Autoworld is dedicating the last major exhibition of the year to the brand with the "cavallino rampante" in collaboration with Interclassics Brussels (trade fair from November 18 to 20, 2022). It would be pointless to talk about Ferrari's history and motorsport successes at this point, so we will focus exclusively on the exhibition to mark the company's 75th anniversary, which is well worth seeing.
But that's not quite true, because on the day of the author's visit, the "Ferrari Cars & Coffee" day was also taking place at the same time. As a result, there was a lot of hustle and bustle in front of the Arc de Triomphe in the Belgian capital's Jubelpark, which was already very busy on Sundays. Many interested people took the opportunity to take a closer look at the 50 or so additional Ferraris parked in front of Autoworld or at least immortalize themselves in the nowadays indispensable selfies. Once they were in the right mood, nothing stood in the way of entering the ever-impressive southern exhibition hall, the home of Autoworld.
Many prominent previous owners
The actual anniversary exhibition comprises 16 exhibits in three segments, supplemented by two Ferraris packed in 1:1 scale "toy boxes". Although there was already something similar at the earlier Alfa Romeo exhibition, it is always amusing to see. Let's start the tour with the most recent exhibit: one of 499 Ferrari Monza SP 2s built in 2020, which established the new "Icona" series, reminiscent of Ferrari classics from earlier years. Shown here is the two-seater SP 2 version, alongside which the single-seater SP 1 was also available at the time. An F40 is parked at its side. Launched on the occasion of the company's 40th anniversary, it was the last model to be created under the direction of Enzo Ferrari and was undoubtedly an icon right from the start.
Next to it is an orange-colored Dino 206 GT with first registration to the musician Eric Clapton. Next to it, a Ferrari 500 Superfast painted in metallic gold has twice as many cylinders. It also comes from a prominent British owner and once belonged to the actor Peter Sellers. Only 36 examples of this model, which was aimed at the US market, were produced.
To the left is a dark blue Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 from 1964 with a body typical of Pininfarina. Despite its twin headlights, it outwardly resembles the 250 GTE model. At the extreme left of the group is the oldest Ferrari in the exhibition: the fifth of only twenty-five 195 Inter Ghia Coupé cars built. The car was first shown at the 1950 Turin Motor Show and sold to the USA shortly afterwards. Following its restoration in Italy, it is now a permanent Concours participant.
Special car bodies
Four other vehicles from the Maranello brand are presented next door: Firstly, there is a silver 365 GTS/4, popularly known as the "Daytona Spider", number 52 of 121 ever built. At its side, a real contrast awaits the visitor: the 365 GTB/4 NART Spider from 1974. The bodywork of this one-off with a rather unusual design was created by Michelotti. The car was built for the wife of American Ferrari importer Luigi Chinetti on the basis of a 365 GTB/4 from 1971, but was only delivered three years later. Michelotti built a total of three NART Spiders with different bodies.
This is followed by a dark brown 275 GTB from 1965. As expected, the two-seater has a twelve-cylinder engine under its long hood and a rare aluminum body. This exhibition group is concluded by a "family-oriented" coupé, namely the 365 GTC 2+2, which was once nicknamed the "Queen Mother of Ferraris" by Road & Track magazine, which is now commonly dubbed the name of the ocean liner "Queen Mary" due to its impressive length of around five meters.
Prominently positioned in the center aisle - and flanked by the aforementioned Ferraris packaged as "toys" - is a Belgian Ferrari F 355 with racing experience at Spa-Franchorchamps.
The 250 GT phalanx
Let's conclude the tour of the exhibition with a look at the last group of exhibits, a kind of 250 GT phalanx. It begins with a 250 GT Drogo from 1965, a custom-built vehicle that racing driver and coachbuilder Piero Drogo created for a customer based on a 250 GT from 1960 and fitted with a nose in the style of the 250 GTO.
This is followed by a competition car still in its original gold-colored paintwork: the 250 GT "Tour de France" from 1958. In addition to the eponymous French endurance race, the car was also used in the 1960 "Coupe des Alpes" in Switzerland. The next Ferrari is another spider, namely a 1960 250 GT California with a long wheelbase, which was built by Pininfarina in 1964.
The dark blue coupé at its side was also made by Pininfarina. It belongs to Series II and is from 1960. Finally, a 250 GT by Boano from 1956 is presented. This coupé was not built by Pininfarina because it did not have enough capacity for production. Boano produced a total of 67 units, which show some stylistic deviations from the Pininfarina design.
Even if the exhibition does not show any Ferrari racing cars, for example, a visit is highly recommended as you get to see very different cars from different decades. And when can you see so many icons at once? The "75 anni di Ferrari" exhibition runs until December 4, 2022.
