FRANK SWERTLOW
Staff Reporter
It’s a car that costs more than the average home in Los Angeles.
The wait for a top-of-the-line model is nearly a year.
It’s illegal to drive one more than a third of its top speed.
Never mind all that. Americans and particularly Southern Californians long have had a love affair with the Ferrari.
“It has a mystique, and over time it has evolved into an icon of art and automotive greatness,” said Bob Nagy, executive editor of Motor Trend.
The United States is the No. 1 market for Ferraris (followed by Great Britain), and Southern California L.A. in particular contains more Ferraris than any other region of the country.
There’s no snow, no ice and it rarely rains here perfect weather for a high-performance sports car. The fact that there’s no shortage of wealthy people who enjoy showing off their expensive toys doesn’t hurt, either.
At Ferrari of Beverly Hills, which is owned by the Ferrari family, a V8 Berlinetta goes for $137,615. Business is so good that you might have to wait a few months to get one a full year for a V-12, 550 Maranello, at $208,000.
“Most of our customers pay in cash,” said Bryant Kreaden, who runs the Beverly Hills dealership. (That means a certified check or wire transfer.) “The average income of a buyer is $1 million-plus. A lot of our customers are entertainment-based, but many own their own businesses or are CEOs.”
It’s not uncommon for someone to buy more than one Ferrari. “We have some customers who buy five and six cars in one year,” he said.
There also are some leases, like a recent five-year deal for an F1 Spyder that came to $2,400 a month, with $5,000 down.
Just don’t try to haggle.
“We don’t discount,” Kreaden said.
Buy or lease, Ferrari drivers have one thing in common the need for speed. The cars use technology developed during the company’s long success in professional racing.
“These cars are for the true enthusiast,” Kreaden said. “It’s for fun. It’s not for sitting in traffic.”
Most buyers call before coming to the Beverly Hills showroom. Most are men, although there have been a few women buyers. Kreaden says he’s surprised by the demeanor of his customers. While they may have tough, ruthless reputations as business people, they never seem to flex their muscles with him.
“There was one well-known businessman who was known as a real shark, but I asked him why he wasn’t when buying his car,” Kreaden said. “He said, ‘I kill people all week. This is an enjoyment.’ ”
Racing Ferraris can reach speeds over 200 mph on racetracks, and the cars bought in Beverly Hills can go nearly that fast. But where? No place legally in Los Angeles. That means many Ferrari owners sneak a short burst on the 405 Freeway or whip through the S-curves in Topanga Canyon.
To get the adrenaline rush from the car’s high speeds, Kreaden helps arrange for drivers to take their cars to local tracks for a spin. “Or you can just go for a ride on Mulholland Drive,” said Kreaden, who admits that few Ferrari owners are qualified to drive at 200 mph.
Kreaden declined to reveal annual revenues for the Beverly Hills dealership, which sells about 75 new cars a year and about 55 used ones.
Unlike other cars, used Ferraris often sell for more than the new models. An early ’70s-vintage 365GTB4 Daytona in good condition might go for $400,000. A 9-year-old F40 jumps to $500,000.
At the height of the used Ferrari market in the early ’80s, many of the models sold for more than $1 million each, sometimes $2 million. During those days, Kreaden said it was not uncommon for a potential buyer to offer $100,000 to someone ahead of him on the waiting list for a new car in order to take his spot.
The ’87 stock market crash ended such sprees for new and used cars. But the zooming Dow and a high-tech boom have helped the exotic car market bounce back.
Last August, Christie’s auctioned off a 275 GTS NART Spyder for a world record $2.1 million, the highest price for any auctioned car since 1990. All vintage Ferraris are at the top of the world market in used luxury cars, according to David Gooding, senior vice president of Christie’s International Motor Cars. Which is why Kreaden keeps busy looking for pre-owned cars for his customers.
The Beverly Hills dealership is filled with a handful of new and used models. Behind the showroom is a garage that contains about a dozen cars, ranging from Testarossas to a remarkably well-preserved Dino.
(New technology has helped reduce the price of repairs, especially for tune-ups. The first 15,000-mile servicing on a new Ferrari runs $1,300, down from $3,000 a few years ago.)
Ferrari’s prancing-horse logo has been linked to Hollywood for decades. (Sylvester Stallone and Don Johnson are owners.) Director Roberto Rossellini frequently visited Enzo Ferrari, the car company’s founder, at his headquarters in Maranello, Italy to discuss customizing a car he wanted to give his wife, Ingrid Bergman, for a wedding present. In the process, the Italian director created a special pearl-gray shade, Grigio Ingrid, which still can be selected today.
Not surprisingly, 40 percent of all cars sold are red, the Italian racing color. Only a few years ago, that figure was 68 percent. “Many people choose silver, blue and black,” Kreaden said. “They don’t want to be known for their showiness.”
