Karajan's Ferrari

Karajan was so upset and maybe traumatized that he sold his GT40 and returned to Porsche- with the same registration plate Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I had NO idea conductors made this kind of $$$.

 

Well the Von indicates that he must come from an aristocratic family (and possible a wealthy one), but also as conductor of the Berlin Philarmonic, plus the concerts, and I think mostly the records he sold all over the years (it was his label so he kept most of the $$$ on every album sold!) he was certainly very very wealthy !

 

He has also a 1988 Porsche 959 #
#900216

 

I corresponded with Grace Bumbry recently and she confirmed the story of her competing with von Karajan in her Miura.

"The car gave me a great pleasure, competing against Maestro Herbert von Karajan, who was the conductor of the Carmen film, that I have been performing in at the time."

Lovely lady. Very sadly she died in May this year.

 

They did back then, and some might still today. von Karajan was possibly the best selling classical artist of his era-- he sold a lot of records.

Kent Nagano is an American conductor who also likes his Ferraris...

 

Well, as Enzo says the "Von" denoted nobility of some sort, which may mean bucks somewhere...

If he only had the "Zu"...

 

(((Although it is easily identifiable as a US Model 575, this car was a USA Spec car, ordered from the factory with European delivery. A well-known option available to American BMW and Mercedes buyers, but maybe not so commonly known with Ferraris. The first owner Kent Nagano was an orchestra conductor who was living in Paris in 2003, when he was offered the position of Music Director for the Los Angeles Opera. He bought this 575 to celebrate and with knowledge that he would shortly be leaving Europe, he ordered a USA spec car thru Charles Pozzi Ferrari France with intentions of bringing to the US. He took delivery in Paris on 10/14/03. The 575 was shipped to USA, and registered in CA with 97 miles on in early 2004. It appears that he sold the car to another California owner in 2007 with 3,770 miles. )))

https://www.classicdriver.com/en/car/ferrari/575/2003/371995

 

Does anybody know the whereabouts of @Maranello Guy ? Anyway, thanks to him for this thread and to @nico5000GT for reviving it. It reminds me that these cars weren’t just a symbol of wealth, but also of elegance and refinement.

 

NO!

 

Well, to "race" a Miura is for sure not a very entertaining attempt and I truly believe that von Karajan`s GT40 (not a race-version!) was much better suited for a track day. So the Maestro had a fantastic talent as a musician and conductor - but probably not as a "racer".

 

Gentlemen: May I suggest to do all this non-Ferrari stuff and political issues in the P&R section?

Marcel Massini

 

Sorry - let's return to cars!
It is very likely that Grace Bumbry was the superior driver - Karajan crashed his 959 and got a second one with cloth seats as extra Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

So the questions still remain open - where is it today?

 

In Switzerland.

Marcel Massini