The Ferrari-Maserati of Vancouver dealership organized a provincial tour last weekend that brought about 20 owners of the famous Italian sports cars to Osoyoos and the Watermark Beach Resort. The group went on to visit Vernon, Lytton and Whistler during their busy weekend tour. (Photo supplied)
Sports car lovers love to debate the merits of their favourite machine, but there’s no arguing that Ferrari and Maserati would land near the top of any list of the world’s greatest sports cars.
A group of close to 20 owners of the two famous Italian sports cars spent the night in Osoyoos last Friday before heading to Vernon and on to Whistler during a provincial tour.
Members of the MG Club of Vancouver, which has visited Osoyoos on more than one occasion in the past few years, also visited Osoyoos early last week.
The Ferrari and Maserati owners who visited town appeared to be having a great time.
“This is our first event and hopefully it will become an annual thing,” said Mark Edmonds, the general manager of the Ferrari-Maserati of Vancouver dealership in downtown Vancouver.
“All we sell is Ferraris and Maseratis,” said Edmonds. “We are the only certified Ferrari-Maserati dealership in all of British Columbia.”
Edmonds visited Osoyoos on a regular basis as a child and he highly recommended that numerous owners who have purchased vehicles from his dealership make the journey.
After an early Friday social in a meeting room at the Watermark Beach Resort, participants participated in a tour of three local wineries and ended their evening with wine tasting and dinner at the Burrowing Owl Estate Winery between Osoyoos and Oliver.
They all jumped in their cars and headed to Vernon Saturday evening, where they enjoyed dinner and wine at the Sparking Hills Winery.
The tour brought them to Lytton for lunch on Sunday and then back to Whistler for a reception and dinner on Sunday evening.
There is no more iconic sports car anywhere in the world than Ferrari, said Edmonds.
“Like so many others, I grew up with a poster of a Ferrari on the wall of my bedroom,” he said. “All car lovers grew up with Ferrari, where it was Niki Lauda winning the Formula One championship back in the 1970s, Magnum P.I. sliding his 308 in that classic opening scene on the famous television show or Don Johnson blasting around on Miami Vice.
“Ferrari is a truly iconic sports car and it feeds the need for speed that so many car lovers crave and love.”
While Ferrari is “a pure sports car” with only seating for two and all models possessing a high-performance engine, Maserati has broadened its appeal by offering sedans and numerous other models that are not strictly for sports car lovers, he said.
There are some Maserati models that start in the $100,000 range, while the cheapest Ferrari is more in the range of $250,000 and can easily be twice that price for the most exclusive models, he said.
“The big sticker price is part of the appeal,” he said. “You have to have access to a certain level of economic freedom to be able to purchase a Ferrari or Maserati.”
Many owners who participated in last week’s visit had never been to Osoyoos and they were amazed at the natural beauty of the area, he said.
Edmonds said he personally dreams of the day he can own his own Ferrari.
“As the general manager of the dealership, I get to drive quite a few different models, but I’ve never owned one yet,” he said. “I’m working on it.”
Edmonds said he and many from the group will return to Osoyoos next summer.
“It’s a great place here and I know everyone is having a really good time,” he said.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
