A very special man

His face is well known to all the clients who were lucky enough to order one of the special series models created over the past 15 years: the F50, Enzo, Fxx and 599XX . His name is Maurizio Macalesi and he represents perfectly the world in which we work at Ferrari. Let’s get to know him for his past and his present

The small assembly line, first of the F50s, then a few years later of the Enzos, was separate from the rest of production, to the right of the old works, and you could see it in the distance when you came into the fitting shop. And, from afar, together with the magnificent lines of the models that were made there, without fail you also saw the form of a tall, dark young man with wavy hair and a serious look, always ready to break into a smile. In his red overalls, the same as those of the Racing Division, because those cars were close relatives of the Formula One models, he was never absent; as if he were the loyal captain of a ship ploughing its way through treacherous seas.



 Luckily so, since unannounced visits by the Chairman, accompanied by important guests or special customers were not infrequent: ‘Once he arrived with Eric Clapton, who already had an F50 and said, “I’ll leave him here, because he said he absolutely wanted to see you!” ‘Another time’, and here he doesn’t conceal his immense satisfaction, ‘the Chairman brought along Minister Letizia Moratti, who congratulated us on our cleanliness and on the care we took over every detail. It was really encouraging for my team – there were 12 of us making one car a day.’


The name of this young skipper, who is 49 today and, as you might expect, looks after the latest very special Ferrari series, the 599XX, is Maurizio Macalesi. You can still recognise his familiar figure there now, constantly near his creations, but he isn’t standing up any longer, actively guiding and showing “his boys” how to fit a difficult part, or suggesting an improvement to the process, the exquisitely artisan process, of his work. He sits nowadays, disabled by a difficult illness, but always completely focused on the result. ‘It’s hard,’ he says, ‘but this illness leaves the brain intact. I love Ferrari and my work.

I’ve given a lot to this company, but Ferrari has given a lot to me too. So I’m pleased to be able to work as I have always done.’ We have found him at a quiet moment, and this is the time to hear his story. ‘I had seen the tail end of the production of the F40. I dreamt of being able to work on those cars. I had joined Ferrari hoping to be a tester, everyone’s dream. I heard the Ferraris pass outside the windows of the school I attended in Modena and realised that bookkeeping was not going to be my job. It was 1980 and they set me to work on the BB and 400 production line. When I see them again today I remember every detail of how they were built, bolt by bolt. Then I started off the prototypes of the 456: this was a great school, working in a team to find the best solutions for the development of a new car.’

In those years Macalesi showed that he had the right qualities to manage and motivate men, but also the gift of interacting well with others. And so, when the F50 project started (349 cars to celebrate the 50 years of Ferrari, constructed like an F1 car) he was made responsible for the special production line. ‘It was an unforgettable experience: first working on the prototypes and then meeting customers that came to see their car being made. On the day we made the last one, the 349th, the owner came to the line to collect it and I asked him if he would put the rivets on the 349/349 plate. He did it and then he said I was lucky to be doing that job. I answered that perhaps he was luckier still, to go off with that car!’

This friendly but always very respectful relationship developed with a large number of the most important Ferrari customers and was consolidated further when the Enzo came. ‘For this car, they came to take the measurements of the seat and the pedals. Some turned up saying that they only had five minutes to spare and then stayed for two hours. I introduced the boys and said, “he will be fitting the springs, he will be preparing the cockpit.” It was very pleasant, and a lot of them asked us to put our signatures under the bonnet when the car was completed.’ 

When you listen to these stories, you realise what Ferrari really is. You understand why each customer wants his car, that very one, different from all the others. ‘With the Enzo this work on the personalisation of details was very important. We even numbered all the parts secretly so that, if necessary, we could find out whether a car had been tampered with.’ The beauty of it is that this culture of paying attention to detail does not stop with the company, but also imbues the world of the fans. ‘We were very pleased,’ adds Macalesi, ‘to find out that a model car manufacturer had made an Enzo that had our signatures under the bonnet, in miniature but absolutely perfect!’ So, 349 specimens of the F50, 399 of the Enzo. ‘Four hundred to be precise. The 400th was the one that the Chairman donated to Pope Wojtyla to auction off to raise funds for the victims of the 2006 tsunami in South-East Asia.

 I had a twofold honour: going to the Vatican when Pope John Paul II was there and returning with Chairman Montezemolo and Piero Ferrari when we handed the cheque over to the new Pope Benedict XVI. It was for nearly €1m, much more than the cost of the car.’ Macalesi remembers those moments with the thrill of a little St Francis, devoted to his work in the austerity of the production lines of a provincial town, who enters the gilded magnificence of the Vatican palaces to meet the head of Christianity: ‘I felt honoured to find my name at the entrance as somebody that His Holiness was expecting, and then the vastness of the rooms, the protocol… and then we went into the library and the Pope was there. He was much more informal than when you see him on television, and very different. It was like when Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, the President of the Republic, came to Maranello. He was very friendlyand very approachable. The boys and I gave him a model Enzo, a real honour.’

Behind his worktable set among the cars, in the area in which the preparation of the 599XX models is completed, Macalesi smiles like he used to smile before, when he did not have his new, difficult condition to face up to. And, as then, he is totally focused on his work. ‘With the 599XXs, I believe we can say that we have done a fantastic job on a really difficult challenge: in fact we haven’t had a dedicated line for this car. I have four boys, the best, who start following the body and assembly work on the 12-cylinder line. Then all the special fitting work is done and when it has already been pre-assembled it comes here. As for F1 cars, all the rest is done under my supervision.

 We have already turned out 30 of the planned 33, and the car is really fantastic if you think that it is derived from the normal production line and has a front engine.’ In fact the 599XX programme – Macalesi and his men had also followed the FXX programme directly – with the many innovations that have been brought in, is a notable test bench for the team that worked on it, from the design engineers (see issue eight of The Official Ferrari Magazine) to the mechanics that have made it and the testers that have worked on its tuning. ‘When the car is finished, it goes to Fiorano for testing. [Raffaele] De Simone and the mythical [Dario] Benuzzi are the ones that make sure everything is in order, even when it is pushed to the limit. Sometimes we have to do something and ask for a second test, but it’s rare. Usually they’re fine the first time round.’

You can see how proud of his men’s work Macalesi is when he says that the mechanics that work on the special cars are comparable with those looking after the F1 cars. ‘It’s true, and I have had to explain it to customers on occasion. The boys in our team must fit many more parts and each of them is capable of assembling the entire car. If we look at the work from the point of view of the people who do it, perhaps they are even better. I say so because I know it makes them feel proud, certainly not to make comparisons between people that are excellent anyway.

 But I think team spirit is fundamental, and if we have often found a way out of very complex problems, it’s because we believe in it and work all for one and one for all.’ The relationship that Macalesi has with the customers is very precious asset for Ferrari. When a special series car is delivered, he often leaves his telephone number so that he can always be available. A level of attentiveness that goes beyond the practice of any other company. ‘I tell them that they can ring me just to compliment us!’ And this – there is proof – often happens.

To be available on the phone also involves other duties: hearing people ask, more and more frequently, but when will the new Enzo arrive? ‘I’m getting more and more calls like this. I tell them to be patient a little longer.’ In fact this car is beginning to make its absence felt a little too much. The fact is that Chairman Montezemolo and [Ferrari CEO] Amedeo Felisa, in these cases, want to make cars that are good enough to stand for an epoch, cars that mark out the way for the technology of the future.

The ideas are there, and even something more. But the right amount of time is required, just like a good wine. In the meantime, Macalesi does not lower his guard. He knows that his experience will be precious as soon as the project gets to the stage of making production prototypes. His brain, perfect and lucid, will be able to work as it has done in the past and the results will be seen. The customers, the most loyal ones especially, know that this is so.

Source : ferrari.com