by Wallace Wyss –

Ya gotta admit this is one of the most fun car shows because it’s free (The Pasadena Concorso Ferrari) and has at least one hundred Ferraris.

Most of the time, to see exotic cars lined up you have to pay a hefty fee, like at a concours.

But this is a concours held on the street, in this case the street being Old Town Pasadena, where the buildings are old and ornate. This is the old Pasadena, like you see in the promos leading up to the famous yearly parade.

The nice thing about the setting is lots of restaurants along the way, all open and catering to the crowd of at least 10,000 that goes to the event to see cars that they’ve only seen in movies.

It is still a concours, but a very informal one which officially ends after 2pm, when awards are presented in 10 classes by a panel of 30 Ferrari experts.

The event is presented by the Ferrari Club of America- Southwest Region and The Auto Gallery Ferrari of Calabasas. Additional sponsors include Putnam Leasing, Le Bijou Jewelers, and Ultimate Toys.

The city fathers realize it is a good tourist crowd so the event also receives the support of the City of Pasadena, Old Pasadena Management, and Pasadena Conventions & Visitors Bureau. See photos from past events at this link.

The FCA Southwest Region is the producer of the Ferraris on Rodeo Drive, so this is a similar show except in Pasadena.

I noticed that there were not as many truly old cars from the Fifties as in past years at the Pasadena Concorso Ferrari, but perhaps to make up for that was some very new models. Ironically an Aston Martin dealer booked space in the middle aisle to show a new model that was every bit the competitor of Ferrari in style. (This Aston Martin is the new DB11…Ed)

The Art Center College of Design, a famous school in Pasadena that trains most of the world’s car designers, had a booth where you could see students sketching cars the old fashioned way, before computers. Plus they had clay models of students proposals for future Ferrari designs.

One car that was missing, or maybe I didn’t see it, was the 400, 400i, 412 four seaters, particularly the convertible conversions done by folks like Richard Straman. I have a private theory that these, which are now woefully cheap at prices as low as $25,000 are being hoarded and will be sprung upon us again all fixed up at huge prices.

There was a Testarossa that had been cut into a convertible. Before you say “ain’t no such animal” Ferrari did actually create two of them, but didn’t sell them to the general public.

One restoration shop always displays cars they are currently restoring and it’s great that you can talk to the men restoring the car and get a rough idea of what’s involved in taking a Ferrari down to bare metal.

So this is an event to put on your schedule, because you get to see 100 of the most beautiful cars ever made, plus it’s free.

Pasadena Concorso Ferrari April 23, 2017, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Ferrari Club of America – Southwest Region (FCA-SW)
Colorado Blvd. at Fair Oaks
Pasadena, California

Let us know what you think in the Comments.

Wallace Wyss

 
 
HE AUTHOR: Wallace Wyss features rare barn find Ferraris in his “Incredible Barn Finds” books, published by Enthusiast Books, Hudson WI (715)381 9755.

 
 
 

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Ferraris On Colorado Boulevard - Pasadena, California

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Most of the time, to see exotic cars lined up you have to pay a hefty fee, but not this time; the Ferraris On Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California is free.

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Wallace Wyss