Amelia Island Hits the Ferrari Mother Lode

These auction cars will steal your heart; their prices will crush your soul.

By Ben Keeshin
Amelia Island Vintage Ferraris
Patrick Ernzen ©2016 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's
Ben KeeshinView Ben Keeshin's Articles

Though it’s a frightfully elegant affair, the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance tagline might be “show and sell.” Because while the formal invitations and prestige belong to those special cars parading across the Amelia Island golf course, the metal being sold a couple of tents over by Sotheby’s and RM is every bit as good. And, by good, we mean “superlatively beautiful,” “rarer than a Trump apology” and “more expensive than Zeus’ robe.”

This March, when droves of the monied and seer-sucked drive across that causeway into the dank, tropical environment of the island, they will have the option to buy metal so fine, it might even qualify for the concours. Take these Ferraris. These aren’t your rich uncle’s 360 Modena or those sad, chrome-rimmed 355s loitering outside of Miami-Dade impound lots. They’re, simply, the best.

Picture the beauty of an Alfa Romeo Duetto Spider. Then, amp up the curves, add some strakes and plop in a V12. Open air perfection.Darin Schnabel ©2016 Courtesy of RM Sothebys
Yes, it’s an ‘80, but this mid-engined 512 BB showcases the best of Seventies Ferrari design: Perfect planes, two-tone paint, a raked windshield and classic Cromodora Stars.Greg Keysar ©2015 Courtesy of RM Sothebys
The F12 TdF? That 700-horsepower beast? No more than this car’s upstart grandson. It’s automotive potato chips: Bet you can’t look just once.Darin Schnabel ©2015 Courtesy of RM Sothebys
This is the legend: Ferrari’s sharpest mid-century car bearing a 400-horsepower version of the brand’s Colombo V12. Nothing is shapelier; nothing sounds better.Darin Schnabel ©2016 Courtesy of RM Sothebys
And if you’re going to have a car this good, why not get the drop-top?Erik Fuller ©2016 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's
It’s not the best GTO, but any one of Ferrari’s “omologatos” is choice. This one uses an earlier version of the F40’s turbocharged V8.Karissa Hosek ©2015 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's
Magnum, P.I. drove a 308, and its familiar profile might have given this model a little more exposure than the average Ferrari collector would like. But you can’t deny that the 328 isn’t one of the world’s best wedges.Motorcar Studios ©2016 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's
The GTC is a bit of a deep cut, but it belongs in the canon. Rear seats and ZF power steering make this a comfortable tourer.Patrick Ernzen ©2016 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's
Strakes! Loud! Wide! Fast! Substance abuse! Reaganomics! Looks, it’s a poem about the Ferrari Testarossa.Jeff Yardis ©2016 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's
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