Mauro Forghieri

Lore & Background

Forghieri began an apprenticeship at Ferrari in spring of 1960 in the engine department. After the 1961 'great walkout' of key figures including Carlo Chiti, he was personally asked by Enzo Ferrari to study the full technical questions of the factory and was soon appointed technical director for racing cars, a position he held until 1984. He oversaw the creation of the 250 GTO and P-series sports racing cars, the Ferrari flat-12 series of engines, Ferrari's first turbocharged engine in the 126 C F1 car, and a prototype semi-automatic transmission in 1979. During his tenure, Ferrari won the F1 World Driver's Championship four times and the F1 World Constructors' Championship seven times. After leaving Ferrari in 1987, he worked at Lamborghini and Bugatti, then co-founded the Oral Engineering Group in 1995.

In Their Own Story

The air inside the Maranello workshop was thick with oil and tension as the clock ticked toward the deadline. Mauro Forghieri stood over the chassis of the new 312T, his eyes scanning every weld and bolt. "It is not just a car," he murmured to the young apprentices watching him, "it is an extension of the driver's will." He adjusted a suspension arm by millimeters, knowing that in Formula 1, victory was measured in fractions of a second. When Niki Lauda later took the wheel at Monza, the roar of the flat-12 engine validated Forghieri's quiet genius.

Reader's Guide

Forghieri was involved to some degree in the development of every racing car produced by Ferrari between his hiring after graduation and his departure in 1987. Notable designs include the 250 GTO, the 1964 V8-powered Ferrari 158 (in which John Surtees won the World Championship), the 312 series, and the 126 C turbo. He also designed a semi-automatic transmission for the 312T in 1979, tested by Gilles Villeneuve but never used in competition.

Did You Know?

• Forghieri's nickname at Ferrari was 'Furia' (Fury).
• He was declared an honorary citizen of Modena in 2021.
• He was called as an expert in the trial relating to the death of driver Ayrton Senna at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.