Brent Snavely

Detroit Free Press

MARANELLO, Italy — It might be impossible to fully understand Ferrari's unique cachet in this small city until you simply stand on a sidewalk near the plant and hear and see a Ferrari roar by.

The Ferrari prancing horse and its culture are everywhere in the town of 17,000, nestled in an agricultural area in central Italy.

The stoplights are Ferrari red and even the trash cans surrounding the factory are the famed racing color. A Ferrari restaurant just outside the plant called Ristorante Cavallino serves Ferrari red sparking wine.

Across the street from the plant are a Ferrari store and a multi-floor Ferrari museum. There are several luxury hotels that cater to the well-heeled Ferrari enthusiasts and owners who visit.

The Free Press recently toured the city and the plant, where no cameras are allowed, to get a sense of the flavor and culture of the famous carmaker owned by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

The residents live and breathe Ferrari and the tourism it draws in a way that's hard to compare with the U.S. or anywhere. One of the churches in the town rings its bell when Ferrari wins Formula 1 championships. It's the kind of vibe that any city boosters, anywhere in the world, would kill to capture and bottle for their own use.

It's that reverence for the brand that Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne hopes will propel its coming initial public offering of 10% of Ferrari stock into the multibillion-dollar range. It's a key part of Marchionne's plan to wring value from FCA's holdings to support a five-year, $61-billion investment plan.

Where the magic is made

Ferrari, founded in 1947 by Enzo Ferrari, employs about 3,000. The manufacturing campus reflects the founder's belief that Ferrari race cars and sports cars should be built in only one place — Maranello.

"When you see this plant, you think you've seen all the Ferraris because all the Ferraris are made here," Stefano Lai, Ferrari senior vice president of communications, said Friday in his office overlooking the complex. "Ferrari is like wine; you cannot build the Ferrari if you move the plant to another place."

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Ferrari's manufacturing campus — where workers wear red and white uniforms with yellow Ferrari logos — is unlike any other automotive plant in the world. The company has always made its own engines, reflecting Ferrari's philosophy that the engine is the heart of the car. The campus consists of four buildings: engine assembly, body shop, paint shop and final assembly.

The plant even sounds different from the typical motion and noise of assembly lines pushing out as many cars as possible.

Inside the Ferrari plant, the tapping of hammers echos across the engine shop. Small teams quietly huddle. Ferrari's cars are crafted, rather than assembled, in one big, immaculate workshop.

Ferrari spokeswoman Daniela Levoni said the buildings and manufacturing process are designed to reflect a philosophy the company adopted about 15 years ago called "Formula One."

"It means that we put the employee at the center of the factory," she said, "and we try to create the best working conditions."

There are two large areas for plants and small trees in the middle of the body shop. In the final assembly area there are doors that lead to an outdoor walkway that leads to another large garden. All the buildings have windows to provide natural light. Workers can leave their stations if they need to relax. There also is a high-end cafeteria for the employees.

Ferrari also owns its own racetrack for testing and development — the Fiorano Circuit — and stores dozens of used Formula 1 race cars that it has sold to some of the world's richest car enthusiasts. The used race cars start at $1.5 million and — depending on the heritage of the car and races won — can easily sell for multiples of that number.

Ferrari stores them for the buyers because they can only be driven on racetracks. Many owners store them in Maranello so they can visit a few times per year and use the test track.

Sell one less than the market demands

Underlying all of Ferrari's operations is a commitment to protect the value of the company.

The company keeps production volumes low, quality high and bars photography inside the manufacturing campus or even inside the gift shop.

"My job ... is to protect the brand as much as possible," Lai said. "So, that's what we are doing."

In short, a visit to Maranello and Ferrari reveals why Marchionne once suggested the brand could be worth as much as $15 billion.

Fiat acquired 50% of Ferrari in 1969 and expanded its stake to 90% in 1988 after the founder died.

Now, Marchionne is planning to tap into some of Ferrari's value. He announced plans for the IPO last year and plans to distribute 80% of the remaining shares to Fiat Chrysler shareholders. The last 10% of Ferrari is owned by Piero Lardi Ferrari, a son of the founder.

Despite that plan, Lai insists that Ferrari will not boost production beyond the 7,000 cars the company makes annually even though demand is far greater than that number.

Lai said the company will always stick to the founder's mantra: "Always sell one car less than the market demands and maintain the value."