Academy-award winning actor Robert De Niro, 71, is set to produce and portray the legendary Italian motor racing entrepreneur, Enzo Ferrari in a biopic that is to begin filming later this year in Italy and set to be released in 2016.

Written by Stephen J. Rivele and Christopher Wilkinson, the film will reportedly cover the period between 1945 to the 1980s.  Clint Eastwood has shown interest in directing the epic movie.

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The film, simply titled  "Ferrari," and considered to be an 'epic' big budget production, is produced by Gianni Bozzacchi and TriBeCa Film, De Niro's own production company.

De Niro says it would be an honor to play the role of an "extraordinary man who revolutionized the world of motor sport" and says the project will take precedence over his other ongoing projects. 

Ferrari, who died in 1988 at the age of 90, was an Italian racecar driver and the founder of the Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix motor racing team. He was widely known as "il Commendatore" or "il Drake".

Ferrari was made a Cavaliere del Lavoro in 1952, adding to his honors of Cavaliere and Commendatore in the 1920s.  He also received a number of honorary degrees, the Hammarskjöld Prize in 1962, the Columbus Prize in 1965, and the De Gasperi Award in 1987. In 1994, he was posthumously inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.

Before his death he witnessed the launch of the Ferrari F40, one of the greatest road cars at that time. In 2002 the first car to be named after him was launched as the Enzo Ferrari.

TagsRobert De Niro, Enzo Ferrari, biopic, motor sport, Italian