma-Berceto; and he entered the Targa Florio that same year. In 1929 Enzo formed the Scuderia Ferrari, although, for now, they were mainly sponsors and trainers for Alfa Romeo.

The prancing horse was impressed for the first time on an Alfa Romeo model, the Alfa Bimotore of 1935 driven by the italian racer Nuvolari.
In 1940, upon learning of the company’s plan to take control of his beloved Scuderia, Ferrari quit Alfa. Since he was prohibited by contract from racing for several years, the Scuderia briefly became “Auto Avio Costruzioni Ferrari”, which ostensibly produced machine tools and aircraft accessories for Piaggio and RIV as Italy was gearing up for WWII. Ferrari did in fact produce one race car, the “Auto Avio Costruzioni” Tipo 815, in the non-competition period.

The first actual Ferrari car, though, is the 125 Sport of 1947, where, along with the prancing horse, the “Ferrari” text logo as we know it was applied on the hood.