After the Mondial, Testarossa, 348, and F40 were all released in the decade of the 1980s, what possibly could the 1990s have to offer? That was the question circulating. Every decade, year after year, Ferrari beat expectations time and time again. The 1990s was a golden decade for Ferrari, and was known as The Montezemolo Era.What did Ferrari have in mind this time, with the man behind it all deceased.

The 1990s began with a bit of uncertainty at Ferrari, which had been stumbling in the years since Enzo Ferrari's death. Luca Di Montezemolo returned to the company in 1991 to began the renaissance of putting Ferrari back into the groove, and maintaining the revered reputation Ferrari had obtained in the past 5 decades of producing award-winning exotics, both for the street and the track.

Turning around a company can be easy or hard depending on the set up, the industry, and the size. Turning around an automotive business isn't like turning around a software company -- it takes years before results are shown.

In the morning years of 1990, The TestaRossa went through two changes to the 512 TR and to the 512 M, lifting horsepower to 428 and then a remarkable 440. This was one of the faster production Ferraris to date, and was a hot seller. In addition to the morning years, the elegant 456 GT 2+2 with a 5.4L, 442 horsepower V12 was added, while a spider version was launched in the following year. The 456 GT 2+2 replaced the 365/400/512 with pride. It packed leather-upholstered interior and was quite the comfortable ride yet there car was no slouch, either. The car would do a 0-60 time right around 5 seconds. All these changes took place in only 3 years, and the company was beginning to turn around. While basking in the memoirs of Enzo Ferrari and the legend he created, Ferrari engineers understood what Enzo Ferrari would want: his company to continue to build top-end sports cars, and that's exactly what they did with the F50 (we'll talk about this masterpiece later).

In addition to the prosperity for Ferrari in the 1990s despite Enzo's death, came the F40's successor: the almighty F50, which like its little brother, marked an anniversary for Ferrari. The F50 was the half-century mark for Ferrari, and the effort put into the car reflects that. The F50, like the F40 is a raucous street machine that reflects Formula 1 technology, and features a naturally-aspirated 60 valve V12 pushing 525 horsepower. With a targa top that allows for an open or closed cockpit, the car is based on a central carbon fiber tub with Forumula 1 suspension. Weighing just 2249lbs, the F50 is fast as hell. PininFarina did the design work, and Ferrari built 349 F50's between 1995 and 1997. It is one of the pricier Ferraris today, and as you can see, it is an absolute beauty. I love the F50 even moreso than the F40.

Then came the new and refined TestaRossa engine in an all new beauty. The Ferrari 550 Maranello was delighted to take the newly souped up TestaRossa engine under its reigns, yielding a front-mounted V12 that pushed out nearly 485 horsepower, and pushed a 0-60 time in a mere 4.7 seconds, propelling the car at rocket-speed towards its top speed: 200MPH The car was very nicely put together, with upholstered leather interior. It also contained a newly refined suspension electronic control system. The front-mounted V12 dispelled the earlier Ferraris middle-engined V12 with ease. It was introduced in Nurburgring, Germany, where a select bit of Ferrari enthusiasts were personally given rides in it with Michael Schumacher, a racing legend. It also contained a newly refined suspension electronic control system.

Moving on to the last year for the century, Ferrari replaced the F355 with an even more modern model that is widely popular today: The 360 Modena. Working with Alcoa engineers, Montezmolo and Ferrari created an entirely aluminum car. The chassis, body, and engine alike. This 3.6L 400 horsepower V8 was offered witha 6-speed transmission or the latest F1 electrohydraulic paddle shifters, which become very popular after the launch of the 360 Modena and was used in later cars.

The Sports Racing Cars

Ferrari made in official return to sports racing cars, which it had disbanded for nearly 20 years by debuting the 333SP. Powered by a 650-horsepower 4.0L V12, the open-top prototype was created for the U.S. IMSA competition, where it was the champianship-winning car in 1995. In a career that lasted until 1999, the 333 SP won numberous races including the 12 hours of Sebring and the 24 hours of Daytona and was raced quite successfully in europe.

The 1990s, while could have rendered Ferrari a broken company with Mr. Enzo Ferrari's death, came back with such fierce striking force that it nearly knocked the hat right off of your head. The Ferrari quest wasn't over, however. The 2000s was a great year for Ferrari and is currently still ongoing at the time of this writing (March, 2008). Fasten your seatbelt, ladies and gentlemen.