By: Ed Niles The weather Gods smiled on the Hills of Beverly, on June 24, l995; it was definitely a sun-screen kind of day for Rodeo Drive III!
For the third iteration of this famous event, Ferrari of North America, the Southwest Region of the Ferrari Club of America, and the merchants of Rodeo Drive cooperated in turning glitter gulch into a giant Ferrari parking lot.
The President of Ferrari North America, Dott. Gian Luigi Buitoni, announced the unveiling of the new car, shown here as it sat covered on the showroom floor of Ferrari of Beverly Hills before its unveiling Friday night and afterwards.
With Rodeo blocked off to traffic from Wilshire to Santa Monica Blvd., about 150 beautiful Ferraris were on display for the entire day. With no admission charge, the spectators were free to come and go as they chose, so of course it is difficult to say how many people enjoyed the display. Estimates range as high as several hundred thousand citizens, ranging from jewelry shoppers to hard-core Ferrari enthusiasts.
This year, the emphasis was on pre-1973 Ferraris, although there was a sprinkling of 308's, various types of boxers, etc. Cars on display ranged from car No. 002C, the Spyder Corsa, to a very new F355 Spyder.
In addition to 002C, David Sydorick displayed his 500 Mondial Spyder and his 250 MM Spyder. Lyle Tanner brought his beautiful 750 Monza down from Northern California, and Bruce and Carolyn Trenery brought the ex- Schanbacher 308GT4/LM and their 275 GTS from Northern California as well.
Competition Ferraris were also in abundance. Here the Spyder Corsa is is shown in front of a 348 Challenge car and an F333 SP.
A number of Ferraris which had won major awards at Pebble Beach and the FCA National at Monterey were on display, including Roger Karlson's 410 SuperAmerica, Ron Hein's 250 GT Cabriolet, the beautiful red and black 2l2 Vignale Berlinetta once owned by Tony Anthony and the 2l2 Vignale Coupe which ran in the l951 Carrera Panamericana. Tillack & Co., also brought a number of other interesting cars, including the 340 Mexico Spyder and the 1956 Zagato Tour de France 250. 250 GT California Spyders were almost so numerous as to become common place!
Ferrari Spyders, old and new in glitter gulch. Shown here are a new F355 Sypder, a 1959 250 GT SWB California Spyder and a 1962 250 GT LWB California Sypder.
Modena Sport Cars displayed a beautiful 250 GT Cabriolet in an unusual dark metallic green color, while European Auto Sales brought its 1953 625 Formula I Ferrari. And parked nearby was the 1953 factory transporter on which the 625 might once have travelled, displayed by Richard Freshman of Fossil Motorsports. Symbolic Motors and Chuck Betz and Fred Peters each brought three or four cars from their extensive collections, and collector Bob Lee brought the partially restored 166 Barchetta No. 0002 which he had acquired just one week before at the Willet Brown auction. Later cars of interest included a 333 SP, a matching pair of 512BB/LM "Boxers", and a 288 GT0 as well as several F-40's.
Celebrities were in evidence everywhere, both as exhibitors, judges and spectators. Broadcaster Paul Moyer had his beautiful 275 GTB/4 on display, and the celebrity judges included Jay Leno, Carroll Shelby, Bruce Jenner, and ZZ-Top.
Picture yourself here (behind the sheel of a new F355 Spyder).
Judging was very low key; not at all what one might have expected from a major car show. With input from the spectators and the celebrity judges, three awards were made in each of eight different categories (results below). The class awards, made by Schedoni, (Ferrari's leather-working subcontractor) consisted of beautifully mounted brake rotors, exhaust headers, and bearings from Formula 1 Ferraris.
Who says the F355 doesn't have any trunk space? You just need the official fitted luggage from Schedoni.
Our thanks go to Gian Luigi Buitoni of Ferrari of North America, Don Meder of the Southwest Region, and all the merchants of Rodeo Dr. and Rodeo Pl. for a job well done! At the end of the day, Dott. Buitoni promised "we'll do it again in two years"!
The city of Beverly Hills had special banners for the event flying throughout the city. These banners were available for sale.
Rosso Rodeo Celebrity Judging - Award Winning Exhibitors
| Competition Sport |
| 1957 250 TR | s/n 0666TR | Charles and Carol Betz, Fred Peters |
| 1978 512 BB/LM | s/n 29507 | Ron Busutil |
| 1953 250 MM Coupe | s/n 0239GT | Tillack and Co. |
|
| Competizione Formula |
| 1953 625 F1 | s/n 0482 | European Auto Sales |
| 1947 166 Spyder Corsa | s/n 002C | David Sydorick |
| 1955 121 LM | s/n 0546LM | Bill Ziering |
|
| Gran Turismo Spyder Pre 1960 |
| 1958 250 GT Cabriolet Series I | s/n 0789 | Ron Hein |
| 1959 250 GT Comp. Spyder | s/n 1451GT | Jon Masterson |
| 1957 250 GT Spyder Prototype | s/n 0769GT | Warren Weiner |
|
| Gran Turismo Spyder Post 1960 |
| 1969 365 GTS | s/n 12285 | Richard and Kim Freshman |
| 1969 365 California Spyder | s/n 9127 | Scott Borman |
| 1961 250 GT Cabriloet Series II | s/n 2361 | Modena Sport Cars |
|
| Gran Turismo Berlinetta Pre 1960 |
| 1957 410 Superamerica | s/n 0721SA | Roger Karlson |
| 1950 212 Export Coupe-Vignale | s/n 0080E | Tillack and Co. |
| 1954 Europa | s/n 0349 | Paul Forbes |
|
| Gran Turismo Berlinetta Post 1960 |
| 1971 365 GTB/4 Daytona | s/n ????? | Jayson Hymes |
| 1973 365 GTB/4 Daytona | s/n 16999 | Ron Busutil |
| 1964 250 GTL | s/n 5425 | Mike and Becky Dunn |
|
| Speciale |
| 1957 250 GT | s/n ???? | Greg Garrison |
| 1967 330 GT Michelotti | s/n 9083 | Gary Thieltges |
| 1950 195S | s/n 0053S | Dick Marconi |
|
| People's Choice |
| 1964 250 GTL | s/n 5425 | Mike and Becky Dunn |
| 1976 308 GTB | s/n ????? | Soorena Tabibi |
| 1957 250 TR | s/n 0666TR | Charles and Carol Betz, Fred Peters |
