Nestled in the heart of the Appalachian mountain chain resides Phil Bachman. He is a man that lives in the South, where trucks are regarded as luxury items, and a weekend of going muddin’ is to many equivalent to the Concours d’Elegance. To say the least, if you’re a common person living in the charming South, you are lucky to see a dozen Ferraris in your lifetime. Despite the unicorn-like rarity of a Ferrari in his region, that didn’t stop him from filling his garage with upwards of 40 immaculate archival offsprings from Maranello. How could this be in Tennessee!? This is on the same possibility scale of stumbling upon Ross Brawn and Flavio Briatore flinging a perfect 300 at the local hole-in-the-wall bowling alley.
But that is just the cover of the book, the uniqueness of the Bachman collection flows deeper than just a team of horses under one roof. Minus a few select examples (Two F40s, 288 GTO, 512 BBi Boxer, 250 GTL Lusso, and more) every Ferrari model has two things in common: they’re the final production car in a given series, and they’re yellow. “I see the final production car as the one that best exemplifies that model” Phil Bachman proclaims.
Whether you agree with his mantra or not, we can all agree that the Bachman Collection is breathtaking. And I was proud to be one of the few to lift up the skirt of his priceless garage to shoot and write for the distinguished Ferrari-only magazine Forza. I told my video-extraordinaire buddy Will Keown about the assignment and he jumped at the road trip to Tennessee. Which I’m glad he did, because he made this beautiful BTS video of the day, enjoy!
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After a lengthy, but unforgettable discussion with the friendly Bachman family, Mr. Bachman had one more nugget of information: “I have a LaFerrari on its way in a few short years” he said with a modest smirk. “Is it going to be yellow and the last production model?” I ask, then immediately felt daft for uttering such foolish question. It’s good to know that after 30 years, Phil still has the same glow today that attracted him to his first Ferrari. The mark of a true veteran collector. This certainly isn’t the last time I get to shoot one of his cars in the Bachman stable.