The 10 Most Exciting Ferraris at the Cavallino Classic

9 min

January 29, 2025 | Robb Report

The 10 Most Exciting Ferraris at the Cavallino Classic

9 min

With Enzo Ferrari’s great-grandson as the new president of the concours, the field of 150 Prancing Horses was especially memorable.

Robb Report

January 29, 2025

Originally published by Robb Report.

For this year’s Cavallino Classic, a celebration of the finest automotive examples from Ferrari, there was one key addition to the festivities; Enzo was in the house. Enzo Mattioli Ferrari, that is, CEO of Bacchelli & Villa, Ferrari Family Investments and the great-grandson of il Commendatore himself, founder of the marque. The namesake heir is the newly appointed president of Cavallino Inc., organizer of the South Florida concours. After becoming a key investor last October, he was on hand, and enthusiastically shaking hands, during this 34th running of the show on the manicured lawns of The Breakers Hotel, in Palm Beach, Fla.

“As a member of the Ferrari family, it’s especially meaningful for me to contribute to an event that not only celebrates the heritage of the Prancing Horse, but also ensures its preservation for future generations,” says Ferrari.

This year’s Cavallino Classic featured over 150 Ferraris viewed by over 2,000 enthusiasts, including local residents Tommy and Dee Hilfiger. Best of Show winners included a bright-orange 1954 375 MM and a world-renowned 1957 335 S racer. In addition, a surprise entry was the recently debuted 1,220 hp F80 supercar, which made its North American premiere. Here are the day’s highlights.

1951 Ferrari 212 Export Vignale Cabriolet

Depending on how the sunlight hits it, this Vignale-bodied 212 Export Cabriolet looks either black or a very deep shade of red, the latter being its actual color. Commissioned by Italian noblemen Count Sanseverino of Naples, the V-12-engined 212 Export is one of 27 examples built by Ferrari for racing, but only one of just two with flowing, open-top coachwork by Turin’s Carrozzeria Vignale.

Los Angeles collector Michael Weisburg is the current steward, after the car had been with respected UK Ferrari specialist David Clarke for more than 40 years. In 2023, the 212 was painstakingly restored. Explains Dustin Wetmore, of restorer Motion Products: “When we got the car, it was painted maroon, but as we discovered, not the right maroon. We found a sliver of the original shade on the firewall and repainted it.”

Photo : Joriann Maye Keegan, courtesy of the Cavallino Classic

1952 Ferrari 342 America Cabriolet Speciale

Enzo Ferrari didn’t always build low-slung sports cars and racers. Back in 1952, he came out with the V-12-engined 342 America grand tourer for his top clients, such as King Leopold of Belgium. Only six examples were built, and of these, just three were droptops. But it’s this example that’s the rarest, being the only one with an elegant grand-touring body by Vignale (the others came from Pininfarina).

Wisconsin collector Dennis Garrity has owned this spectacular, white-walled, metallic-blue 342 America since 2017 and has shown it everywhere from Italy’s Villa d’Este to London’s Salon Privé to California’s Pebble Beach. Says Garrity, “It’s a really special car that, to me, represents the golden era of Ferrari.”

Photo : Howard Walker

1954 Ferrari 375 MM Berlinetta

“I think we kept the guy in the chrome shop busy for three years,” says collector Tom Peck of his orange-and-gray 1954 375 Mille Miglia coupe. The shimmering chrome work—part of a three-and-a-half-year, 15,000-hour restoration—paid off, as the car took Cavallino’s top Outstanding Ferrari GranTurismo award.

While Ferrari built 26 examples of the 375 MM between 1953 and 1955, all but two were racers. Peck’s car wasn’t only a grand tourer, it was bodied by the famed Carrozzeria Ghia in Turin, rather than Pininfarina. A true race car for the road, it is powered by a 340 hp, 4.5-liter Lampredi V-12 that, according to Peck, still imparts impressive performance. “It’s a wonderful cruiser,” he says of the vehicle, “but a true wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

Photo : Joriann Maye Keegan, courtesy of the Cavallino Classic

1957 Ferrari 335 S Scaglietti Spyder

Perhaps no other Ferrari can boast so many racing greats who have spent time behind its wood-rimmed wheel—Fangio, Hill, Hawthorn, Collins, Von Trips, Trintignant, and Portago, to name just a few. It won the Cuban Grand Prix in 1958 with Stirling Moss, came in second in the Mille Miglia and sixth at Sebring. Now it’s the pride and joy of Ohio collector Brian Ross, and the worthy winner of Cavallino’s Outstanding Competition Ferrari award.

“Even now it is extraordinary to drive,” says Ross. Powered by a 390 hp, 4.1-liter four-cam V-12, it has a top speed of close to 190 mph. At Le Mans, in 1957, it set the fastest lap at an average speed of 120 mph. No wonder it is widely considered one of the greatest Ferraris ever built.

Photo : Joriann Maye Keegan, courtesy of the Cavallino Classic

1959 Ferrari 250 GT Tour de France

Stephen and Kim Bruno don’t like “trailer queens,” cars that never see motoring action. While their well-known, one-of-a-kind 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta Tour de France is worth millions, they spend plenty of time behind the wheel. In the last two years, they’ve added over 5,000 miles to the odometer, entering the car in the 1,000-mile Colorado Grand rally, the California Mille Miglia, and 500-mile Ferrari Cavalcade in Italy. “It’s just a great driver’s car, with phenomenal V-12 performance and huge brakes,” says Stephen.

One of 77 Scaglietti-bodied Tour de France 250 GTs built, Bruno’s car is the only one ever painted in Ferrari’s version of British Racing Green. Powered by the intrepid 3.0-liter Colombo V-12, the TdF is much-loved by enthusiasts for its dual capability of being a brilliant daily driver as well as a hard-charging weekend racer. Says Stephen, “We bought it to drive it.”

Photo : Howard Walker

1964 Ferrari 250 GTO

At some point during 1964, it seems as though every single Ferrari Formula 1 driver piloted this hard-driven 250 GTO. From world champions Phil Hill and John Surtees to Le Mans–winner Jean Guichet to Ludovico Scarfiotti and Lorenzo Bandini to Pedro Rodriguez. “It is amazing whose hands have held its steering wheel,” says Chris Parker of Los Angeles Ferrari restoration house Parker-Newton, caretaker of the car for owner Aaron Hsu.

One of just two 250 GTOs built with the so-called “1964” body design, it was bought by Ferrari enthusiast Pierre Bardinon in 1972, finding a home in his legendary Mas Du Clos collection. After his death in 2014, the car was acquired by Hsu and subjected to a four-year, world-class restoration. It won Best in Class at Pebble Beach in 2021 and Best in Show at the 2022 Cavallino Classic. “Nothing compares,” is Parker’s opinion of this Prancing Horse.

Photo : Joriann Maye Keegan, courtesy of the Cavallino Classic

1967 Ferrari Dino 206 S

Some would argue that Ferraris don’t come more beautiful than this. The pint-sized Dino 206 S was a lightweight sports prototype produced by Ferrari in 1966 and 1967. Only 18 were built, and this well-known ex-Scuderia Filipinetti racer was one of the stars of Cavallino, winning the coveted Outstanding Classiche-Certified Ferrari award.

Detailing the car’s history, passionate owner Hassan Moghadam still gulps when he shows us the photo of this vehicle slowly being engulfed in flames during the 1967 1000 km of Nürburgring race. “It burned for half an hour. It must have been horrible to watch,” says the Canadian oral surgeon. Rebuilt in the mid-1980s, it wasn’t until Moghadam bought the car in 2015 that it was dispatched back to Ferrari for a two-year, nut-and-bolt restoration. What’s it like to drive? “Absolutely scary,” he says.

Photo : Howard Walker

1969 Ferrari GTB/4 Daytona Speciale

The Cavallino isn’t just about immaculately restored, 100-point Ferraris. A few, like this one-of-one 1969 GTB/4 Daytona, are a little, shall we say, rough around the edges. Showing the patina of 56 years of use, it was a worthy winner of the Cavallino’s Preservation award.

Owned by St. Louis–based Ferrari collector Jack Thomas, the car is unique in having a fixed roof, a stainless-steel roll hoop, and a removeable clear-plastic rear window, similar to that of an early Porsche 911 Targa. The car was the star of Ferrari’s display at the 1969 Paris Salon auto show before becoming part of the world-renowned Matsuda Collection in Japan. Thomas bought it in 2010 and has since used it extensively on classic rallies. “We’ll never restore it, it’s just too perfect as it is,” says Dustin Wetmore of Wisconsin-based restoration house Motion Products, the outfit that looks after the car.

Photo : Howard Walker

1985 Ferrari 288 GTO

Formerly owned by Ralph Lauren, this Ferrari 288 GTO now belongs to Allan McDonnel and just might be the most well-traveled example in the world. Last year, fresh out of an exhaustive, year-long Ferrari Classiche restoration, it was displayed at Cavallino Concorso events in both Modena and Abu Dhabi, and took part in the Ferrari-run GTO Legacy Tour through the Italian Dolomites to celebrate the 288 GTO’s 40th anniversary.

On the Cavallino lawn outside The Breakers, the car looked sensational. “I always wanted a GTO, and when I got it, I decided I wanted it to be the very best,” says McDonnel, who acquired the 9,000-mile car in May of 2023. Being “the best” not only included that massive restoration, but a full engine-out detailing of the engine bay after it got splattered by mud in the rain-drenched Legacy Tour.

Photo : Howard Walker

2015 Ferrari Sergio

When Sergio Pininfarina, son of the founder of the eponymous coachbuilder Pininfarina, passed away in 2012, the company wanted to pay homage to his own immense legacy. Hence, a very special Ferrari was created in tribute—the Sergio. Just six of these $3 million roadsters were built in 2015, based on the underpinnings of Ferrari’s 458 Speciale and featuring a totally customized body. One of the six, and the only one painted in this stunning shade of purple-blue, is owned by Miami collectors Constance and Mike Fernandez, who presented the car at the Cavallino.

“The way it honors the great Sergio Pininfarina is why we love it,” explains Constance. “That, and the fact that it’s truly one of the rarest modern-day Ferraris in the world.” It’s also fast; the Sergio comes with the 458 Speciale’s 590 hp, 4.5-liter naturally aspirated V-8 that loves to scream to 9,000 rpm.