We are a community which invests every day in a sustainable manner for a better future which will provide support, security, and solidarity to its people, their families, and the area where we operate with recognition and gratitude.
Whether on the road, on the track, or in space, we have always put every fiber of our being into play. Most of all, the technological fiber which has allowed us to pursue the mission which was always so clear in the mind of Giampaolo Dallara: designing and manufacturing the fastest and safest vehicles in the world.
But above all, the human fiber, that which makes people able to take on ever-more complex challenges in a world where, when racing over the asphalt or flying over the earth, you can do so only if guided by a common denominator: passion.
A passion that the engineer put at the service of his team when he founded the company and imbued it with three values – humility, loyalty, and curiosity – shared unanimously by the human capital which has made Dallara a fully fledged community every day for over 50 years.
Humbleness
Humility means knowing how to listen in order to learn. To do your job with passion, determination, and competence, learning from errors, sharing knowledge, and overcoming difficulties with resilience, in the knowledge that the greatest danger is thinking you know something when you do not.
Integrity
Loyalty is based on mutual respect: with colleagues, clients, suppliers, and the community in which we live and work. We believe in our word, and honoring our commitments. We wish to create bonds based on honesty, trust, and reliable human relations.
Curiosity
Curiosity is the lever to do what we have always done even better. With willingness, enthusiasm and a love for knowledge, challenging what already exists and thinking about it in a new way, with a flexible mind and the continuous willingness to learn.
Heritage
Dallara Group: the Story of a Company which Traced a New path in the World of Motorsport
You must always strive to improve, because none of your competitors are standing still.
History teaches us that numerous companies were born in the homes of their founders, but there is a garage in Varano de’ Melegari, Italy where right from the beginning the passion which would mark the road the company would take and its identity was clear: a love for race cars.
That house was Giampaolo Dallara‘s. Born in 1936, he studied aerospace engineering at university, but had a great enthusiasm and tenacity for a particular dream he had always held: “Creating the fastest and safest race cars in the world.”
His passion for engineering and for motor racing was clear as far back as 1959 when he began working at Ferrari as a new graduate. In addition to this passion was abundant talent, which was further nurtured when he moved to Maserati, and a few years later to Lamborghini.
He worked there until 1972, when he decided to found his own company: Dallara Automobili.
1959 Giampaolo Dallara (center) alongside Enzo Ferrari
More than
50 years
of history
1972
Everything began in the family home of Giampaolo Dallara, the headquarters where the engineer created the first Dallara vehicle alongside his two most trusted employees: the SP 1000, a three-seater monocoque made of sheet steel, with a central driving position.
1978
This year saw the creation of the first Formula 3, the Dallara 378, a race car destined to dominate the category at an international level.
1984
In the 1980s, wind tunnels were a technology that few manufacturers possessed, not even Formula 1 teams. In 1984, Dallara built the first wind tunnel in Italy with a moving belt, followed in 1995 by the second in which 40% scale models could be tested, for even greater realism.
1985
Innovation at Dallara did not stop: the F385 took to the track as the first monocoque made from carbon fiber, an aerospace-derived composite material which had only been used by a few Formula 1 teams up to that point.
1991
Nineteen years had passed since Dallara started working in his own garage. In 1991, the new Dallara plant was inaugurated: a 3500 m2 building on the edge of Varano de’ Melegari.
1998
370 km/h was the average speed traveled on the Indianapolis circuit on which Dallara won the Indy 500 for the first time in 1998. Since then, successes have piled up, and it is now the manufacturer with the most wins in the race’s history. Since 2012, all vehicles racing on the track have been supplied by Dallara.
2007
In October 2007, Andrea Pontremoli joined Giampaolo Dallara, leaving IBM Italia after nearly 30 years. He became CEO and General Manager, and his propensity for constantly seeking out technological innovation gave a further boost to the engineering expertise which had always set the company apart.
2008
Ten million Euros, a fan 4.1 meters in diameter and some of the most sophisticated software in the world, able to simulate pitch, roll and yaw: these are the specs behind Dallara’s third wind tunnel, a tool able to test scale models of up to 60%.
2011
Investments in technology did not stop: in 2011 the first professional driving simulator was installed to study vehicle dynamics. Mathematical models allow the drivers to get behind the wheel of vehicles which have not even been built yet, and test infinite scenarios in an incredibly precise manner before the car becomes reality.
2012
Dallara became the sole official supplier of the NTT Indycar Series, and in the same year opened its US site in Speedway, right next to the Indianapolis circuit. It is a multi-functional engineering and edutainment center, where the Indycars themselves are assembled and where enthusiasts of all ages can come to have fun and learn how a race car is built.
2014
Technology is key in Indianapolis, too: the second driving simulator is installed in the USA site.
2015
Composites are an area of R&D which Dallara has always made significant investments in. In 2015, two dedicated structures were founded: the Dallara Compositi production center, and DARC (Dallara Advanced Composite Research Center), a center for R&D into new materials.
2017
All expertise acquired over the years in aerodynamics, vehicle dynamics, and composite materials come together in a single automobile born of the founder’s dream: the Dallara Stradale, a race car with license plates, type approved for road use.
2018
The bond with the area where the company is based has always been very strong. In 2018 the Dallara Academy was founded, a building housing 50+ years of history but which also aims to be a point of contact with the community of Varano de’ Melegari. As well as displaying the vehicles which make up Dallara’s history, the Academy also hosts didactic workshops, lessons for the Race Car Design Master’s Degree, as well as events and initiatives of various types.
2020
The expertise gained on race tracks in over 50 years of work allowed the Dallara team to bring its drive for technological, product and process innovation to a sector where development times are usually longer: the aerospace field. Thus, the new business unit entirely dedicated to aerospace projects was born.
2021
Another sports car hit the track, with the goal of representing the company’s most deeply held values. The Dallara EXP was born. Where EXP stands for EXPerience, EXPeriment, EXPonential, EXPertise.
2024
Axiom Mission 3
Participation in the Axiom Mission 3 to study advanced materials and assess their ability to shield against radiation. A research project looking toward the future of space exploration, improving astronaut health and performance, and opening new perspectives in radioprotection technologies against cancer.
Dallara AK e-Sports
Dallara AK E-Sports was established in the USA with the aim of exploring the development of advanced technologies for sim racing. This new venture stems from the collaboration between Dallara and AK Informatica: a significant step toward innovation that will enable experimentation and implementation of cutting-edge solutions in the virtual world of simulated racing.
2025
Inauguration of the headquarters of the Caterina Dallara Foundation, established in October 2021 with the goal of creating value and opportunities with and for the community of Varano de’ Melegari and the surrounding area through the development and support of socially beneficial projects.
Want to take a tour of our history? Visit the display area at the Dallara Academy
The cars which represent the history of the company and its founder: from the Miura to the X19; from the sports cars built in partnership with Lancia to the Indycars which race in the US championship; from the Le Mans prototypes through to series such as Formula 3 and Formula E, right up to the Stradale. The Academy’s display area is a fully fledged tour of the most significant steps in Dallara’s journey towards a new way of designing and building track and road cars.
Eng. Giampaolo Dallara
Founder, Partner and President
“Race car design is a wonderful job that forces you yo compare with others. It makes it essential to acknowledge the value of your competitors, either when you succeed and when you fail, and it gives you enthusiasm to both improve and learn new things.”
Giampaolo Dallara's Vision
Giampaolo Dallara is a man whose innate passion for motors and his perseverance led to the creation of a company which now employs around 800 people. It is a company which plays a leading role in the design and manufacture of high-performance race cars and sports cars.
he founder, an engineer first and foremost, is still a regular presence in the company, sitting beside his employees and continuing to write the future of motorsport alongside them.
He was hired by Enzo Ferrari personally for his first job, and worked with drivers of the caliber of Roger Penske and Bruce McLaren; he was the technical director responsible for the creation of the Lamborghini Miura, and while working for De Tomaso he designed the Formula 1 car run by Frank Williams. He still has the same love for cars instilled in him when he saw the legendary Mille Miglia for the first time as a child.
What he tries to convey to the new generations who come to work at Dallara is the ability to look to the future and invest in it with hope, because he himself never stops thinking about the future. It was for this reason that in 2018 he founded the Dallara Academy and Motorvehicle University of Emilia-Romagna (MUNER), supported by the Emilia-Romagna Region and created thanks to a synergistic partnership between the universities of Parma, Modena-Reggio Emilia, Bologna and Ferrara, as well as the companies based in nearby Motor Valley.
Alongside his daughter Angelica, a member of the group, he set up the Fondazione Caterina Dallara foundation in 2021, in memory of his own daughter who died in 2007, with the goal of promoting the social and cultural growth of the area, with a particular focus on young people and the vulnerable.
Andrea Pontremoli
Partner and CEO
“Innovation is a social phenomenon. It means doing what others don’t. It means combining existing inventions to make them into models of businesses, products and services which did not previously exist.”
Andrea Pontremoli's Vision
Andrea Pontremoli spent most of his working career in IBM Italia, where he began repairing computers in 1980, before becoming president and CEO in 2004. A short time later, in 2007, he met Giampaolo Dallara and decided to accept a new challenge: take the helm of the Dallara Group alongside its founder.
Pontremoli immediately had clear ideas on the foundations that a company must rest on in order to grow and evolve: listening and sharing, competition and mistakes. In a single word: innovation.
A company which is closed to itself is destined to die: it must always be open to listening and sharing, because you learn by working together. And knowing where to benefit from competition and from mistakes: competing helps companies grow, because during a race either you win or you learn from your mistakes; this is why making mistakes, using the potential offered by technology, is necessary in order to innovate. Only by so doing is it possible to transform and evolve business models, and adapt them to meet market requirements.
His commitment to technological development has not been limited to within Dallara. Andrea Pontremoli indeed believes that innovation must permeate the entire local area and the communities that live there, and for this reason, as well as being president of MUNER (Motorvalley University of Emilia-Romagna), he is also:
- President of Innovation Farm, a non-profit which has the mission of raising the quality of the education and training on offer, spreading scientific and technical expertise in line with market innovations, increasing the employability of young people and making the local production system competitive
- President of ASPHI, a foundation which aims to promote inclusion of people with disabilities at school, work, and society at large through the use of digital technologies.
- Since 2025, president of Motor Valley, the industrial district in Emilia-Romagna that brings together some of the world’s most prestigious motorsport and automotive brands.