For car collectors, the Ferrari factory in Maranello, Italy, is considered hallowed ground. Nestled in a picturesque valley near Bologna, the plant is off-limits to all but Ferrari personnel, and to those handpicked, extremely wealthy collectors the legendary carmaker has deemed worthy of owning one of its finely honed machines. "Ordinary mortals cannot get into the Ferrari factory," explains Rick Carey, auctions editor of Car Collector magazine.
That will change on May 23, when Ferrari, together with Sotheby's (nyse: BID - news - people ), plans to host a first-ever auction of cars and related memorabilia at Ferrari headquarters in Maranello. Headlining the sale is the F2004, the winning Formula One car driven by Michael Schumacher in the first five Grand Prix races of 2004. Until now, the only way to buy a Formula One Ferrari was on the secondary auction market or through Ferrari's exclusive, four-year-old F-1 Clienti program, to which clients must be invited by the company.
The May auction appears to be something of a marketing coup, given the timing of other race-car-related events in that part of Europe. First, Ferrari and Sotheby's will preview the sale, on May 14 and 15, at the Fiorano test track, which is adjacent to the Ferrari Logistics Building where the auction will take place. Then on May 16, Bonhams holds its annual collectible car auction in Monaco. On the 19th, the Mille Miglia begins, a thousand-mile Italian road tour for historic cars scheduled to conclude May 22. Also on the 22nd is the Grand Prix in Monaco. Then it's an easy hop back up to Maranello for the Ferrari auction on the 23rd.
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