Petersen Museum’s 8th Annual Enzo Ferrari Tribute Coverage!

By Daud Gonzalez - March 3, 2020

Once a year this amazing venue holds one of the biggest Ferrari gatherings anywhere in the world.

Los Angeles’ historic Petersen Museum is known for putting on a good show for its large crowd of local enthusiasts. The inside of the museum might host some of the most collectible and interesting vehicles ever made. However, once a month, organizers at the Petersen create a little bit of a “Cars and Coffee”-style event within their own parking structure. Usually, these events have themes to encourage participation of certain groups of enthusiasts. Last month it was a Shelby/Ford theme with an emphasis on the Ford v. Ferrari movie. This month it was the 8th Annual Enzo Ferrari Tribute. Get ready, you’ve likely never seen this much Rosso Corsa paint in one sitting before.

According to the event website, this cruise-in is “set to be the largest gathering of Ferrari on the West Coast.” Considering that vehicle load-in time was 7:30 a.m. and folks were lined up with their cars at the entrance since 6 a.m. or so, you might be inclined to agree. While the actual presence of Ferrari vehicles at the cruise-in was amazing, it was special to see fans of all automotive venues appreciating the cars. It is no surprise that you don’t actually have to be a Ferrari owner to love the brand and their creations. Thus, there were guests present driving all kinds of vehicles to the event, from domestic muscle cars to Japanese tuner cars.

While the cruise-in is held on the 3rd and 4th floors of the Petersen’s parking structure, I was impressed to see all kinds of exotic and modified vehicles before making it up to even the 2nd floor.

It seems that there was Ferraris at random across essentially every section of the parking structure from the first to the 4th floor. Not to mention, a healthy array of Porsches including a couple of 991 GT2 RSs and a heavily modified second-generation Acura NSX. When you go to Petersen, even when there isn’t an event of some sort, expect to see an array of unique and beautiful cars in this structure.

Sea of Rosso Corsa

As I finally began to make my way to the actual primary floors of the host event, the color red began to show up with increasing frequency. Suddenly, down the long sweeping hallway that is the parking structure, dozens upon dozens of red Ferraris came into view. Not to mention, hundreds of spectators and fans who came to enjoy the event. While I was without a doubt initially impressed by the number of cars present, at this point I had only seen a fraction of the vehicles. The attendees including myself were definitely in for a treat.

Walking closer toward the main event area, the full scale of the venue began to come into view. About a hundred or so of Ferraris were present here on this single floor of the structure. The event’s original advertisement of being the largest gathering of Ferrari on the West Coast started to sound a lot more believable now. Beverly Hills and Southern California, in general, doesn’t exactly have a shortage of Ferrari owners.

The best part about the large volume of vehicles was that there was a Ferrari for every type of fan present, whether new or old. The first three Ferraris I would see were a red 458, a black 360, and a blue 812 Superfast all parked next to each other. In a sea of red vehicles, it was the “off” colored Ferraris that definitely seemed to stick out among the bunch.

There were so many different Ferrari models present, spanning decades apart, it was hard to keep track of what models I had and hadn’t seen. Without a doubt, more modern models were definitely the biggest component of the event, however, there was no lack of classics either. Especially thanks to the amazing contributions the museum had to offer to the event. You might say that my jaw dropped more than a little when seeing three identical F40s parked in tandem right by the museum exit.

From 250 GTB to 488 GTB

It is such a pleasure to see vehicles with as much historical and cultural significance as this all in one place. There is really something about the design of the F40 that would make somebody with no automotive interest lust passionately over the car. It really is that pretty. Seeing three of these models side by side, well, I can go out on a limb to say most guests were speechless.

However, the Dino 246 GT, 250 GT, and 275 GTBs present definitely tugged the heartstrings more than once. Not to mention, there was a stunning pair of matching white Testarossas which demanded attention from any passerby. If your heart bleeds rosso and not red, this was the place to be last Sunday. There was also complimentary parking, coffee, and bagels available to any and all who attended the show. If you hadn’t been to the actual museum, an event like this can serve as a warm-up for even more automotive stimulation before you go in. We don’t suggest missing out on the next one. So if this type of event is the kind that seems it would be of interest to you, keep a close eye on the Petersen’s event calendar.

These cruise-ins are definitely fun for the whole family, so make a little event out of it and bring everyone. If we are lucky, maybe something like this will spark a first love for cars for a soon-to-be enthusiast!