05/29/2005 CONCORSO FERRARI

By HARVEY SCHWARTZ and SCOTT REYNOLDS

More than one hundred, rare Ferrari's invaded Century City for the annual Ferrari Club of America Southwest Region Concorso Ferrari.

Under clear blue skies, a sea of red Ferrari's lined famous Constellation Boulevard at the intersection of Avenue of the Stars.

© Harvey Schwartz

On hand were more than 100 rare, showroom-condition Ferraris representing important models from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, up through today's all-new Ferrari F430, and the all-new Ferrari 612 Scaglletti.

Organizers of the event estimated that more than 3,000 Ferrari enthusiasts showed up for this one day event. Leading the lineup down Constellation Boulevard, and getting the most attention were two F60 Enzo's, one F50 Ferrari and one F40 Ferrari.

© Harvey Schwartz

The highlight of the day was the auctioning off of a brand new Ferrari F430 Spyder, with the proceeds going to the 11-99 Foundation. The 11-99 Foundation is a non-profit that provides money and scholarships to families of California Highway Patrol officers.

On Saturday, a Paramount Ranch Driving Tour and lunch took place for members that met at Rancho Park at 10:00AM.

The long line of Ferrari's drove up Pacific Coast Highway, then into the Santa Monica Mountains along scenic and demanding Mulholland Highway, ending at the Paramount Ranch, where a sumptuous lunch was served.

- HS

More photos from Harvey Schwartz can be found at www.autofotos.com

SUNSHINE ON A CLOUDY DAY

May 29 TH started out foggy. However, devoting an entire city block to some of the world's finest examples of tradition, speed and beauty can change the prevailing weather conditions. Over 100 Ferraris gathered on Century City's Constellation Boulevard to strut their forecast-defying stuff in this year's Concorso Ferrari. These examples of automotive excellence brought sunshine to a cloudy day.

© Scott Reynolds

Cars that usually only gather on Pebble Beach and other picturesque resort locations could, for one day, be seen at home on the asphalt. The absence of a lush, rolling green background allowed for this collection of Ferraris to be seen as the pavement-wrinkling and road-going jewels that they are. At the entrance, there were examples of Ferrari's three latest super cars, the F40, F50, and (F60) Enzo. A second Enzo was close by and had been repainted orange, very orange. (It may be interesting to note that the owner may have been mused by the car's place of origin, Orange County). These were only the first four cars; there were still about a hundred left to examine.

© Scott Reynolds

Strolling from these four super cars to the middle of the block, there were many fine examples of Ferraris of the sixties, seventies, and eighties to be seen. Several popular models such as the Dino, 308, and Daytona dotted this portion of the street. Reaching all the way back to the fifties, there was a stunning 410 Superamerica; its lustrous black and chrome surfaces, both mirror like, lit up the middle of the show. No more than ten feet from this rare find, there was equally captivating silver 250 GTO rumored to be worth millions (plural). Breaking up the combination of this older grouping was a new F430 Spider. From this center section to the end of the block, Ferrari cars from the 'nineties took over. Classics-to-be such as the 348, 355, 550, and 360 filled the final stretch of the boulevard.

© Scott Reynolds

Spanning from older, race-proven cars to those with less than one hundred miles on them, this year's Concorso Ferrari covered many generations of the marque that defined the sport car niche.

- SR

© Scott Reynolds