Just curious, a question for the brain trust... Are there any known vintage Ferraris in Cuba? Seems to me, with the money, lifestyle, etc., of the late fifties, before Castro, and the suddenness of the power shift, that if there were in vintage Ferraris there, that it's likely the would still be there. Mike
If there are, by this time they probably all have Russian tractor engines. Seriously though, I think that Julio might be best qualified to answer that one.
Good question. Years ago there were rumors (ultimately unfounded, I think) that a Porsche Carrera Speedster was hidden in a cave somewhere on the Cuban coast, but I've never heard any talk, rumor or otherwise, about old Ferraris on the island.
The father of an old college buddy of mine was minister of Transportation under Batista. They had to leave in a hurry and left most everything... If I remember the story correctly he left behind a Gullwing....
I have heared that the Gullwing is already out of Cuba, a sort of. The story that was told is that a person took all numbered parts of the car and the piece of the chassis with the number in it and that a new car was built arround these numbers and that the rest of the car is still in Cuba. Do not know if it is true, but sounds good.
All my father's cars (5 Ferraris, 1 Maserati, and the Gullwing which he sold to Armando Cifuentes) are out of the country (two of them are in my garage). I am in close contact with a Spaniard that travels to Cuba once a year on car buying expeditions. There is very little left, and the few remaining cars are all uninteresting, in atrocious condition and very incomplete. I am not saying there isn't something hidden somewhere, but I doubt it. Cubans are not stupid. Most of the valuable stuff was confiscated and sold a long time ago. Julio P.S: Just in case: Batista is a common name in Cuba. My father was not related to the dictator.
I had the opportunity to visit Havana earlier this year and was looking forward to seeing some cool old cars. Unfortunatly most of the Fifties vintage american iron I saw on the street were highly modified 4 doors of various makes which had long ago been reengined with Soviet Block powerplants of various types. I asked some of the locals and was told that most of the collectable cars had been exported already, the majority to Canada. In addition to the old US cars there was an intersting assortment of older Ladas which appeared to be rebadged Fiats. Also of interest was the vast number of newish Hyundai and Kia models.
I did a tour on Cuba earlier this year. In Havana I saw a Porsche 356 (outside, bad condition) and a BMW Isetta driving on the road. Best regards Kevin
The (or a) Cuban Gullwing, together with some others cars, was in Classics and sportscars magazine years ago.
There is a dusty run down car museum in Old Havana that has a Ferrari that is said to be Fangio's race car. I could not get in to inspect it closely, but I could see that it was in there with a few other quasi-exotics. Apparently just prior to the Cuban Grand Prix in 1958 which was hosted by the then leader President Batista, Fangio was kidnapped by Castro's guerrilla forces. The kidnapping was designed to show up the government and big worldwide attention to their cause. Fangio was actually well taken care of by the rebels, and did not feel that he was in danger. He was turned over to the Argentine embassy soon after the race, and Castro's group got the publicity they were seeking. Somehow, as the story goes, Fangio's car never made it off the island and is still in the run down museum in Old Havana.
eh....Fangio was was sheduled to race a Maserati 450S, chassis #4508, in the `58 Cuba event. The previous year he won the race in a Maserati 300S, chassis #3067. Fangio never drove a Ferrari befor or after 1956. Perhaps the mysterious Ferrari you menioned belonged to Fidel...:) Ciao! Walter
Not sure where they came from, but here's a couple. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Here's some shots of the kind of cars left. A few good, but a lot more of them are bad and ugly, mostly just used up Detroit iron... http://community.webshots.com/slideshow/581975807unQFBC
well, the 300 sl roadster of amadeo barletta is still there i believe, his maserati a6g is sold but still in cuba, there is also an abarth 750 bialbero zagato there and an old hispano in à field.. not salvagable nik
well, the 300 sl roadster of amadeo barletta is still there i believe, his maserati a6g is sold but still in cuba, there is also an abarth 750 bialbero zagato there and an old hispano in à field.. not salvagable nik
Somewhat along the lines of this thread: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/13/us-cuba-cars-idUSTRE7BC21820111213
Nice thread Mike. A good question indeed. I took to google and found these. Not Ferrari so sorry for the off topic... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
And the interesting articles on the Gullwing. Even some of the comments have some great info. Like Jeremy Clarson's Motorworld, Cuba? http://caristas.blogspot.com/2009/12/discovered-in-cuba-rare-mercedes-bird.html http://caristas.blogspot.com/2009/12/gullwing-bits-and-pieces.html
I went to Cuba a few times and never saw a Ferrari or a Gullwing , but i saw some nice Fiats in the dealer in Havana , Also in Santa Clara i saw a old 30`s ford coupe with no windows , but had a license plate so it was being used, probably had a old tractor motor in there , they will take any motor and put in in any car , any running gear for that matter in any body + chassis and drive it on the road , its amazing .
