Zaventem, Belgium, 17 – 27 January 2002
The relationship between Jacques Swaters and Ferrari started in 1952, when his
Ecurie Francorchamps racing team took delivery of a 500 F2 model, his first Ferrari.
You never forget your first car, and certainly not your first Ferrari, especially when it
provides you with a Grand Prix victory! Thus the yellow 500 F2, chassis # 0208,
holds a special place in his multitude of Ferrari memories. It was also the car in
which he had one of his most memorable drives, and it wasn’t on a circuit! He drove
it from the factory in Maranello 1000km overnight, without lights or any road
equipment, all the way back to Belgium, so that the team could compete in the GP
des Frontieres.
This initial purchase led to the factory requesting him to represent them at the 1953
Brussels Salon, as their commercial director couldn’t make it and they already had a
car on the way for display. From little acorns mighty oaks grow, and as they say the
rest is history, Ecurie Francorchamps went on to become one of the best known and
most respected private Ferrari racing teams, entering races world-wide from the
fifties through to the end of the seventies. In parallel Jacques Swaters built up a
successful commercial business, Garage Francorchamps, as the Ferrari
concessionaire for Benelux, which continues in this role today as part of the
Inchcape Group.
Thus 2002 marks the 50th anniversary of a continuous association with Ferrari,
which was celebrated by an exhibition called 50 Anni di Passione”, at the
headquarters showroom in Zaventem. This ran in parallel with the Brussels Salon
between 17 – 27 January, and the showroom was completely remodelled to give the
impression of being on a motor show stand. Temporary timber walls were installed
within the glass faced showroom, and the windows were covered with heavy black
drapes to block out all natural light, to provide a completely closed environment,
completed by a reception foyer which was erected around the main entrance. The
effect was completed by carefully managed lighting, together with a display of twenty
historically significant pictures around the walls.
Apart from the full range of current Ferrari production cars, which were displayed in
one area of the showroom, there was the 375 Plus, chassis # 0394AM, from
Jacques Swaters personal collection, a 360 Challenge car raced under the Garage
Francorchamps banner during 2001, and an example of the FIA GT championship
class winning 360 GT. Within the new car display area there was also an example
of the recently announced Maserati Spyder, heralding a new liaison, as Garage
Francorchamps will become the Benelux concessionaire for Maserati from the
beginning of February 2002.
As a prelude to the public opening of the exhibition there was a press conference at
lunchtime on 14 January, with a champagne reception held during the evening for
invited guests. This proved very popular, with over 720 people attending during the
course of the evening. The boutique situated at the far end of the showroom was
constantly busy, mainly with people interested in the new range of ”Fila for Ferrari”
clothing and the new book about the 50 year association with Ferrari. This is called
”Garage Francorchamps Ferrari 50 Anni di Passione”, and is available in soft-back
form at 24 Euros, or you can buy the same edition in a silver box with prints of the
twenty pictures displayed in the exhibition for 60 Euros, the latter being a 500 copy
limited edition. The cover of the book is also reproduced as an event poster. More
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Cars On Display
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