Parked among the historic garages at Brooklands, the Duesenberg commissioned by Carlo Felice Trossi for Ferrari looks ready to take on all comers.
Ferrari

Count Trossi’s Ferrari Duesenberg

Soon to be chairman of Enzo Ferrari’s Scuderia, Carlo Trossi created a racing car that was quite special

Avatar photoKarl Ludvigsen

“Count Carlo Felice Trossi, president of Scuderia Ferrari since 1932, was a singular character,” Enzo Ferrari recalled. “With whimsical and easy-going insouciance, he did things that others would have sworn impossible, both in life and on the track. Tall, lanky, blond, he brought a note of curious, inattentive elegance into the world of motor racing. He was a man on whom the drama bounced like rubber without cracking. And he was a great driver.”

Enzo Ferrari found Count Carlo Felice Trossi one of the most fascinating people he came to know. Here the genial Count massages the foam rubber of his racing-car seat.

When Ferrari set up his own racing stable at Modena in 1929 he had the backing of textile-making brothers from Ferrara, Augusto and Alfredo Caniato, who were enthusiastic amateur racers. An impressive headquarters and workshop were acquired on Modena’s Viale Trento e Trieste, headed by able and experienced mechanic Luigi Bazzi. The new “Scuderia Ferrari” entered both sports and Grand Prix Alfa Romeos in major and minor races.

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Karl Ludvigsen
Karl E. Ludvigsen is a journalist, author, and historian of the automotive industry and motorsports. Karl Ludvigsen is the author of the definitive history of Porsche. His Porsche history, Excellence was Expected, is considered to be a model of the researching and writing of the history of an auto company. Ludvigsen is an honorary member of the Vintage Sports Car Club of America and the Corvair Society of America. He is also a member of the council of the Historic Automobile Group.
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