It's called the Cavallino Classic, a five-day celebration of the Ferrari brand that includes numerous track events, educational symposiums, a driving tour and of course, parties. But the biggest show of all is the Concorso d'Eleganza on the Lawn at the Breakers, a celebrated classic grand hotel in Palm Beach, Florida, that even without 140 rare and pristine Italian sports cars on its sun-drenched lawn might be considered the ultimate symbol of wealth and exclusivity. But it's the Ferraris we're here for.
  • The 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO, the first of Ferrari's supercar series, was built in small numbers, ...
  • Vintage Bugatti, front view
  • 1971 365 GTB/4 Daytona: This car was awarded Platino at the 2015 Cavalino Classic event
  • 1955 Ferrari 410 Sport: This Platino example has won Best in Show at Cavallino and first ...
Organized by Cavallino magazine, a bi-monthly publication dedicated to the history of Ferrari, attending the show is open to anyone willing to spend $200 to walk through the gate, money well spent if your interest in collector automobiles is more than casual and you fancy a bit of an education on the brand.
The education to be found here extends to the entrants as well. Unlike most car shows which pit each car against all the others, this show judges each car solely against itself, assigning it 100 points to start with and detracting for features found to be not original or not in perfect condition. Ultimately the cars are judged to be argento (silver), oro (gold) or the holy grail of "platino" (platinum) which requires 97 points or higher and allows it to be considered for major awards including Best In Show.
Having your car documented Platino at this event raises its value significantly. Should it win a major award, even more. In a way this event is the Ferrari version of "no man left behind" because each entrant has an opportunity to spend time with the judges – the best in the field, men and women who can tell them what they need to do to raise the condition of their car ... and therefore its value.
Events like this are important in no small way for driving the collector car market upwards – a market where Ferraris dominate. Nine of the top ten all-time record sales are Ferraris. In fact, more than half of the top 100 all-time most expensive cars sold at auction are Ferraris. In 2011 the highest price paid for a car at auction was roughly $17 million in today's dollars, by 2014 that record was over $38 million. Both of those cars were Ferraris.
Because of this (and maybe that Florida sunshine in the month of January) many of the cars that turn up at Cavallino are, even by Ferrari standards very, very rare. Factory racers, vintage one off body designs and numerous low production models are all in attendance.
Check them out in our extensive cream of Cavallino photo gallery.
  • A few non-Ferraris make the grade here and they are all very special like this Bugatti
  • $6,775 buys you this model Ferrari FXX K, made to order 1:8 scale by Amalgam Fine Model Cars. It's so detailed that in photos it looks real.
  • 1954 Ferrari 250 Monza PF Spyder: Another Ferrari with genuine race history, this car finished 2nd in the GP di Napoli in 1954
  • 1949 Ferrari 166 MM Barchetta won it's class at Villa d'Este Concours in 1949 and competed in the Mille Miglia that year as well. Cars with genuine Mille Miglia history are super desirable because the recreation of this race allows these cars admission.