Inspired by the mission of helping make the dreams of children with life-threatening diseases come true, the Ferrari Owners Group (FOG) and the Ferrari Owners Charitable Foundation (FOCF) are launching the Golden Gate Ferrari Festival, Saturday, September 10, in the civic heart of San Francisco. The event will benefit Make-A-Wish® Greater Bay Area.
As many as 400 Ferraris, both vintage and current models — including one of only three 1955 Mondial Series II Scaglietti-bodied Spyders (above) remaining in existence — will be on display at San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza Park, where the streets encircling the Park will be shut down to allow for public attendance to support the Foundation’s goal of raising $500,000 for the charity.
“We are dedicated to using our own influence to build a program that will benefit those less fortunate while providing hope for the future,” said FOCF founder Joe Keon.
The aforementioned 1955 Ferrari 500 Mondial Scaglietti Spyder (serial number 0556/0446 M) has been owned by Rear Admiral Robert A. Phillips, USN (Ret.) since 1960, when he purchased the “broken Ferrari racecar” for a mere $2,225 (about $18,000 by today’s standards). It is currently valued at nearly $2 million.
The car was painted French Racing Blue for its original owner, François Picard, who took delivery in May of 1955. Phillips, purchased the near “barn find” five years later, and subsequently began an eight-year restoration in 2000 to bring the car back to its original condition. In August 2008 the Mondial won its class at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and was awarded the Enzo Ferrari Trophy for the Best Ferrari in the field, as selected by the son of Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari, Piero Ferrari, and former Ferrari CEO and former chief of Scuderia Ferrari, Jean Todt. For complete information please visit www.goldengateferrarifestival.com
