Luxury sports-car maker Ferrari is celebrating 60 years in the U.S. market with – what else? – a display of 60 Ferraris on Rodeo Drive over Columbus Day weekend.

“This will be the largest and most important display of Ferraris ever,” said Bruce Meyer, a Rodeo Drive property owner and Ferrari enthusiast who is helping organize the event.

Rodeo Drive will be shut down Sunday, Oct. 12, the red carpet rolled out on both sides of the prestigious shopping avenue and five dozen Ferraris from around the world will be showcased.

“We’ll have Testarossas, GTOs and the largest number of Le Mans race winners ever gathered at one show,” Meyer said.

Ferrari North America Inc., which has a showroom on Wilshire Boulevard a few blocks east of Rodeo Drive, is paying for the event. Meyer and other organizers expect the exhibition to draw at least 30,000 people, including more than 1,000 members of the Ferrari Club of America.

Merchants are hoping the event will prove a bonanza, exceeding the boost from the annual Rodeo Drive Concours d’Elegance car show that draws similar crowds Father’s Day.

“This is a co-branding marketing opportunity for Rodeo Drive and the city of Beverly Hills on a global scale,” said Mark Tronstein, president of the Rodeo Drive Committee of merchants and property owners.

While Rodeo Drive store sales generally see a slight spike on the day of the car show, Meyer said the bigger impact is felt in the following weeks, when those who window shop during the show return to make purchases.

“I expect to have a very qualified and enthusiastic audience on the street, an audience that will want to come back and patronize the stores on Rodeo Drive,” he said.

– Howard Fine