A visit to the Symbolic
Motor Car Company
La
Jolla, August 20, 1998
- Motor
racing history inside
- The
world’s leading Ferrari dealer
- Two
original Dino from Italy
- Four- and
twelve-cylinder cars with German history
- A glance at
Moretti’s winning car
- Rare
automotive pieces of art waiting for
their restoration
- Not a
museum, actually
-
Many car-nut
California tourists cruising down the La Jolla
Boulevard in the identically named exclusive town
near San Diego will notice the franchised
Rolls-Royce dealership which is located at 7440
La Jolla Boulevard. Only a very few, particularly
crazy car-nuts will stop-by to pay a visit to it
- the British luxury cars are actually not that
rare in this beautiful part of the world; one can
virtually see loads of them in the streets, to be
more exact. But if one really decides to visit
the dealership to have a look at the well
polished aristocratic automobiles, one will very
soon become aware of the fact that there’s a
second showroom which is not visible from the
road.
 
There one will
find the stock of the world’s leading dealer
for historical Ferrari race- and sports cars: The
Symbolic Motor Car Company.
The company
of Bernie Chase, simply known as
"Symbolic" or "SMC" by the
insiders, has gained their leading position on
the market during the last few years. There are
virtually not too many sales of classic Ferrari
racecars going on in the world without Symbolic
being involved. Having such a remarkable flow of
cars being bought and sold, it is just natural to
have an impressive stock of classic cars. For
normal visitors not having the intention and/or
the means to buy one of the lovely machines, a
visit to Symbolic resembles the visit to an
automobile museum. The staff does welcome
dyed-in-the-wool enthusiasts, and it is not
necessary to look like a potential buyer to get
access to the showroom. When I was staying in
sunny California and paid a visit to Symbolic, I
was by far not the only one admiring the
automotive rarities.
There were
so many interesting vehicles on display –
one did not know where to go first! To me, the
most interesting cars were two Dino 206 S, both
of them preserved in completely untouched
original condition.
-
-
- The
six-cylindered cars (s/n 0834 and s/n
018) had been sold by the factory in the
1960’s to the Italian privateer
Leandro Terra who entered them in many
races. Instead of selling his cars after
their racing careers for peanuts, Terra
eventually decided to put them in
storage. Symbolic spent much, much time
(and probably much money, too...) during
the last two years to talk the Italian
into selling these two cars. A success
not only for the Symbolic team, but also
for the Ferrari fans: Now the long-lost
cars will be seen regularly in public
again at various events.
For any
German tourist interested in Ferrari, the somehow
less spectacular 500 TR s/n 0652MDTR was of
particular interest: The German racing legend
Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips did drive this
very car in the Grand Prix of Cuba back in 1957.
The well-informed
visitor from Germany might remember the 250 GT
LWB Berlinetta Scaglietti TdF s/n 1141GT and the
500 TRC s/n 0706MDTR: These two cars had spent a
number of years in Germany prior to their sale to
the U.S. not too long ago.
Symbolic’s
showroom does also house attractions for
Ferraristi rather interested in modern cars than
in classics: The 333 SP s/n 019 was on offer, the
winning car of the 1998 24 Hours of Daytona and
the 12 Hours of Sebring. Its owner and driver,
Giampiero Moretti, had parted from this car after
his long career had come to an adequate end. The
sale to a collector will probably ensure the
car’s preservation in its original state,
including the stickers of the technical
scrutinizing.
 
Some years older,
but definitely not less powerful is the 126 C4
Formula 1 s/n 074 that took Michele Alboreto to 1st
in the 1984 Grand Prix of Belgium at Zolder. Also
on display: 512 BBLM s/n 44023, Ferrari’s
early 1980’s product for customers with
motor racing ambitions.
 
- By the way,
wandering SMC’s showroom one should
not leave without having ascended the
second floor; there one will not only
find some pieces of automotive art
(sculptures and paintings), but one will
also have an impressive view over the
showroom from a gallery.
Of course
there are many, many more cars to see in
Symbolic’s premises apart from the ones
mentioned in this article. And there’s even
more: Some miles away, the Symbolic Motor Car
Company runs a shop where Rolls-Royce and Bentley
cars are serviced and where Ferrari are restored.
I was allowed to enter the workshop and was
stunned immediately by a Ferrari 375 America (s/n
0337AL) with a unique Vignale body.
The car had spent
decades in a barn and was now waiting for its
urgently required restoration. Standing alongside
were 342 America s/n 0234AL, sold new to King
Leopold of Belgium, and the 410 Superamerica s/n
0713SA, an example with many one-off features.
These two cars, too, were to undergo ground-up
restorations.
 
Last but not least
I would like to mention 512 M s/n 1044 that had
been bought by Symbolic from the well-known
Italian collector Fabrizio Violati.
 
The car is just
another restoration project, but the mechanics do
never work on too many cars at the same time,
hence it might take a while until s/n 1044 is in
race-ready condition. During my visit, 250 Europa
GT Berlinetta Speciale s/n 0425GT was in the
final stage of a restoration; this car is one of
the prototypes for the 250 GT LWB Berlinetta
"Tour de France".
To me,
it’s not easy to find the adequate words to
close this article, because one cannot simply
quote the opening hours of the museum and
recommend a visit since Symbolic is
"basically" a dealership and not a
museum. But as mentioned earlier,
dyed-in-the-wool enthusiasts and fans are welcome
to enjoy the automotive highlights on display.
- Text
Gregor Schulz
- Translation
Andreas Birner
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