Ferrari: the car with the rearing horse emblem. In a game of free association, a large proportion of people will immediately link Modena with Ferrari. Formula 1 racing, with its prestige, thrills and tragedies, is news world-wide and brings fame to the cars that achieve success, including Ferrari itself. Ferrari's international prestige has been consolidated over time through victory in 42 world championships and over 5,000 races, 105 of these in formula 1. However, the rearing horse emblem does not only appear on racing cars, as Ferrari is an important automobile manufacturer on the Italian scene, with a workforce of 1700 working in production facilities of 346,400 square metres, 101 thousand square metres of this area under buildings. The foundry, machining, composite materials, assembly and painting shops for both formula 1 and GT cars are at Maranello, while the body production shop is in Modena. Output is about 3000 cars a year, 80% for export, generating a turnover of over 500 billion lire. At present the Maranello factory turns out 12 cars a day, 8 with eight cylinders and 4 with twelve. The latest 8 cylinder model, launched in 1995, is the F355 sports car which marks a return to the company's tradition of open-topped designs. Ferrari's largest market is the United States, followed by Germany, Italy, South America and the Far East. The name of Fiorano, where a test circuit for formula 1 cars has been built, is now almost as famous as that of Maranello itself. Maserati (which celebrated its 80th birthday in 1994) also has a consolidated tradition in the production of formula 1 and GT cars in Modena. For many years it rivalled Ferrari for the rank of leading company in the racing sector - in fact, between 1926 and 1957 Maserati achieved about 1000 victories in races all over the world (from Indianapolis to formula 1). Then, in the 1960s, the firm was restructured to concentrate on the production of GT cars (Mistral, Ghibli and Bora). After 1975 Maserati, managed by Gepi-De Tomaso, enjoyed a period of success with the launch of the new Biturbo car. The company has now been a Fiat subsidiary since 1993, and has made a come-back on the world's prestige car market with the Quattroporte model. The tradition established by Ferrari and Maserati has also inspired new companies with the same commitment to building GT cars of high technology and striking elegance.

De Tomaso was founded in Modena in 1959 as a manufacturer of luxury cars such as the Mangusta, the Longchamp, the Deville and the Pantera (the last-named still in production). 1990 saw the establishment of Bugatti, with a modern factory of 240,000 square metres at Campogalliano custom-built to produce the EB110 GT, EB110 super roadster and EB112, with performance and sophisticated styling that have given new life to the old name of Bugatti, so famous in Europe between 1909 and 1939.