That One Thing: Vintage Ferrari Racing Photos

I've been enjoying these vintage racing photos from the late 1950s via the new Instagram account Historic Ferrari. The Colombo twelve-cylinder engines seem to rip a hole through the air as they scream by. I can practically smell the leather in the cockpit, the gasoline from the carburetors, and the sweet oil cooking through the dry sump engines.

The car alternatively carves, goes neutral, and skitters around the track. The men, risking life and limb, are chasing something. Maybe it's glory? They're more likely fighting to avoid the gutting crush of ignominious defeat. 

Scuderia Ferrari, the world's most recognized racing team, made a reputation with the best drivers of the day pushing blood-red works of art around the most demanding venues on Earth. Red is the international motor racing color of cars entered by Italian teams. White or silver belonged to Germany, green to Britain, blue to French, and white and blue to the USA. 

Rosso Corsa, racing red, is not so much a color but an expression of national pride. Enzo Ferrari, one of the most captivating, dedicated, and ruthless men of the twentieth century, stirred the passion of his nation and co-wrote the history of an industry. The cars, and the people who made them the passion of their lives, shine a beam of light on the nature of man. 

- Joe Lotuff