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In June, 1956 in Brescia, Italy, a special, competition-built Ferrari 250GT "Boano" coupe finished the famed Mille Miglia race in thirty-third place out of more than four hundred contenders. Today, this incredibly rare "piece of automotive art" is owned by Baton Rouge neurosurgeon Dr. Eric Oberlander.
D E PA R T M E N T O F D R E A M D R I V E S
Confessions of a Car Fanatic
A 1956 FERRARI 250 GT "BOANO" COUPE RETURNS TO ITS ORIGINS, AFTER IT MAKES A HOME IN BATON ROUGE Story by James Fox-Smith • Photos by Kimberly Meadowlark
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t was June—high summer—and hot the day the vintage sports cars participating in the 2021 Mille Miglia swept into the Italian city of Modena. Inside Dr. Eric Oberlander’s 1956 Ferrari 250GT “Boano” Coupe it was even hotter. After three days and more than seven hundred miles behind the wheel, the heat of the V-12 Colombo engine flooding through the firewall into the un-airconditioned cockpit seemed on the verge of setting the Baton Rouge neurosurgeon’s feet on fire. Despite the discomfort, Oberlander was thrilled. Here he was, thousands of miles from home, fulfilling his child52
hood dream by driving a rare and gorgeous classic along serpentine Italian roads—a participant in the world’s most famous car rally. Of the 450 pre-1957 cars entered in the 2021 Mille Miglia, just three were Ferraris, and throughout the race so far, wherever the Boano coupe went, a roar of appreciation followed as the jubilant crowd lining the roadsides recognized one of their own. Then, as Oberlander’s flame-red Ferrari entered Modena, he and his co-driver Scott Laroque found themselves surrounded by Italian motorcycle police, riding four in front and two behind, lights flashing, in perfect formation. For
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several miles as the escort wound its way through the Modena streets, cheering fans gave Oberlander and his car a welcome befitting the return of a favorite son. Why? Because Modena is the birthplace of Enzo Ferrari. Oberlander told me this story while we sat in his Ferrari 250GT in the driveway of his Baton Rouge home. We’d just been around the block, the glorious roar of that sixty-five-year-old V12 turning the heads of afternoon dog walkers as it snorted and burbled through the neighborhood. Against the tick of cooling metal, Oberlander described how lifelong passions for cars and col-
lecting led a kid from the Washington, D.C. suburbs on a fifteen-year quest to own a vehicle worthy of the fabled Mille Miglia. “I’ve always been a car nut. And I’ve always been the type to collect things: coins, stamps, football cards … a few weeks ago I went out and bought a bunch of Joe Burrow rookie cards,” he admitted with a grin. When Oberlander was young, his parents divorced—his mother moving to suburban Virginia with a man who was mad for all things Volkswagen. When Oberlander would visit his mom on weekends, he would spend time turning wrenches on the collec-
