Particle Data Platform
Acquired

Ferrari

4/13/20263 hr 59 min

Ferrari is the pinnacle of luxury scarcity — across its entire 79-year history, the company has sold just 330,000 cars at an average price today of $500,000. For context, Hermes sells that many Birkins and Kellys roughly every 2 years, and Rolex moves that many watches every 3 months. And yet this ultimate luxury product also lives under the same roof with a widely-beloved professional sports team… one with 400 million rabid fans from all walks of life who live and die by the Scuderia’s performance every F1 race weekend! How is it possible that these two seemingly contradictory customer bases can coexist within the same company? And far from destroying each other’s value, only reinforce it? The answer, it turns out, is a beautiful, bloody, tragic and romantic opera that spans two families and three generations — and just might be one of the best tales we’ve ever told on Acquired. Buckle up for the story of Ferrari.

Sponsors:

Many thanks to our fantastic Spring '26 Season partners:

Links:

Carve Outs:

More Acquired:

00:01:08 Intro
00:06:11 Enzo Ferrari's Early Life & Tragedies (1898-1919)
00:12:39 Scuderia Ferrari: Enzo's Racing Dream (1920-1933)
00:25:08 The Prancing Horse & Ferrari's Branding
00:35:41 First Ferrari Road Cars & Le Mans Victory (1947-1949)
00:51:31 F1 & The Tragedies of Enzo's Life (1950s)
01:14:03 Ford vs. Ferrari: The Le Mans Rivalry (1963-1966)
01:21:24 Enzo Sells 50% to Fiat (1969)
01:29:10 Luca di Montezemolo's Return to F1 Glory (1971-1976)
01:52:40 Ferrari's "Pepsi Challenge" and how Luca rescued the company (1991)
02:27:41 Post-IPO Ferrari: New Models & Growth (2015-Present)
02:48:24 The FUV Purosangue & Model Range
03:07:16 Ferrari Luce: The EV Future with Jony Ive
03:12:37 Ferrari Today by the Numbers
03:29:39 Analysis
03:50:04 Carve-Outs + Thank Yous

‍Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

Clips

Showing 10 of 12
Engines Over Aerodynamics
Charged After Mille Miglia Tragedy
Deal Blown, Gauntlet Thrown
Italy’s Steve Jobs?
Survivor’s Guilt, Enzo’s Burden
Birth of Scuderia Ferrari
Prancing Horse Origin Story
One Less Than Demand
“The 348 Was A Shit Car”
Capping The SUV, Protecting Myth

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Ben Gilbert· Host0:00

    Okay, David, so the question, do you have a favorite Ferrari?

  2. David Rosenthal· Host0:04

    Ooh, that's a tough one. I would never actually wanna get behind the wheel of it, but I think I gotta go with the F40.

  3. Ben Gilbert· Host0:13

    Of course.

  4. David Rosenthal· Host0:13

    I remember just being, like, a kid in elementary school and getting a model of one and thinking like, "Oh my God, this is the most incredible machine that mankind has ever created."

  5. Ben Gilbert· Host0:23

    Yeah, it's the defining supercar.

  6. David Rosenthal· Host0:25

    Yes, yes. How about you?

  7. Ben Gilbert· Host0:26

    I actually have two. One is the car from Charles Leclerc's wedding.

  8. David Rosenthal· Host0:30

    Ooh.

  9. Ben Gilbert· Host0:31

    It's the 1957 250 Testarossa.

  10. David Rosenthal· Host0:34

    Mm.

  11. Ben Gilbert· Host0:34

    And the car from Ford v. Ferrari. That 1966 330 P3 is just beautiful. It's got these curves, it looks like a spaceship. It's gorgeous.

  12. David Rosenthal· Host0:44

    Ah. Beauty and power, the story of Ferrari.

  13. Ben Gilbert· Host0:47

    Yes. All right. Should we do it?

  14. David Rosenthal· Host0:50

    Let's do it.

  15. Speaker 20:51

    Who got the truth? Is it you? Is it you? Is it you? Who got the truth now? Hm. Is it you? Is it you? Is it you? Sit me down. Say it straight. Another story on the way. Who got the truth now?

  16. Ben Gilbert· Host1:08

    Welcome to the Spring 2026 season of Acquired, the podcast about great companies and the stories and playbooks behind them. I'm Ben Gilbert.

  17. David Rosenthal· Host1:16

    I'm David Rosenthal.

  18. Ben Gilbert· Host1:17

    And we are your hosts. Almost everyone needs transportation. It is a giant market serving a huge human need, and it is one of the top three things that households spend money on, along with their housing

We value your privacy

We use cookies to understand how you use our platform and to improve your experience. Click "Accept All" to consent, or "Decline non-essential" to opt out of non-essential cookies. Read our Privacy Policy.