This year (2017) is the 70th anniversary of the first Ferrari being driven out of the gates of the Maranello factory by Enzo Ferrari.
AUTOSPECTACULAR 2017 Saturday, September 16. Admission prices are: $10 adult, children under 5 free, children 5-13 years $2, family (2 adults, 2 children) $20 - cash and Eftpos only. Open from 9am until 4pm. Door prize drawn at 3.30pm. |
Celebrations are being held around the world this year by Ferrari owners' clubs, with assistance from Ferrari. The New Zealand Ferrari Owners' Club led the worldwide celebrations at its annual meeting at Taupo in early March. In fact, the celebrations were on the exact day that Enzo drove that first car - March 12.
When Dunedin's Autospectacular show invited the Ferrari Owners' Club to hold a display at the annual car show, Ferrari owners throughout the South Island leapt at the opportunity. As a result, nearly 20 Ferraris will be displayed, ranging from the late 1970s to the latest models, and a couple of replicas with amazing histories.
The oldest car on display is a 512BB Boxer. Built in the late '70s, the 12-cylinder engine is laid flat like a Volkswagen or Subaru, but this car makes close to 400bhp, and has a top speed close to 300km/h. Very fast for the period.
In recent years, Ferrari has built a limited number of special vehicles of a model whose production run is about to end. As the 550 Maranello V12 was about to be replaced, a limited-edition convertible model was released. Known as the Barchetta, only 448 were built, and we are thrilled to have one on display.
The 550 range was replaced by the larger-engined 575. When Ferrari created the limited edition, they brought back a name from the past, SuperAmerica. Ferrari has always led the automotive industry with innovation. The SuperAmerica had lots of that. The clear roof was photochromatic, and could be tinted to seven different shades by the turn of a switch. And the roof mechanism is unique. It is hinged on a small buttress behind each seat, and the roof hinges rotate through 180 degrees to sit flat on the boot lid to make it a convertible. Five hundred and fifty-nine were built, and the one on display is one of three in New Zealand.
There will be two replicas on display. The most valuable car in the world is a Ferrari GTO. Rumour has it that one of the 30-plus cars built recently sold for over $50 million.
We can't promise to show one of those, but we will show the next best thing. Oamaru is home to one of the best automotive artisans in the world. Rod Tempero builds replicas of special cars, and his GTO replica is incredible. Parked beside the genuine article, you would struggle to see a difference.
Ferraris regularly appear in films and on TV. This weekend we have a genuine movie car on display. Ferris Beuller's Day Off was a movie about a young gent who borrows his father's 1963 Ferrari 250 California Spider for a great day out, before crashing it through the garage wall. With the real cars now worth many millions of dollars, the producers built 4 replicas for the movie, and one of 2 survivors will be on the Ferrari display. A beautiful car in amazing condition.
Stop by and have a look at what is probably the largest display of Ferraris ever gathered in Dunedin. Club members will be available to explain more about their cars.
