Could there be anything less “inclusive” than joining the extremely small group of people in a position to own a new Ferrari? The least expensive of the Italian supercar’s offerings such as the Portofino roadster start around $100,000. The brand makes Porsche seem bargain basement (you can buy a new Boxster for about $75k).
So it’s quite something to discover Ferrari’s “commitment to equality, equity and inclusion” – as announced the other day by the company’s official endorsement of the Diversity and Inclusion Charter promulgated by – of all things – Formula 1 Racing and FiA, the non-profit governing body for world motorsport.
Because – of all things – open wheel racing is perhaps the most exclusive form of motorsports there is. The hue of your skin – and what’s between your legs – do not qualify you to drive one of these things. Elite-level skill behind the wheel does. There is no place for diversity hires in open wheel racing or any other form of racing, where life and death (not just winning or losing) depends on being damned good at what you do – whether you’re behind the wheel or waiting in the pits to quick-swap wheels.
Winning is the least equitable thing there is, too – as there must by definition be losers.
And Ferrari is just about as exclusive as it gets. The only less inclusive brands being Bugatti and Maybach.
As it turns out, they are actually more inclusive – in that they will take anyone’s money. Ferrari won’t. You cannot be just anybody.
You must be the right sort.
“Potential Ferrari owners must first undergo an extensive background check to ensure they fit the mold of the brand and its desired image.”
You cannot be just any Guido.
“Other factors” that Ferrari wants to know all about “include family background, social status and additional affiliations.”
Italics added.
Your “family background”? Apparently, if your father was a Guido then you’re not the right kind of person for Ferrari. “Social status”? So you must also have the right position, the right friends, presumably – and live at the right address. Can’t have Ferraris seen parked outside of a townhouse somewhere, can we?
“Additional affiliations”? No explanation is given as to what “affiliations” might disqualify a potential Ferrari owner. Mark those exclusionary italics. The company is so effete, so snobby – so exclusionary – that you are only a “potential” Ferrari owner, irrespective of your desire for and ability to afford one. It is almost as if Ferrari copied those real estate contracts people used to use to keep the spics and niggers out of the neighborhood. The only difference then vs.now being the “spics” and “niggers” are anyone who isn’t quite politically correct enough.
“The company’s selection criteria may change depending on the make and model you’re interested in. In some cases, you may get put on a waitlist, so be patient and do your research.”
How Ferrari gets away with this – to borrow the lingo of the Leftists who always express great concern when they encounter anything that isn’t “inclusive” – is astounding on legal grounds alone. If a coffee shop refused to take the money tendered by a person wanting to buy a cup because that person didn’t “fit the mold of the brand and its desired image”- they’d be hounded by the Equity Police – so to speak. There are laws against that sort of thing. Whether there should be is another matter. But the fact is, there are – and Ferrari appears to be getting away with flouting them. In the most gaudily effronterous, hypocritical manner imaginable.
