Why would a man who made some of the fastest, most sought-after cars off all-time opt to drive a small British car? Let’s take a trip to Italy, to find out why.

Just imagine it: It's the 60's, the place, the terrace of a country villa in the hills Maranello, Italy. You contemplate to yourself about how old the house you're a guest in is. A couple of hundred years, surely. The blotches of missing paint and plaster on the outer walls making the house 'truly Northern Italian'. Whatever that means. The setting sun paints the whole scene an orange that pierces your eyes forcing you to squint as you reach for your prosecco, but you don't mind; everything is perfect. You muster the strength to break the calm silence with a toast to your friends when all of a sudden your cut off by the rattling of an engine. Out of nowhere, a car darts past the terrace kicking up a thick cloud of dust engulfing you and your group. Once it settles and you can breathe again, you remove your hand from the top of your glass, and you ask the home owner, just who or what that was.

Being the founder of possibly the most famous car brands in the history of motor vehicles, you would think Mr. Ferrari would only drive the fastest, most luxurious and most stylish cars, like the ones built by is namesake company. I'm sure he would get some sort of employee discount. However, you would be very wrong. So wrong that it would be embarrassing if it weren't for the fact that practically everyone else would think the same thing. The truth is that Enzo Ferrari's great passion was for his racing team, as he himself was a racing driver in his youth. But when it came to road cars, he wasn't looking for the same attributes, he was almost looking for the opposite. For example, he owned multiple Peugeots, and definitely drove a Fiat 128 at one point, neither of which would you associate with the godfather of sports cars.

However, It seems he had a special appreciation for the Mini, admiring how our little car was so innovative. Being the mechanical genius he was, he could have found many features of the classic Mini attractive. Maybe he was impressed with the space-saving traverse engine, or the fully independent suspension. Maybe it was the cars nippiness around corners or maybe it was simply the sweetness of the almost shocked expression on the front of the car. He probably appreciated how a reasonably tall man like himself (6 foot 1) could still easily fit behind the wheel (probably not the back seat). It was also reported that he was a fan of the front-wheel drive, especially in difficult, winter conditions.

And when our admirable 'little car that could' debuted its first edition of the sportier Cooper, it was only a matter of time until the Italian entrepreneur picked one up for himself. Now, the exact number of Minis own by Enzo is disputed. In an interview, John Cooper once claimed that “Enzo Ferrari owned three different Cooper S’s at different times, which he used to go up in the hills and tear around with when he got bored.” While we are not about to doubt a legend, especially one that has his name on one of Minis most famous models, it seems that the legendary entrepreneur did own at least two for certain.

One of which, a Cooper 1100 S model, which he later gave to his son, Piero, after receiving the 1300 version, would achieve multiple victories at the Mote Carlo Rally. His specific car was personally delivered by Mini designer Sir Alec Issigonis, who then bonded with Enzo over their admiration for innovation in engineering. This special car was modified in multiple ways, with the most notable being the fog lights positioned under the headlights of the car. As well as that, it had a walnut dashboard, special seats, and several other different modifications, mainly with the aim of making the car look more sporty. The car was originally painted red but was changed to metallic grey after Enzo claimed that only a Ferrari car could be painted red. Ironically, it was later repainted red in its lifetime. Car's engine was also modified to increase its top speed to 95mph (around 153km/h).

Later, the Mini would later be given to Giuseppe Navone - winner of the 1948 Mille Miglia driving a Ferrari 166 S and was head of Ferrari's testing team for their production cars at the time. Supposedly, the car is still in use today, so what more do you really need to know about the little car that even impressed the Godfather of sports cars?