Origins

The scenario underlying the screenplay for FIGHTING FERRARI was inspired by a true story that took place in 1954.

Enzo Ferrari was not having a good racing season. The original buyer of the car in question – the last Ferrari 375 Mille Miglia Spyder racing car – was a European royal. Unexpectedly he declined to take delivery, and it was one more headache Enzo didn’t need. So when a generous preemptive offer came in from a new American customer, Ferrari quickly approved the sale and turned back to other pressing concerns.

But a problem soon revealed itself. In today’s context, one might shrug. But in the post WW II era in Old World Italy, in the small but powerful empire Enzo Ferrari had literally built from the ashes of the war, it was a serious problem. It was a big deal.

Because Ferrari sold cars to consumers primarily to support his racing; and he sold his racing cars only to top independent drivers, royalty, high dignitaries and celebrities, like film director Roberto Rossellini, who was married to movie star Ingrid Bergman.*

In this striking case of mistaken identity, it was discovered that the new buyer was a woman – in fact, a Beverly Hills housewife. Ferrari moved quickly to cancel the deal.

Sadly for him, “Willie (aka, Willametta) Smith” was an heiress to a substantial fortune, and wasn’t used to taking “No!” for an answer. She was known to spend almost as much on holiday decorations for her other home on 17-Mile Drive in from Monterey, California, as she paid for this car. . She would make no exception in this case for Ferrari’s quaint notions of who was suitable to buy his cars.

Ferrari was known to say “The customer is not always correct.” Willie viewed it differently: He took the money, and a deal was a deal.

This sets the stage for an intriguing and entertaining “battle of the sexes” in the streets, cafes, hotels and bedrooms of Modena and Maranello.

* The Rossellini/Bergman 375MM, a sibling of Willie’s Spyder, took top honors at the Pebble Beach Concours d’ Elegance at the Pebble Beach Golf and Country Club, in Monterrey, California. It was the first time in 40 years that a post WW II car had done that. Ironically, Willie’s car had been featured at Pebble Beach decades before, and in a dispute over the judge’s scores, Willie withdrew the car and it was never shown again.