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"Ferraris come
in all shapes and sizes with similar price
tags — expensive... If you are in the
market for the best in imports and have
the loot, write your check to Alfred Momo
and then sit down and wait — it may
be a long one. Ferrari's delivery service
is as independent as independent can be
and it is quite possible that if he doesn't
like you he won't sell you a car, regardless
of how long you are willing to wait. At
times Ferrari has shut down his factory
in squabbles with the government about over-taxing;
sometimes he's open. Since Ferrari is a
wealthy man in his own right, he is in a
position to tell the government and his
customers to go to hell at any time —
and often does.
So, I will repeat, if you have the loot
and can buy one, go ahead. In this way you'll
know for sure that you own one of the greatest
sports cars in the world, even though it
may come apart in the first ten miles.
From The Modern Sports Car by Tom
McCahill, 1954."
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A lot has changed at Ferrari
since the death of Enzo, but in the early 1950s
he was interested more in racing than in building
civilized cars for customers. When he needed financing
he sold cars to "regular" rich guys.
The rest of the time he sold them to race car
drivers. Enzo, a former race car driver with Alfa Romeo, had priorities.
I knew several collectors who received brochures
directly from the factory, and even personal letters
from Enzo, by persuasively making the case that
they were the "right type" of person
to command his attention. Using SCCA stationery
and mentioning Laguna Seca helped make a positive
statement.
A number of serious collectors of Ferrari literature
began their collections in the 1950s, but when
Richard Merritt published Ferrari Brochures
and Sales Literature in 1977, the number of
collectors more than doubled. It was at that time
that I shifted from being a casual to a serious
Ferrari literature collector. Prices quickly began
to rise and by 1990 I felt they had peaked as
reflected by the insane prices the cars were fetching.
Actually I was a bit premature when I sold in
1990 as they didn't really top out until 1991.
My nearly completed collection sold to the very
distinguished collector of both Ferrari cars and
literature, Junichiro Hiramatsu (Read article).
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Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati,
Alfa Romeo, Lancia and Fiat, in that order, generate
the most interest in collectors' minds, whether
we're talking about the cars or the literature.
While the values of these cars and their literature
retreated for awhile, after setting records in
the late 1980s and early 1990s, the prices are
once again rising dramatically. This time around
the prices paid are not receiving much attention
and most collections seem to remain hidden. Possibly
collectors are waiting for prices to become exorbitant.
Or maybe these collectors have moved on to other
hobbies, have forgotten about their literature
and are not watching the movement in prices. We
have noticed that when the rarer items become
available they are quickly snapped up. If these
marques appeal to you, keep your eyes open for
opportunities.
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| LAMBORGHINI |
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| MASERATI |
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| ALFA
ROMEO |
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| LANCIA |
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| FIAT |
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