Classic Adelaide Rally Is Fit For A Lord And $1m Ferrari
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Nov 20, 2007
Ferrari
BRITAIN’S Lord Paul Vestey loves his unique 1959 Ferrari California Spider so much he’ll go to the end of the earth to drive it – or, to be exact, to the glorious roads of the Adelaide region.
And although it is valued at more than $1 million, Lord Vestey will have no hesitation in loosening the reins on the Ferrari’s legendary prancing horses in the 2007 Aeromil Pacific Classic Adelaide rally, which starts tomorrow
“The (Adelaide) special stages have some phenomenal roads. You just don’t get to run on roads like this anywhere else in the world, ” he said.
“They are wide and open and the scenery is beautiful. You can get stuck in for 10 or 20 kilometres and have a real go. ”
The Ferrari will be an exciting sight and sound for spectators at tomorrow’s Commuserv Prologue and the 34 special stages that follow from Thursday to Sunday.
According to Ferrari authority Graham Gauld, Lord Vestey’s car is the only survivor of two special competition models of the California roadster built for competition by the Ferrari factory.
It was bought new by Count Giovanni Volpi, the founder of the Venice Film Festival and son of Mussolini’s finance minister.
During a busy competition life, it won first place in the GT class at the annual Sebring (USA) 12-Hour sports car race.
Special competition features on the car include a clear plastic bonnet scoop, revealing intake trumpets for the Weber carburettors on the 3.0 V12 engine, and components from the iconic Testarossa model.
“It does a good turn of speed – about 150 miles an hour (240 kmh) - and has four megaphone exhausts that sound wonderful, ” Lord Vestey said.
Lord Vestey owns two historic Ferraris and ships one from Britain every year for Classic Adelaide, which is described as one of the world’s great classic motoring events.
His mount in 2007 is one of around 20 Ferraris in a field of 260 cars built between 1920 and 1990.
Other famous makes which will be seen in the Adelaide Hills, Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Southern Hills and Fleurieu Peninsula include Jaguar, Porsche, Bugatti, Aston Martin, De Tomaso and Maserati – plus some popular Australian muscle cars such as Monaro, Falcon GT HO and Torana XU1.
The Competition category of the rally will be hotly-contested, with South Australian Rex Broadbent trying for a sixth straight win in his Porsche 911 RS and eight-time Targa Tasmania champion Jim Richards (Porsche 944 Turbo Cup) trying for his first.
In 2007, Classic Adelaide welcomes Pacific, a highly-successful specialist aviation company, as naming rights sponsor.
Aeromil Pacific is the exclusive Cessna Authorised Sales Representative for the best-selling Citation family of corporate jets and Caravan turboprop utility aircraft, and a Cessna Sales Team Authorised Representative for the new generation of piston Single Engine aircraft.
