Last weekend was the fabulous Cavallino Ferrari event in Palm Beach Florida. I’ve been fortunate to participate in several of these glorious extravaganzas. You get to mix track time with tours, a jet party, a yacht hop, the Concorso d’Eleganza and breakfast with Donald Trump at his little place he calls Mar a Lago. Combine all this with most of the finest Ferrari models on the planet, spectacular food, wonderful people, and accommodations at The Breakers and you are convinced you’ve died and gone to Ferrari heaven.
One of the featured cars was the Pebble Beach winning 375 MM Scaglietti Coupe.
One of my favorite Ferraris, please don’t ask me to pick just one, is the 250 SWB. It is the car most chosen by Cars Yeah guests when I ask them to pick just one collector car. Yes, it’s even beaten the GTO. During my 2008 Cavallino I had an experience of a lifetime. I met the childhood buddy of a friend of mine who owns a 250 SWB. I asked him if he would give me a ride and his reply blew me away. “I don’t give people rides in my Short. I let them drive.”
Then he tossed me the keys to his Ferrari 250 SWB.
I could write paragraphs about that drive but instead I’ll just say this. It was incredible. At one point Beano looked over and said “Drop it down in to third and stand on the gas!” So I did. And it was glorious.
I can still hear the music that V12 screamed.
The next morning, as I prepared to have breakfast at “The Don’s” little beach house I spotted another 250 and walked over to talk to the owner. And guess what? He tossed me the keys and said “I’m having breakfast so drop it off with the valet when you’re done having fun.”
I could say… and then I woke up. But I was awake and it was happening, again.
Want to make someone’s dream come true? Toss them your keys.
Has anyone ever tossed you their keys? Do share…
Mark, sorry I don’t have a 250 SWB, but you drive my ’83 240D any time you want.
Gee, thank you Bill but I know of the other cars in your garage so…
i got to race one in the Targa Florio in ’67. It eventually became mine in trade for a slightly wrecked ’66 Vette. I drove it all over the country. And it wound up on the cover of a big auction in Monterey about a decade ago. But before that, I gave it away. Kinda. Crass commercial plug: the full story is in my book “One Off,” for which I receive not a single $.
The true spirit of gentlemen drivers lives on – Yeah!
Its your well earned reputation as a good guy that allows people to trust you with their keys. I’m sort of the other way… people try to take keys away from me then try to locate the lax security that allowed me in.