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Jay Javetz: This 1984 512 BBI was bought down in Stewart, Florida. A very good friend of
mine, Greg Jones, who's a Ferrari restoration expert and very renowned around the world,
brought it to my attention that the car was for sale. I had told him I was looking for
a 512 BBI. The reason I was looking for that particular car, is that is the first car that
I ever drove. The first Ferrari that I ever drove.
This is an '84, I was 14 years old when it first came out. I drove one at 15 down at
the Robling Road one weekend. I've always had a passion for the V12 cars. The new Ferrari's
are cool, but they don't do it for me. The old stuff is where it's at for me. I was brought
up around these cars. These are the only cars that I know anything about. I just thoroughly
love the V12 cars. It's the sound of the V12 firing up, it's the torque that the V12 has.
It's running up through the gears on the old style transmissions versus the F1 paddle shifters
they've got now. It makes for a fantastic street car. It's a lot of fun, it gets a ton
of looks. For me, it's not about the looks, but just about my enjoyment of the car. I
drive it whenever I get a chance. All the cars that are in this garage my dad has owned
at one time or another. For me, it's waxing nostalgia for me. Thinking of my father who
passed away this past January. My dad was a very prolific car collector.
He was a huge fan of Italian cars and British cars and German cars and American cars. He
covered the entire gamut when it comes to cars, and collected all of them. He read,
and read, and read, which made him a real, true historian. It's very rare, today, that
you find somebody that's not in their '70's that knows anything about this history of
Ferrari and the early Enzo cars. My father knew almost everything there was
to know about the Enzo car, and every single car. He owned over 300 of the old Ferrari's.
The newest Ferrari I think he every owned was, most likely, a Boxer. It would have been
a carbureted Boxer, which made it like an '81 year. Well, my dad's favorite car of all
time was a 1966 275 GTB 4 cam. It was a one off car, and when my dad went and visited
the Ferrari factory years ago, he went into Enzo's office.
He was invited in there. Hanging on the wall, which I've got a picture of, was his 275.
Enzo's made the remark to him that it was one of his favorite cars that he ever built.
Certainly that still stands today. It's one of the most desirable front engine Ferrari's
ever built. What a car it. Just absolutely amazing. As a kid I used to get in that car
and complain that it smelled like fish. Well, the fish was just fresh Italian leather.
It's just that smell. As a kid, who knew better? To me it was an awful smell of fish. My dad,
he used to get a good chuckle out of that. Cars is representative of an individual's
characteristics and character and it's something that they take to the grave. You love cars
forever, you drive them as long as you can. It's not a hobby that you grow out of, in
my opinion. My father certainly never grew out of it.
He lost his vision and he couldn't drive the cars anymore, but he never stopped owning
cars, and I never stopped taking him for rides in them so he can enjoy them. You look at
this mural that my dad had done back in the '90's and it's representative of a few of
the cars that he's owned over the years. Looking on the wall here, I see cars that,
today, are valued in the very high tens of millions of dollars and are unobtainable.
That's why they're on this wall, so I can look at them. Other than that, I don't think
I'm going to ever see one sitting here in the garage any time soon. I'm happy with what
I've got.