Alfredo Ferrari


Alfredo Ferrari was an Italian automotive engineer and the first son of automaker Enzo Ferrari. He had Duchenne muscular dystrophy and died at the age of 24. After his death, Ferrari named the car fitted with the engine that Alfredo was working on at the time of his death "Dino" in his honour.

Early life

Born to Enzo Ferrari and his wife Laura Dominica Garello, Alfredo was named after his paternal grandfather. Enzo, who at the time was a racing driver for Alfa Romeo, had vowed to stop racing cars if he had a son. True to his word, he retired from driving in 1932 and concentrated on racing team management with his newly formed Scuderia Ferrari.
From an early age Enzo groomed Alfredino, "little Alfredo", to be his successor. Alfredo studied economics in Bologna before moving to mechanical engineering in Switzerland.

Career at Ferrari

In his short career at Ferrari, Alfredo was widely credited for the 750 Monza racing car and to a limited extent a 1.5 litre V6 that would later see action in Ferrari's early Formula racers. Alfredo suggested to his father the development of a 1.5 litre DOHC V6 engine for F2 at the end of 1955. Two years later in 1957, to honour his son, Enzo named the Dino series of racing sports cars using this V6 engine after him. Road cars under the same marque soon followed.

Death

During his time at Ferrari, Alfredo started experiencing health problems. His physical movements gradually became stiff and he was often unable to maintain his balance. At his return to Modena, he was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. In the final days of his life, while hospitalized, he discussed technical details of the 1.5-litre V6 with fellow engineer Vittorio Jano. Alfredo would never see the engine; he died in Modena on 30 June 1956 at the age of 24.
The death of Alfredo took a toll on his parents' marriage, as his mother never got over the loss of her only son and her behaviour became increasingly erratic and unstable.
The Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Italy was originally named the "Autodromo Dino Ferrari" in Alfredo's honour, with his father's name added after Enzo's death in 1988.