2015 SEFAC Concourse at Monte Casino

On Sunday the 17th May SEFAC descended on Monte Casino in Fourways for their annual Concourse event. I haven't been to one in a while and since I was on the way back from an early morning photoshoot I decided to stop in and have a look around and also get some shots of the various Italian supercars and exotics. After all, I had my camera with me and it's what I do...  

    First off, let me rant just a little. I have a dodgy leg, I don't like walking far. It's annoying. So I made sure to stop at no less than three different security guards working on the outskirts of Monte Casino to find out where the best parking is to easily go see the Ferraris. They all directed me to the same parking section. This was great, I got a parking right outside the elevators and I only had to go one floor up. I was told that when I got out of the elevator I had to turn right, go through a doorway and there would be Ferraris. There was. Except between myself and the Ferraris there was a security guard who went by the name of Nurse. Now a nurse is someone who helps people for a living, but a security guard called Nurse - well she was the polar opposite. She wouldn't let me through the gate to get to the Ferraris that were about 100m away because I didn't have a pink wristband. This is a free event remember, so not everyone arriving would have a pink wristband. What's worse is that before I got to the gate there was already a family trying to get through and the guy was in a wheelchair. This woman WOULD NOT BUDGE. She made us walk the long way around to the other entrance to the Ferraris. By the time I decided to walk around there was a crowd of us because all the security all over Monte Casino was directing everyone to the same parking section and to the same gate Nurse was stationed at.  To be fair, she was only doing her job, and I did see her go to a little Ferrari gazebo that was controlling access of the Ferraris to ask if we could come in through the gate and they had told her that no one could - even the guy in the wheelchair who was waiting for a friend to bring his family some pink wristbands. So whoever manned that gazebo from SEFAC, you're a dick! Sure, make all of us able-bodied people walk around, but the wheelchair guy? That's disgusting!

    I've mentioned SEFAC a few times now and you may be trying to work out exactly what that anagram stands for, so I'll tell you with a paragraph taken from the official SEFAC website: "This anagram would officially be understood to mean the following, 'Societa Esercizio Fabbriche Automobili e Corse' or more affectionately as 'Sempre Enzo Ferrari Al Comando' - Always Enzo Ferrari in Command! The wording can be found in any Ferrari handbook and refers specifically to the aims of the House of Maranello.  It was first coined by the founder of the Club, the late Pierre Bastiaan Kelfkens and stands for 'SOUTHERN EQUITORIAL FERRARI Membership qualification then, as now, required the ownership of a AUTOMOBILI CLUB'. Please note the spelling of the word Equitorial and not Equatorial. The connotation being not only that of South of the  Equator, but, more importantly, the letter "i" indicates the equine in relationship to the home of the Prancing Horse (il Cavallino Rampante)." So now you know. 

    There's one thing SEFAC is known for when they hold big events, and that's fencing the cars in so that the public can't get close to the cars. This event was no different. I understand that the cars cost a lot of money and they're all someone's pride and joy, but fans want to see the cars, not just a herd of horses in a paddock. I know a few of the Ferrari owners that were there and they also agreed that the public should be able to access the cars. Ok, sure, fence off the super rare stuff that was entered in the Concourse, but that was a mere handful of cars out of all the ones that were parked there. Access to everywhere was only possible with a pink wristband, and I didn't have one and I didn't know where to get one. If I had known access was so restricted I wouldn't have gone to the event. Anyhoo, there was a fenced in Ferrari that had to leave, so I helped the owner cut the cable ties and open up the fencing so he could get out and when closing it again I mentioned to his son that I was about to go home because taking pics from behind the fence was pointless and that I didn't have access - so he gave me a coveted pink wristband with full access. So yeah, I stayed because getting pics is what I do.  Thanks random nice guy, you made my day worthwhile. 

    Now I won't pretend to know all the different models of Ferrari out there. I like the cars a lot but I'm no super fan. I can get most of them right but when it comes to the older stuff I'm pretty clueless. There were some very special cars there though, like a Dino and of course the car that adorned the walls of just about every kid I knew growing up - the F40. There are a few rare and modified Ferraris I know of that I thought I'd see on display but they were nowhere to be seen. There was one that looked very different - oddly enough it was a very special one-off build done by the father of the Scalco twins who I've known for many years now - small world.  More on this special car later though. For now, here's a bunch of pics that I hope you like.

The Ferrari F40

The Scalco 348PP

    I won't go in to too much detail but basically this car is a one of a kind build thanks to some amazing vision and talent. Mr Scalco is not a mechanic, he doesn't simply work on cars, he's an artist of the highest calibre with skills that are very rare in the world today. He wanted to build something different and this amazing project was the eventual outcome. He sourced a damaged Ferrari 348TB and proceeded to get rid of the damaged parts as you do, but instead of replacing with new parts, he made his own. I'm sure you'll agree that it takes some skill to make super smooth fibreglass moulds to create new body panels, especially custom ones. It's a lot of hard work to get the lines and curves just right for the end product. The thing is, there is no fibreglass on this creation - that awesome rear section with the twin aerodynamic bumps, that wing, the frame for the front windscreen - it's all metal and 100% hand made.  The windscreen is a custom piece too.  There is probably only a handful of people left on the planet with skills like this. Everything envisioned for the car is custom built, and the result is a Ferrari that turns heads and also has Ferrari fans and experts scratching their heads as to what model it is they're seeing. Take a look at the pics of this amazing creation.   

The super imaginative PRNs of Ferrari owners

While I had a Personal Registration Number on my car, it didn't have anything to do with the car itself. I love clever PRNs and there are many out there, but ones that simply tell you what car it is that you're looking at while there are badges on the car that tell you the same thing is a little silly. That said, this is pretty much the reason I know what Ferrari it is that I'm looking at from a distance.  To be honest, if I had a car of this calibre, I'd probably have similar plates...