Has anyone heard of Roger Mauro Ferrari? | FerrariChat

Has anyone heard of Roger Mauro Ferrari?

Discussion in 'Vintage (thru 365 GTC4)' started by chabch, Mar 24, 2012.

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  1. chabch

    chabch Formula 3

    Aug 15, 2010
    1,075
    France
    Full Name:
    Christophe
    Hi everyone,

    I'm trying to find out more about Roger Mauro Ferrari, the Denver's Ferrari dealership for a long time. It seems to have vanished early in the 90's (I think?), but I can't really find any info on it.

    Does anybody know anything about this old dealership and who Roger Mauro was?

    My car was delivered new there, and according to what I found about it, it belonged to the dealership's owner from 1990 to 1991. I'm wondering weather Mr. Mauro was the owner or if someone else owned the dealership then.

    I found a few vintage Ferrari sold new there in the 60' and 70's, so I thought I'd ask in this section.

    Thanks!
     
  2. toggie

    toggie F1 World Champ
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    Nov 30, 2003
    19,036
    Virginia
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    Toggie (Ron)
    #2 toggie, Mar 24, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    The Denver dealership and two of its service technicians (Ken Sindall and David Tourtlot) are mentioned in this Larry Crane story about a Testarossa traveling across the country.

    http://www.velocetoday.com/a-car-life-by-larry-crane-3/

    Apparently, Roger Mauro ran a racing team of Midget racers back in the day.
    Here is the post where I found this photo of him.
    http://autoracingmemories.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1404
    Roger is the guy on the right standing behind the Midget racer.
    You can see his name on the hood of the car.
    .
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  3. chabch

    chabch Formula 3

    Aug 15, 2010
    1,075
    France
    Full Name:
    Christophe
    Thanks, Ron. It's a great story, and thanks for the picture!

    One of the two comments at the bottom of the page says: "This must be a very very old story. Denver’s Roger Mauro Ferrari hasn’t been around for at least 2 decades. Roger Mauro had a Plymouth dealership also, just down the road from the Ferrari’s. We bought a 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner there and I remember gracing the same roads as did the Testarossa many years later at some pretty phenomenal speeds also."

    The comment is dated from Feb 2009, but my car was delivered in 1990, so I think the person is off by a few years and it's been less than two decades.

    I also found this 1991 F40 delivered at Roger Mauro Ferrari.

    http://www.legendarymotorcar.com/site/1991_Ferrari_F40
     
  4. lowmiler

    lowmiler Karting

    Aug 9, 2010
    152
    I owned a 328 that was serviced at Roger Mauro. My service book had their stamp in it with Kenny Sindal's signature.
     
  5. jimpo1

    jimpo1 Two Time F1 World Champ
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    Jul 30, 2001
    24,510
    Dallas, TX
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    Jim E
    I used to go there as a younger man and drool over their cars. I'll never forget the time their salesman offered to let me sit in a Mondial. I couldn't believe how cool that was. It was on Colfax, not exactly a nice area of town.
     
  6. BLT2DRIVE

    BLT2DRIVE Karting

    Nov 3, 2008
    234
    Holmby Hills,Calif.
    Full Name:
    Todd Varble
    I had bought a couple of cars there in the early to mid-eighties while I lived there... I've been back now in recent years as one of my friend's bought a ranch up near Estes Park... Denver & Boulder has certainly changed a lot since I was there...Too bad the dealership is gone... Maybe check Denver Post archives to determine the date of change of ownership or demise... * ( A can't miss stop if in the Denver/Bouder area... www.ShelbyAmericanCollection.com )
     
  7. Four7EightBHP

    Four7EightBHP Formula Junior
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Feb 20, 2005
    288
    USA - Colorado
    In 1980-81, I used to stop by the Mauro dealership on west Colfax after work, hoping to catch a glimpse of an occasional 308 they would have. I don't know much currently about Roger Mauro other than to say that dealership morphed into what is now Ferrari of Denver and is now located in a much better area. Bill and Phyllis Stewart have FOD and if I remember correctly, Bill goes back to the days of Roger Mauro and knows a lot of the history.

    Bill and Phyllis are some of the finest people in the business!
     
  8. Challenge64

    Challenge64 F1 Veteran
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    Jul 28, 2004
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    Ron
    As far as I know Roger Mauro passed away some time ago.

    Yes (as another stated) the dealership was on West Colfax. South side of the street in a rather bland building. A friend's parents went there for a party and got a wine glass with "Roger Mauro Ferrari" engraved on it. This would have been late 1970's early 1980s?

    A few of the cool cars I've seen there was their first Ferrari F40 and a Dino 246 GT with no bumpers.

    I personally hung out there around 1987-1988. I lived down the street and had a Ferrari 308 that needed a lot of attention. I was often there for service work.
     
  9. randyzimmer

    randyzimmer Rookie

    Mar 10, 2013
    1
    Sorry to bring this old thread back to life but I was looking up Roger to see what may be out there about him and found this.
    I moved to Denver in '72 and got a job at the Chry/Plym building - on one side was imports and I worked on Fiat and Triumph. I left after 2 years, but came back and worked at a new location on Wadsworth near the 6th Ave ramps - that was Fiat/Lancia.
    Roger had a few brothers, one was Chuck who owned a Sprint car and Johnny who raced an Alfa in the 1948 Indy 500. (his car is displayed at the museum at Indy)
    When I left in '75 or '76 there were plans to open the Ferrari dealership fairly soon and one or both of the brothers were slated to run it (I think).
    Roger also had a stand-alone Fiat store downtown.
    Roger promoted the Midget shows at Lakeside Speedway the years I was there and had one of the first Edmond VW engined Midgets with Dave Strickland as the driver. Jan Opperman drove the old Sesco car at Erie once and it was magic until the axle fell out.
    Mel Kenyon did prep work on his car in our shop - that was a big deal to me.
    On a trip through Denver quite a few years later, it could have been '81, I stopped at the Ferrari store on Colfax and looked around but I didn't recognize anyone I knew. Pretty sure the Chrysler store was boarded up then.
    The bottom line is that Roger was a big-time racing fan that loved traditional USAC-style racing, Pikes Peak and Italian machinery. Seems like most of the employees there raced cars, crewed on them or owned them. He was quite a guy.
     
  10. MolokaiCowboy

    MolokaiCowboy Rookie

    Sep 20, 2013
    1
    I purchased a 1985 308 GTBi from Roger Mauro Ferrari in 1988. Had some nice chats with Roger several times. He once owned a Rambler dealership on 41st & Tejon in North Denver (where he grew up in what was then Denver's Little Italy).

    Roger died while on vacation in Hawaii. He was snorkeling in Hanauma Bay on the east side of Oahu when (if memory serves) he had a heart attack. It felt odd to see his death notice int he newspaper as I had just spoken with him two days before...

    I remember him telling me when he first opened Roger Mauro Ferrari what a difficult sell they were. Then - bam - the market exploded in the early 1980s.

    Very pleasant fellow, could tell great stories of the old days. Well liked and respected in the community.
     
  11. Glassman

    Glassman F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed Silver Subscribed

    I was there once a long time ago. I remember there was a 275GTB having the battery replaced out in the parking lot. The mechanic told me it belonged to somebody who was just passing thru on a road trip.
     
  12. godabitibi

    godabitibi F1 Veteran
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    Jan 11, 2012
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    Claude Laforest
    #12 godabitibi, Oct 12, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  13. chabch

    chabch Formula 3

    Aug 15, 2010
    1,075
    France
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    Christophe
    Wow, our cars must have sat next to one another in the showroom! Or even been on the boat together as mine was manufactured in June. Thanks for posting this!
     
  14. ncng

    ncng Rookie

    Jun 13, 2016
    16
    I bought an 1976 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT from Rodger Mauro Ferrari in 1994, my friend then went the next day and bought an 1984 Maserati Bi-Turbo,
    we became good friends with the mechanics, the Maserati needed alot of love :), the Alfa was awesome!, one day Sylvester Stallone showed up in his
    F40, he had just driven it from Aspen, he complained he got pulled over twice making the 3-1/2 hour drive in "A Little Over 2 Hours" were his words to
    Rodger, Sly then chatted with Rodger and us two 26 year old Rocky and Ferrari fans, they where storing the car for him, about 30 minutes later a black
    Mercedes 500 showed up and took him to the airport. Both Sly and Rodger where great to talk too. ncng
     
  15. 4zaJim

    4zaJim Formula Junior

    May 15, 2012
    838
    Los Angeles
    Full Name:
    Jim
    My '82 GTSi was sold new by Roger Mauro Imports to the original owner. A real long shot, but I have often wondered whether anyone might have archived any sort of dealer records such as allocation info, etc. As I said, a real long shot.
     
  16. Kapi

    Kapi Rookie

    May 25, 2016
    1
    A Roger Mauro Ferrari story. I went over towards closing to get my car after routine maintenance. An older gentleman was there fetching his bright red Daytona. In comparison my 308 seemed like a Fiat! Both cars were just outside the bays. They set the alarm and we were all talking outside by the cars. The older gent fired up his Daytona, revved the engine - and set off the alarms!

    I think Roger's older brother (who looked very much like Roger) took over after Roger's passing. The shop was there for a few more years. I haven't driven by lately, don't know if the building is occupied - or even still standing. My car was a lovely anthracite with a red interior. The person who purchased it from me painted it black...
     
  17. Stunts318

    Stunts318 Rookie

    Jul 4, 2019
    11
    DFW, TX
    Full Name:
    Rich
    Do you still have your 308? What vin is it?
    I was told my ‘82 308 was sold NEW there in ‘83 but the person told me they couldn’t share any documents, etc. to confirm.
    Not sure if my car really sat for a YEAR before being sold…
     
  18. 4zaJim

    4zaJim Formula Junior

    May 15, 2012
    838
    Los Angeles
    Full Name:
    Jim
    I do. 37557

    I have some documentation . . . including window sticker, warranty book, etc.
    I need to refresh my memory on the records I have . . . some not really confirmed . . . but my car was a very early '82 . . . a May '81 build . . . and the original owner did not purchase from Mauro until sometime in '83 . . . so I believe my car was in limbo for around 2 years?!
     

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