5 Ferraris from the expanded Petersen Automotive Museum Vault
Since reopening in 2016 after an extensive remodel, the Petersen Automotive Museum has had a number of amazing new exhibits. However, as big as the Petersen is, it can’t keep all of the displays in the prime gallery spots forever. Time marches on, new cars are curated for another celebration of the automobile, and the old exhibits move on. Where do they go? Some cars return to the collections from which they were borrowed, and others head downstairs to the Petersen Vault.
Hagerty has joined with the Petersen Museum for a 10-year partnership that has led to an expanded vault with more than 250 cars from around the globe and span more than 100 years of progress. One of the better-represented brands in “The Vault” is Ferrari. Petersen’s Seeing Red: 70 Years of Ferrari exhibit wrapped recently, and several priceless Ferraris have been sent downstairs. Those cars from the race-bred brand are reason enough to pony up the extra cash to venture below. Here are our favorite Ferraris in The Vault, and they all happen to be red—as Ferraris should be.
1947 Ferrari 125 S
This is a recreation of the first car to wear the Ferrari name. The 1.5-liter V-12 engine in the 125 S screamed out 118 horsepower at 6800 rpm and led Ferrari to six victories out of the 14 races it entered in 1947, including Ferrari’s first win at the Grand Prix of Rome.
1963 Ferrari 250 GTO
Among the most coveted of all Ferraris, the 250 GTO has a gorgeous coupe body wrapped around a 300-hp V-12 fed by six Weber downdrafts carburetors. This car took second overall at the 1963 24 Hours of Le Mans.
1982 Ferrari 308 GTSi
While the Ferrari brand is known first and foremost for its racing, some individual models are known for their pop culture impact. Dust off your Hawaiian shirt, slip on some Aviators, and don a Detroit Tigers baseball cap, because this is none other than Thomas Magnum’s 308 GTSi from Magnum P.I. The car required modifications to the seat—6-foot-3 Tom Selleck had trouble fitting into the short-wheelbase targa—but that’s a small price to pay for looking so good behind the wheel. The mustache didn’t hurt the look either.
2006 Ferrari 248 F1
This car was one of the last Ferraris campaigned by Michael Schumacher. Its name designates a 2.4-liter V-8 power plant, capable of more than 700 horsepower.
2010 599 GTO
A road-going version of the race-only 599XX, the GTO was heralded as Ferrari’s fastest street car, having eclipsed the lap time of the outlandishly styled Enzo Ferrari. It uses a 661-hp, 6.0-liter V-12 engine similar to the Enzo, but it is mounted in front of the driver like a traditional grand tourer. Only 250 were built, with half designated for the U.S. market.
Wait, how did this Gulf Ford GT40 from the Petersen Vault get here? It doesn’t belong here at all. It clearly should have been in front of all of the Ferraris. Easy Ferrari fans, it’s just a joke.
If you’d like to get up close to these five Ferraris and some that are even rarer, general admission to the Petersen Museum is $16 for adults—less for seniors, children, and students. Once you’re in, an additional $20 grants you access to a 75-minute guided tour of The Vault; $30 scores a two-hour version of the tour. Tickets can be purchased from the Petersen website.
