Enzo Ferrari died 25 years ago today

The word “Ferrari” is evocative enough as it is, but add “Enzo-era” to the mix and we imagine a very specific type of machine -- a vehicle that is raw, passionate, perhaps a bit prickly, but above all, utterly unique and irreplaceable.

There's a reason Enzo-era Ferraris are magical: Enzo Ferrari himself. Born in 1898, Ferrari joined the Alfa Romeo racing team in 1920, established Scuderia Ferrari in 1929 and put his name on a V12-powered race car in 1947. You can probably fill in the rest of the story.

Ferrari died on Aug. 14, 1988 at the age of 90; perhaps fittingly, the remarkable F40 was the last Prancing Horse of which he oversaw the introduction.

We'd say more, but we hardly need to -- the man's legend still speaks for itself a quarter-century after his death. Browse the Aug. 22, 1988 issue of Autoweek below, and be sure to come back tomorrow for a special report on Ferrari and his creations penned by none other than Denise McCluggage.

By Graham Kozak