Video: The Ferrari panelbeater

If you have ever gazed at an old Ferrari and felt yourself almost overcome by the beauty of its bodywork, you simply have to watch this. 

What with the Fiat S76 and Cisitalia D46 videos we’ve shared recently as well as this one, we’re establishing something of a vintage Italian connection. That’s no bad thing though, especially if they’re all as spellbinding to watch as this firm of Ferrari panelbeaters.

It was sent to us by Luca Bedini (who wrote it) in the wake of the Cisitalia piece and we’re glad that he did. It shows Egidio Brandoli, a septuagenarian master panel beater who once heard the Ferrari cars being tested at Modena and who dreamed of working on them. This led to a 20-year stint at Scaglietti during which time he must have worked on some of the most desirable cars ever to have been built. Then, having worked on the cars when new, he set-up his own firm to repair and rebuild some of the metalwork which had suffered over the years.

In the Brandoli workshop (also the workplace of his son, Roberto) we see at least three Dinos, a 250 Lusso, a 330GTC and a gorgeous 1957 500 TRC, as well as stacks (literally) of what appear to be the original bucks over which the panels are formed.

The firm has never advertised. ‘When a collector brings us a car, they are bringing it to its place of birth,’ says Brandoli junior, who likens the firm to a tailors and who can be seen taking the 500TRC for a spin on a sunny afternoon. Bliss.

I might just watch it again now …