Women and Ferrari

The passion of women for the Prancing Horse is celebrated in the “Il Rosso & il Rosa – Women and Ferrari, the untold story”, exhibition currently on show at the Museo Enzo Ferrari in Modena. By Ilona Catani Scarlett.

Although motor sports and technological development started out as almost exclusively male domains, women gradually began edging towards it too. Passion knows no gender and, as the years went by, women became more and more involved in the car world in general and the history of Ferrari in particular, sharing the love of speed and falling under the spell of the sublime forms crafted by the Maranello designers. Technology and elegance met and melded to produce masterpieces that fascinated the entire world. Ferraris are much more than just engineering marvels, indeed they have become genuine style icons, celebrated in the past yet never more so than in the present. Part of this story has been written by the women who moved over from the passenger seat to take the wheel, confirming that driving is a joy shared by all. The result is an all-encompassing, all-consuming love story between the female world and Ferrari.

1954 Ferrari 375 MM (Bergman) s/n 0456AM with a parking ticket (or a parking permit). "Miramar" is probably a hotel. This car is known as the "Bergman", since filmmaker Rossellini is rumored to give the car as a gift to his wife Ingrid Bergman (actress), but the girl in this picture is not Bergman. It looks a lot like Brigitte Bardot or Mona Arvidsson.

“Il Rosso & il Rosa – Women and Ferrari, the untold story” details that deep and abiding bond through models from every decade driven by exceptional women – stars of sport, stage, screen and even royalty.

La pilote française Annie Soisbault avec sa 'Triumph' au départ du rallye automobile Monte-Carlo à Paris, le 22 janvier 1958, France. Photo by Keystone – France / Gamma - Rapho via Getty Images.

Annie Soisbault during her first rally of Monte Carlo in 1958.

Annie Soisbault at Chimay in 1960 at the wheel of her Lola.

Annie Soisbault, marquise of Montaigu, in her Ferrari 250 GTO at Mont Ventoux in 1965.

Annie Soisbault, marquise of Montaigu, in her Ferrari 250 GTO at Mont Ventoux in 1965.

Some of the couples presented in the exhibition are: French driver Annie Soisbault (de Montaigu) - who competed in rallies and races across Europe between 1956 and 1969 - and her Ferrari 250 GTO (1962);

Italian actress Anna Magnani at home in Anzio, Italy, circa 1960. Photo by Giancarlo Botti / Gamma - Rapho via Getty Images.

Anna Magnani.

Anna Magnani poses proudly with her new Ferrari 195 Inter in this studio portrait on the set of the 1951 comedy Le Carrosse d’Or.

Anna Magnani getting on a Ferrari. Italy, 1952. Photo by Reporters Associati & Archivi / Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images.

Italian iconic actress Anna Magnani and her Ferrari 212 Inter (1951), the same model chose by Ingrid Bergman;

Norma Shearer is seen here, she is an American actress. Photo by Getty Images.

Portrait of Norma Shearer, glamorous American actress. Undated photograph. Photo by Getty Images.

A 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Tour de France is driven past Blenheim Palace at Salon Prive’ on September 02, 2017 in Woodstock, England. Photo by Jack Taylor / Getty Images.

Norma Shearer and her 250 GT Berlinetta Tour de France (1956);

Circa 1955: portrait of American actor Jayne Mansfield, wearing a sleeveless sweater, pointy bra and red shorts, leaning against a wooden post, 1950s. Photo by Hulton Archive / Getty Images.

Circa 1955: studio portrait of American actor Jayne Mansfield (1933 - 1967) reclining on chaise longue in a strapless sequined gown and diamond jewelry. Photo by Hulton Archive / Getty Images.

Jayne Mansfield posing on the beach in a bikini, circa 1955. Photo by Silver Screen Collection / Getty Images.

Jayne Mansfield posing on the beach in a bikini, circa 1955. Photo by Silver Screen Collection / Getty Images.

Portrait of American actress Jayne Mansfield (born Vera Jayne Palmer, 1933 - 1967) as she holds onto a swimming pool ladder dressed in a leopard-print bikini, 1955. Photo by Weegee (Arthur Fellig) / International Center of Photography / Getty Images.

Jayne Mansfield 1956. Photo by Peter Stackpole, The Life Picture Collection / Shutterstock.

Jayne Mansfield 1957. Photo by Print – Item.

Jayne Mansfield poses for a photo at home on June 24, 1957 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Richard C. Miller / Donaldson Collection / Getty Images.

Jayne Mansfield poses for a photo with husband Mickey Hargitay on their way to Catalina on July 22, 1957 between Los Angeles and Catalina, California. Photo by Richard C. Miller / Donaldson Collection / Getty Images.

Jayne Mansfield, circa 1960. Photo by Silver Screen Collection / Getty Images.

6th September 1963: Hollywood sex symbol Jayne Mansfield (1933 - 1967), born Vera Jayne Palmer in Pennsylvania. Photo by Hulton Archive / Getty Images.

Here, the actress Jayne Mansfield with the Ferrari 250 LM in 1964.

Jane Mansfield, with a Ferrari 250 GT.

Jayne Mansfield, Ferrari 275 GTS. It was later to be purchased by Eric Clapton.

Jayne Mansfield and her Ferrari 250 LM (1963);

Scottish singer and songwriter Amy MacDonald performs live during a concert at the Astra Club on February 11, 2010 in Berlin, Germany. Photo by Jakubaszek / Getty Images.

Scottish singer and songwriter Amy McDonald performs during a concert at the E-Werk on April 19, 2010 in Cologne, Germany. Photo by Friedemann Vogel / Getty Images.

Scottish singer Amy Macdonald is pictured prior to her concert at the Reiche Zeche on July 01, 2012 in Freiberg, Germany. Photo by Marco Prosch / Redferns via Getty Images.

Amy Macdonald live in the BBC Studio.

Amy Macdonald and her yellow Ferrari.

Amy Macdonald pictured in her yellow Ferrari. Photo by The Daily Record.

Amy Macdonald and her new Ferrari.

Amy's photo on Twitter in her Ferrari 458.

Amy Macdonald and her Ferrari 458 Italia;

Deborah Mayer in March 2022.

Deborah Mayer.

Deborah Mayer.

Deborah Mayer drives his Ferrari 458 Challenge Evo during the first race of Shell Cup 2016 for Scuderia Niki Hasler team.

and Deborah Mayer with both her Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 and Ferrari 488 Challenge.

‘Women and Ferraris – the untold story’ exhibition highlights the history of female race drivers. By The Experience Team. Posted on January 25, 2022.

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi is calling all car enthusiasts to go on a journey through time by highlighting the history of female race drivers and all-around inspirational women at the ‘il Rosso & il Rosa ‘Women and Ferraris – the untold story’ exhibition.

Entrepreneur / GT driver Deborah Mayer (left) and musician Amy McDonald (right).

In collaboration with Ferrari Museum in Maranello, Italy, the exhibit takes guests on a journey through time as it tells the story of ‘Women and Ferraris’. The exhibit also showcases a variety of Ferrari cars including La Ferrari, the 458 Challenge, the F4, the FF and the 166 Berlinetta, all of which are owned by influential women.

The stunning cars on display were owned by the likes of Maya Weug, the first female driver of the Ferrari Driver Academy, Saudi racing driver Aseel Al Hamad, racing driver Yvonne Simon and international superstar Beyoncé Knowles, among others.

A grid girl poses during the round seven of 2013 Superbike FIM World Championship on June 29, 2013 in Imola, Italy. Photo by Mirco Lazzari / Getty Images.

The grid girls pose in the pits during the World Superbike on April 30, 2016 in Imola, Italy. Photo by Mirco Lazzari / Getty Images.

Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello with two girls in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on March 23, 2000. Photo by Marcus Brandt / Bongarts / Getty Images.

Shell girls at the Ferrari garage during the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos, Sao Paulo, on 26 March 2000. Photo by Clive Mason / Allsport.

A girl in front of the Ferrari pits at the Brazilian Grand Prix on April 05, 2003. Photo by Alexander Hassenstein / Bongarts / Getty Images.

Ferrari grid girls are seen during previews to the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya on May 06, 2010 in Barcelona, Spain. Photo by Vladimir Rys / Bongarts / Getty Images.

Shell grid girls pose for a photograph outside the Ferrari hospitality unit before the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix at the Circuit of Spa Francorchamps on August 28, 2011. Photo by Getty Images for Shell.

We told you about the fabulous grid girls, who made the life of the drivers even more beautiful and exciting, but women behind the wheel or on board cars have been around long before that.

Two naked women next to a car.

Aviatrix Ruth Elder driving a car in 1920.

20th March 1948: JRV Dolphin has invented the Dolphin swinging roof body, which can be built on the chassis of any car and will give you in seconds either a completely open car, or a waterproof saloon or coupe, driven by Sheila Sim, star of the Boulting brothers film 'The Guinea Pig'. Photo by Bert Hardy / Picture Post / Hulton Archive / Getty Images.

Vintage illustration of a 1950s woman sitting behind the driver's seat of a coupe automobile with the door open (screen print), 1954. Photo by Graphica Artis / Getty Images.

A model sitting on the bonnet of a Mercedes-Benz 190SL roadster, as a photographer's assistant holds up a reflector (right), Italy, circa 1955. The woman is modelling a floral-print day dress with wide collar. Photo by Archivio Camera photo Epoche / Getty Images.

An elegantly dressed woman is pictured wearing a two piece blue outfit and cape as she stands next to her open-topped sports car, circa 1960. Photo by Popperfoto via Getty Images.

Transport, England, 1962, A girl feeds a sheep from her Ford Consul Capri, a 2 door coupe version of the Classic Saloon. Photo by Popperfoto / Getty Images.

A woman driving an MG sports car, Bickley, Kent, 25th October 1962. Photo by Bert Hardy Advertising Archive / Getty Images.

A woman in front of an Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint Coupe, cab Bertone, in 1963. Photo by Touring Club Italiano / Marka / Universal Images Group via Getty Images.

Two girls in a Simca 1000 coupe, Bertone body, in 1963. Photo by Touring Club Italiano / Marka / Universal Images Group via Getty Images.

Model drapped over the bonnet of an Aston Martin DB5 at the British International Motor Show in London, 20th October 1964. Photo by Staff / Mirrorpix / Getty Images.

19th October 1965: a group of bunny girls sitting on an Aston Martin Volante at a motor show at Earl's Court. Photo by Victor Blackman / Express / Getty Images.

19th October 1965: a group of bunny girls sitting on an Aston Martin Volante at a motor show at Earl's Court. Photo by Victor Blackman / Express / Getty Images.

British comic actor Peter Sellers and his wife, Swedish actress Britt Ekland, inspecting a Ferrari 500 Superfast coupe, which Sellers has just bought for eleven and a half thousand pounds, at a preview of the Motor Show, Earls Court, London, 19th October 1965. Photo by Keystone / Hulton Archive / Getty Images.

Models posing in this soft top Ford Consul at the London Motor Show on 18 October 1966.

Models drapped over cars at the London Motor Show on 18 October 1966.

A model at a 1967 auto show. The car in an Aston Martin Volante.

A girl and the Lamborghini Marzal, a one-off prototype concept car, designed by Marcello Gandini of the Bertone design studio, at a preview of the London Motor Show at Earl's Court, 17th October 1967. Photo by Mike McLaren / Central Press / Hulton Archive / Getty Images.

Model poses on the bonnet of a TVR at a Motor Show on 15 October 1968. Photo by Staff / Mirrorpix / Getty Images. 

Models drapped over the bonnet of an Aston Martin DBS V8 at the 1969 Motor Show on 1st June 1969. 

A woman in a Duetto Alfa Romeo 1750 spider veloce in 1969. Photo by Touring Club Italiano / Marka / Universal Images Group via Getty Images.

A girl in front of an Alfa Romeo 1750 Coupé in 1970. Photo by Touring Club Italiano / Marka / Universal Images Group via Getty Images.

Three prostitutes, occupants of the brothel "Eros house" in Steinbeck / Luhe, pose on the bonnet of a Mercedes on 04 October 1971. Photo by Werner H.T. Fuhrmann / picture alliance via Getty Images.

Vauxhall Opel girls with the new shape Astra GTE at the press preview of the 1984 Motor Show in Birmingham on October 10, 1984. Photo by PA Images via Getty Images.

Two topless models sit on the bonnet of the Dacia 10 Roadster 4x4 at the 1984 Motor Show on 17 October 1984. Photo by Andy Hosie / Mirrorpix / Getty Images.

Summer relaxation of a girl in a car. Photo by Christopher Bernard.

A car dealer sells a car to a woman and is waiting with the contract.

Young fashionable girl in an oldtimer convertible sportscar, in German Baden Wuerttemberg region, near Freiburg.

5 women hit the road for the weekend.

And finally we want to provide you with a gallery of beautiful women who drove or posed alongside the car of your dreams, our Ferrari.

A girl and a Ferrari 250 GT lusso 1962. Photo by Touring Club Italiano / Marka / Universal Images Group via Getty Images.

Bunny Girls watching Paul Vestey in a Ferrari 250 GTO at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on December 31, 1969. Photo by GP Library / Universal Images Group via Getty Images.

Bunny Girls watching Paul Vestey in a Ferrari 250 GTO at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on December 31, 1969. Photo by GP Library / Universal Images Group via Getty Images.

Reveille model Heidi seen here posing with a Ferrari Dino GT circa 1972. Photo by Staff / Mirrorpix / Getty Images.

Christie Brinkley in National Lampoon's Vacation, 1983.

Christie Brinkley plays the role of a pin up girl in a red Ferrari in the 1983 film National Lampoon Vacation.

Christie Brinkley plays the role of a pin up girl in a red Ferrari in the 1983 film National Lampoon Vacation.

Christie Brinkley plays the role of a pin up girl in a red Ferrari in the 1983 film National Lampoon Vacation.

Christie Brinkley plays the role of a pin up girl in a red Ferrari in the 1983 film National Lampoon Vacation.

Ferrari 308 and hot girl vintage 1985 80's poster.

Dutch-born actress Famke Janssen driving a Ferrari F355 GTS as the villainous Xenia Onatopp, in the James Bond film 'Golden eye', 1995. Photo by Keith Hamshere / Getty Images.

English actress Lisa Faulkner poses with a Ferrari F355 Berlinetta, in 1996. Photo by John Stoddart / Popperfoto via Getty Images.

French musician Richard Gotainer poses as Roger Moore with models acting as "James Bond's girls" in the James Bond's prototype Ferrari convertible car of the 1977 Lewis Gilbert's film: "The spy who loved me" on October 01, 1996. Photo by Frederic Pitchal / Sygma via Getty Images.

Ivana Trump receives a $138,000 Ferrari 355 Spyder from her boyfriend, Loffredo Gaetani D'Aragona, New York, December 09, 1997. Photo by Allan Tannenbaum / Getty Images.

A woman strokes the threads of an entirely knitted full size replica Ferrari sports car on show in a gallery on November 27, 2006 in London, England. Photo by Bruno Vincent / Getty Images.

Workers of Ferrari pose next to a Ferrari 599XX on June 04, 2012. Photo by Massimo Sestini / Mondadori via Getty Images.

Lady Mary Charteris attends the UK launch event for the Ferrari 488 GTB at The Old Sorting Office on April 23, 2015 in London, England. Photo by Mike Marsland / Wirelmage.

Lady Mary Charteris.

A Ferrari California T and a sexy blonde create modern pinup art in 2015. Photo by Autoevolution.

16 October 2016, Maghtab, Malta. A young girl does makeup in the rear view mirror of a Ferrari, at the seaside.

Aseel Al-Hamad, the first Saudi female to own a Ferrari, was a special guest at the event, titled “Saudi women can drive Italian”, on March 02.2018.

Aseel Al-Hamad, the first Saudi female to own a Ferrari, at the event titled “Saudi women can drive Italian” on March 02.2018.

A woman in a Ferrari at the event titled “Saudi women can drive Italian” on March 02.2018.

Naked woman sparks outrage after twerking on a Ferrari at Ibiza in August 2019.

Naked woman sparks outrage after twerking on a Ferrari at Ibiza in August 2019.

Miss Ferrari. 250 GTO. Art Print by Artem Oleynik.

Miss Ferrari. Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta. Poster by Artem Oleynik.

Miss Ferrari. 250 GT California Spyder. Painting by Artem Oleynik.

Miss Ferrari. 246 GTS. By Artem Oleynik.

Roma. Miss Ferrari is a drawing by Artem Oleynik.

Miss Ferrari. 288 GTO. Bubble gum. By Artem Oleynik.

Miss Ferrari. Testarossa. By Artem Oleynik.

A Ferrari 512TR and a lady. Painting by Artem Oleynik.

Roma. Miss Ferrari by Artem Oleynik.

A pretty lady, in highly transparent underwear, lolling on a red Ferrari 308 GTS.

A girl on a red Ferrari 308.

Ferrari 328 GTS red and white silhouettes.

A girl and a red Ferrari 308.

Hannah Davis driving a red Ferrari.

A girl on a red Ferrari.

A naked woman and a black Ferrari 308.

A girl and a red Ferrari 308 on July 11, 2020.

Sexy legs under a red Ferrari.

A woman driving a Ferrari.

A nacked girl on a red Ferrari Testarossa.

A blonde girl and a red Ferrari.

Two girls and a red Ferrari.

Two girls and a red Ferrari.

A blonde girl in front of a red Ferrari.

An Asian model in a red Ferrari 458 Italia.

A girl in a Ferrari. 

Lani Fogelberg in a red Ferrari 430.

A girl and a red Ferrari.

Paris Hilton in a red Ferrari California.

Paris Hilton in a red Ferrari California.

Paris Hilton with a red Ferrari California.

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