Luke, your pic didn't come up when clicked...but no matter, as an SI 330 2+2 owner I enjoy seeing the pics of the big guy using and obviously fond of this humble vehicle. That reminds me of an old story about Lyndon Johnson...he was walking toward a group of helicopters on the Whitehouse lawn and a young Marine pointed to one of them and said "sir, that's your helicopter". LBJ replied: "son, they're ALL my helicopters".
I wonder if Enzo thought of his cars that way? I know that Bill Lear thought of all Learjets as his-- in one of his biographies, there is a great story about him jumping in a customer Learjet which happened to be sitting out front of the building, because he needed to run over somewhere a few hundred miles away. "But, sir, um, that's a customer airplane!" "Oh, they won't care! Come on!" The customer came out and his airplane was gone! But when Bill came back, he gave the guy a sales pitch about how he needed to "personally test fly it" and all that, and the guy ate it up.
in my garage, i have the last official photo fo enzo hanging up. it shows the testarossa along with a f1 car and i think a 328. when the photo was taken, they placed a chair behind the opened door of the tr. enzo barely had enough strength to stand for the couple of seconds it took to take the photo. he died a couple of weeks later. the backdrop is the house he lived in and until recently, schumacher stayed in. they still use the courtyard for publicity photos
So what is the general concensus regarding "Lusso" S/N 4715 -- a rebodied 400 Superamerica, a Lusso, or a fraud? Does anyone really know if Enzo ever owned this car or is it urban legend? The reason I ask is because I just inspected #4715 this afternoon as I am in the market for a "driver" condition Lusso. I've got the engine shop checking the serial number of the motor. The car has a properly fitting hood -- but WITHOUT the traditional Lusso scoop. I could not immediately determine if the car was indeed longer/bigger than the factory Lusso geometry but it might be. I took pictures of the car and it supposedly has been "sitting" in a warehouse for many years and the owner has died leaving it to the son who's had a decent paint job put on the car and paid for some mechanical reconditioning prior to selling it this Spring. The car should be driveable in the next couple weeks. This could either be an attractive "barn find" play -- or a piece of junk (like the silver Lusso that Bonham's sold at the 2006 Gstaad auction). Comments?
I am sure Enzo "owned" or had in his home garage other Ferrari's prior to the Lusso/SA. I believe he did drive a 212, sn 0229EL. This car was delivered to him personally by Pinin Farina. There are probably other early cars he personally used or had in his possession.
By that age, he could have been like a lot of Ferrari owners today...they own one but rarely drive it!
It's said in this thread that Enzo Ferrari had a Dino GTS in purple (see posts 6+7): http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114039 Anyone got any more info on this car (I'm a little confused - if it was Enzo's car, how come it has USA lights? Were they added/replaced at a later date?) or any more pictures of it? It looks absolutely stunning! EDIT: Found another picture of the car here: http://www.pbase.com/bigbill25/image/23368240
I, too, like that word "purported." Here is a list of the 250 GTE/330 America cars purported to have been personal cars of Enzo Ferrari: 1287, 1903, 2169, 2929 and 4919. In at least one case I have recorded the amount of money Enzo is supposed to have paid SEFAC for the car. To Tom Shaunessey: I have a color Ferrari factory publicity photo of 2169 when it was new. Trade you for the two serial numbers and a little more detail on the two GTEs you picked up in S. F. Bill Preston
1287 (restamped as 2257) is mentioned in this month's SCM as well (in "Sheehan Speaks", page 45). Good to hear it's being restored in Italy. T308
In May 2006 this "4715" was sold as a 250 Lusso ($506,000) after a Bob Smith Coachworks $200,000 restoration. Someone in Texas offered it for sale in October that year. Next sighting Monaco November 2010, looks exactly like a regular Lusso apart from the frint hood which has a ridged bulge similar to a 275GTB/4. No sighting of a chassis stamping though ! The "Big Lusso", 3097, was bought out of Denver by a Frenchman in 1995.
However if Enzo did have the cars titled directly to himself would it not be possible to research this information through the Modenese authorities ? Has anyone ever tried ? Certainly in the UK it would be possible through the DVLA........
Yes he showed it to me in his cavernous collection in June 2009, whish I could have seen it outdoors. He bought it from Ferrari of Denver via Bill Orth. best regards, MS
This was Enzo's 400SA/250 GTE , with license plate MO 54083. It is 400SA chassis # 2257 equipped with a 400 SA engine but with a 250 GT 2+2 body , Blue painted with red interiors. The man on the left is Peppino Verdelli , Enzo Ferrari's mechanic and personal chauffeur for 49 years. Ciao Andrea Image Unavailable, Please Login
Please double check the link. http://www.barchetta.cc/english/All.Ferraris/Detail/2257SA.400Superamerica.htm As you can see Barchetta states that 2257 was a 400 Superamerica with a 250 GTE body. The Drake, normally hided the real nature of that car to the customers he carried with him. So during the demos, in order to amaze them, he used to affirm that it was a standard 250 GT. In any case the story of 2257 (400SA) was deeply connected with 1287GT (250GTE). Ciao Andrea
Acknowledging the risk of posting such information in the vintage forum, I attach a picture that has made its rounds in the 400 section. The car in question is not a 400i, but instead a 365 GT4/2+2. Kinda looks like il Commendatore.... Image Unavailable, Please Login
But here barchetta states.... Look at entry number 5. http://www.barchetta.cc/all.ferraris/events-stories/events/2009/collectors-corner/ferrari-400-superamerica-series-i/index.html