Page 12 - Ferrari in America

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F E R R A R I I N A M E R I C A
24 David Bull Publishing
WITH INTEREST ALWAYS KEEN. Luigi Chinetti had a habit of observing pit stops closely,
whether he was the team manager or the actual driver. There was a bit of extra concern
in those austere postwar years, as batches of bad fuel spoiled more than one race.
© CORSA RESEARCH
rear wheel openings. The body was hastily repainted, with overspray on the exhaust pipes
and suspension, before it was consigned to Chinetti on November 29.
Chinetti must have planned to have Lee’s Barchetta at the New York Auto Show at the
69th Regiment Armory beginning on February 5, 1949. However, on December 8, 1948,
Marion Chinetti received a telegram from Willet Brown that read, “DO NOT EXHIBIT
FERRARI MR LEE ANXIOUS TO HAVE CAR AS SOON AS POSSIBLE=”
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As part of the Paris show week, a 300-kilometer race was held at Montlhéry. Chinetti
drove the Spyder Corsa but retired. He returned to Montlhéry on November 1, for record
runs. This time, he was successful, setting new marks in Class E for 100 miles, 200
kilometers, and One Hour. These were in the 125/6 mph range.
Ferrari, impressed with Chinetti’s progress on and off the track, awarded Chinetti and
his old friend, Jean-Arthur Plisson, the first distributorship outside of Italy. The territory
was France and Switzerland. Their official business address was located on Quai Henri
IV. Their showroom was at 8 boulevard Gouvion-Saint-Cyr, but service was carried out at
another old friend’s shop, that of Papa Cattanéo. The showroom, owned by Paul Vallée,
a former client of Luigi’s, was as stylish as the Ferraris inside. The floors had alternating
tiles of the French rooster and the prancing horse, and the handles on the large glass
doors had a similar motif.
Chinetti & Plisson would last only until 1951, after which there was no French Ferrari
distributor for a while. No one could have known then, but the boulevard Gouvion-Saint-
Cyr showroom, under different leases and owners, would continue to sell Ferraris well
into the 21st century.
©2024 David Bull Pub94