Sorry, You Can’t Get That Part Here

Ferrari has shown no interest in supplying vintage parts, and many common spares to keep old Ferraris on the road simply do not exist

by Michael Sheehan

Much has been written—both positive and negative—about Ferrari Classiche, the arm of Ferrari set up as an official certifying organization for its cars. For decades, Ferrari had no interest in the older cars and only pricked up its ears (and its legal department’s pens) when the elusive William Favre began building and selling 250 GTO replicars in the early 1980s.

Enzo Ferrari was personally incensed, and Favre was soon out of business. Ferrari feared that if outsiders had access to Ferrari records, this information could be used to build replicars, and so Ferrari stopped providing build sheets or blueprints to anyone outside the factory gates.

Ferrari’s involvement with older cars was taken up another notch when the FIA decided it would be the supreme decider in certifying any-and-all vintage race cars, Ferraris included, for eligibility in...