"He bought his racing cars directly from Enzo Ferrari, and I met him at the factory during an extravagant five-day birthday party the company had thrown for itself. "It used to be pretty impoverished here," he said as we sat under a parasol on Ferrari's scented herbal lawn. "I first came to see Enzo in 1962. It was cold, so I asked his chief engineer to turn the heating on while I waited. He apologized, and told me that they couldn't afford the oil.""
"The more your cars cost to develop and buy, the more exposed you are to cashflow problems and your customers' varying ability to pay for your very nice things through recessions and oil crises. Aston Martin has been bankrupt seven times during its 112-year history and changed hands more often than an old banknote. Lamborghini, now a stable and reputable member of the Volkswagen Group, was once bought out of bankruptcy by a 25-year-old Swiss millionaire."
Enzo Ferrari's factory once lacked heating oil, illustrating how even iconic supercar makers have faced severe financial hardship. High development and production costs make luxury car firms vulnerable to cashflow problems and cyclical customer demand during recessions and oil crises. Aston Martin endured seven bankruptcies across 112 years and frequent ownership changes. Lamborghini survived bankruptcy and passed through controversial owners before stabilizing under a major automotive group. McLaren pairs dominant Formula 1 performance with celebrated road cars, yet McLaren Automotive reported roughly $1.1bn losses in 2023. A potential rescue involves CYVN, a division of the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund.
Read at Elite Traveler
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