When you hear about a guy who’s got two Ferraris, you want to tap him on the shoulder and say, “Uh, Sir, I believe one of those Ferraris is mine,” because how many people have one Ferrari, much less two. Obviously, this is a mistake in ownership assignation by the Big Guy at the Licensing Department in the sky. Fair’s fair. One Ferrari per person. That’s what it says in the Big Blue Book. nd then, as you mutter something not-nice about horseshoes and rich, snobby guys, fully intent on hating Mr. Two-Ferrari Owner, you meet Jeff Rowe at his home. He’s got a broad smile under his salt ‘n pepper moustache, eyes that gleam behind his rounded glasses and a firm handshake that says, ‘Hi, glad to see you,’ not ‘Glad you’re here to admire my cars.’ He’s just a regular guy. He lives in a two-story house with white shutters, has a charming wife, two young daughters, and a golden retriever. OK, so the house is on the Rideau River, another reason to resent Mr. Waterfront Property, but when he bought 20 years ago, it wasn’t considered as chichi to live within spitting distance from motorboats buzzing about like overblown gnats. And now there’s the odd jet boat on the system. No, Jeff doesn’t own a jet boat, too. Don’t get carried away. If you ask Jeff, a senior geophysicist who works for a Dutch company, Fugro Airborn, a Dutch company, if he got carried away buying two Ferraris, he’ll tell you no. “I was clever with my money and I made a good investment.” But this isn’t why he has these cars. He explains, “When I was a kid, I started loving cars and could name every sports car that drove by. I grew up in Philadelphia but I had a cousin in Florida who was six years older than I and he had cars.” Ya, and he inspired his kid-cousin to own a succession of sports cars, including a 110 1600S Alpine that he restored when he lived in Paris, France, a 190 SL Mercedes that he says was “rock solid,” along with a Fiat Spider and later, a Mazda RX7 that he enjoyed racing in the Slalom Series with a motorsport club in the early ‘80s. Are you getting the picture now that Jeff Rowe just wasn’t some rich guy who bought himself a toy? He is demonstrably committed to the marque. Not only in the Ferrari 250GT Register he started in 1980 but by the fact that he has successfully documented 70% of the other 250s left in the world. Granted, there were only 200 of these Grandturismos ever built, but how easy do you think it is to find a Ferrari in a haystack as big as the world.

1960 250GT Pinin Farina Series II Cabriolet Ferrari produced between 1959 - 1962, only 200 made
Engine: three litre, V-12 engine
Horse power: 240 @ 7000 rpm
Compression ratio: 8.8:1
Carburetion: three double Webers, 36DC3 or 40DCL3
Brakes: Dunlop disc brakes
Gearbox: 4-speed synchromesh with electric overdrive
Chassis: tubular steel
Wheels: Borrani RW 3591 or 3598 wire wheels
Top Speed: 126-157 mph (depending on axle ratio)
0-60 mph: 7.2 seconds
Price in 1960: 5,800,000 Lira
Value today: $100,000 US

Additionally, Jeff has done some writing for The Prancing Horse, the magazine of the Ferrari Club of America. In a piece that appeared in 1991 (No. 99,) he discussed in minute detail, his 250GT, outlining the differences between the Series 1 and Series 11 cars. Unbelievably, despite the small run, the first 100 GT250 cabriolets are different from the second 100. And Jeff even knows about a fake 250GT that someone made by removing the top from a 250GT notch back coupe and making some cosmetic modifications. Jeff encourages anyone who dreams of having a sports car to realize that dream: “It doesn’t have to be a Ferrari, it could be an MG, a Triumph or an Austin-Healey. Lots of people today are drawn to Mustangs or Camaros, whereas my channelling just happens to have gone towards European sports cars. I believe it you fine-tune what you want and dedicate yourself, you will achieve your goal. I’m not the president or manager of a company, just a hard-working guy.”

Q

How do you break the news to people that you have two Ferraris?

I tell people I have an old car, a V-12, so they know that it’s either a Jag or a Ferrari. If my friends are around, they jump in and say, ‘Ya, he’s got two Ferraris.”

Q

You mentioned that you went looking for a Porsche in the States in the late-seventies but by the time you moved bought your house in 1980, you had a Honda Civic, a Fiat Spider and the 250 Ferrari. What happened to the Porsche?

I went to Florida in 1978 to look for a Porsche, hoping to find something I could restore. But I happened to look at a Road and Track, the November edition, and FAF Motors in Atlanta was advertising a bunch of Ferraris. I flew there and the 250 was a reasonable price and by no means the most expensive, so I bought it. It had only 60,000 kilometres on it. Originally, the car had sold to a shipping tycoon in Italy, one of several Ferraris he’d owned. He requested the side vents as a special order. Usually, the 250 comes without vents.

You have two Ferraris. Are the two vehicles very different?

There is 20 years of evolution between them. The 308, is a mid-engine car and more contemporary, like what Burt Reynolds drove in the TV program, Magnum P.I. The 250 is like the one in the movie, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Q

How many Ferraris are there in town?

There’s probably 15 that I know of and then another 15 I don’t know about. I’m probably the only guy who has two.

Q

Do people recognize what you’re driving?

The 308 is a head-turner because it’s what people recognize. With the 250, it’s the sound that turns people’s heads.

Q

What does it sound like?

It sounds like a race car. I love the 250, it’s art, and it’s music when it’ s running. It’s got a brand new Stebro stainless steel exhaust that’s tremendous. There’s nothing like the sound of a well-tuned V12.

Q

Are all Ferraris red?

Actually, in one study done by Hilary Raab Jr. in The Prancing Horse, 88 out of 157 were some shade of gray or silver, with white and black the next popular colours. Only 17 cars were red. in a subsequent group of 185 cars, 53 had red interiors with natural the next popular colour (47) followed by black (43).

Q

If you were going to buy another car, what would it be?

I’d like a Ferrari Daytona Spyder. That’s like the car in Miami Vice. Some people have them as showpieces and some people worship them. I think they are meant to be driven.

Q

Do you look at having a garage-full of Ferraris as enhancing your image?

No, not at all. Sometimes it doesn’t even come out that I have them.

Q

But you were a single guy up before you got married in your late-thirties ten years ago. Did you ever think of your cars as a way to attract women?

They never seemed to do that for me.

Q

Do you think the maybe you were driving by too quickly?