About Ferraris Online: 50+ Years of Ferrari Expertise

Ferraris Online

Ferraris Online was founded 53 years ago in 1972 by Michael Sheehan. In the early 1970s, we began our long restoration career fixing heavily crashed exotics for State Farm, USAA and Auto Club insurance, growing to be North Americas largest Ferrari Restoration shop. In the late 1970s, the boom to transform Daytona Coupes into Daytona Spyder conversions was all the rage, and we gave many coupes a haircut. That market died as interest rates climbed past 20% in 1980. We then followed the market over to Japan where we did a massive amount of business for many years. Each time the market shifted its focus, we shifted right along with it.
Today, we have a 4,000-squarefoot warehouse and show cars by appointment only. Thanks to the long reach of the Internet, we connect with an international clientele with all the advantages of being low-key and centered in the Mecca of California car culture. Plus with over 53 years in the business connecting with car enthusiasts and tracking every car we come across, we have built a massive Ferrari focused database with the histories on thousands of cars and a subscriber network of tens of thousands of people.
As Ferraris Online, we offer 53 years’ experience as specialty broker of exotic cars, specializing in Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati cars and collections of Ferraris and other exotic cars. Our expertise as Ferrari historians, and knowing current and historic market values and secular trends gives us an insider view of the market. We also offer over 35 years’ experience as an expert witness re: exotic car values regarding Ferrari market value, market trends, appraisals, and all aspects of repair and vehicle restoration

Our Team

Robert Flotron

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Woofus T. Sheepdog

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Michael Sheehan

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Ferraris Online

Robert is an automotive enthusiast whose passion for cars began at a young age. Growing up, he could be found holding the flashlight for his dad on various classic and drag car projects, starting as young as seven years old. His love for the craft only grew from there, leading him to restore his first car—a 1985 Chevrolet C10—completely from the ground up.
Starting his professional journey at just 16 years old, Robert entered the automotive industry as a mechanic, honing his skills and developing a deep understanding of vehicle systems. By the age of 19, he expanded his expertise further, designing and manufacturing his own automotive parts.
With 17 years of experience in the industry, Robert has maintained and worked on an impressive range of vehicles, from pre-war classics to high-end Ferraris. Over the past 10 years, he has specialized in dealing with exotic and race cars, building a reputation for his knowledge, dedication, and meticulous attention to detail.

Woofus T. Sheepdog

Head of Security & Chief Lunch Officer
Woofus T. Sheepdog is the top dog when it comes to keeping our team safe from both intruders and runaway sandwiches. A seasoned professional with an impeccable track record, Woofus’s keen senses and heightened alertness have made him an invaluable asset in the realm of security (and lunchtime decisions). Woofus tells us that working at Ferraris-Online is like herding cats, but he is very dogged in his approach!!!
Whether it’s sniffing out potential threats or deciding whether today’s lunch should be tacos or pizza, Woofus approaches every challenge with the same dedication and enthusiasm… though he might occasionally nap in the middle of a shift.
When he’s not chasing squirrels or making sure the office is free of any potential “treat thieves,” Woofus is making critical decisions about what the team should eat next. He is particularly fond of bacon-flavored anything and believes that “any day without snacks is a day wasted.”
With a nose for danger and a tail that never stops wagging, Woofus T. Sheepdog leads our security team with pawsitive energy. Just don’t try to take his lunch—he’s been known to bark at anyone who dares to cross that line

Michael Sheehan

Owner, Ferrari Historian & Expert Witness
On a cold Canadian morning in February 1969, as the sun tried to break through and the early morning snow became a bitterly cold rain, Haight-Ashbury and warmer weather beckoned. In hours, I was on the rain-swept Trans-Canada highway with $10 (Canadian) in my pocket, hitchhiking south. Over the next two years, in a homage to fellow Canadian Jack Kerouac, I made multiple pilgrimages up and down the West Coast.
In 1970, I found myself in downtown San Francisco in need of parts for a 1955 Chevy, when I heard a new-to-me, and hopelessly exotic exhaust rumble from a parking area across the street. The driver was a caricature of a European movie director, wearing a blazer, a cravat and a beret. I crossed the street and fell in love with his car. It was dark blue, had four exhaust pipes, a crossed flag emblem on the trunk, and the chrome script read “Superfast.” I had just seen my first Ferrari, and I was hopelessly imprinted. (Decades and much research later, I found it was 500 Superfast, s/n 08253.)
In 1971, while going to junior college in Orange County, CA, I opened a one-man body shop. Another local shop imported mechanical parts from wrecked 356 Porsches from Germany, using ex-German Post Office VW buses as packing crates that could be driven to the docks in Hamburg. I patched up and resold the buses to Southern California hippies. I did well and eventually moved up the food chain to Austin Healey, and, later, to Jaguar E-type sales and repairs.
In late 1972, I purchased my first Ferrari, 250 PF Coupe, s/n 1447GT, for $2k, at a time when a house in Southern California cost $20k. It taught me the joy of setting 24 valves and syncing double-point distributors. In 1973, I bought my second Ferrari, Vignale 212 Cabriolet, s/n 0125EL, for $850. Now a two-Ferrari owner, I was, by default, in the Ferrari business. In 1973, I moved my shop to Costa Mesa, CA. We were just down the road from Road & Track magazine — and right in the center of Southern California car culture.
In 1974, I purchased Daytona prototype, s/n 12547, an ex-Le Mans, Daytona and Sebring racer, for $14k at a time when buying a used-up and stripped-out race car was masochistic madness. My lame rationale was that the outside fuel filter looked cool, and the roll bar would save me if I flipped it during a late-night run down Laguna Canyon Road.
I began racing, starting with a 206 GT and then moving to Mazda Pro, then Barber Saab, to Trans-Am, IMSA GTO and eventually the Camel-Lite Series. My best — and last — season was 1993, with five podium finishes at Lime Rock, Mid-America, Watkins Glen, Portland and Phoenix. As part of our business strategy, we tracked down, bought, prepared and raced what were then long-lost race cars.
On top of sales, restoration, and racing, I also was the monthly Ferrari columnist for Sports Car Market magazine 1993-2013, Long term contributing author to Ferrari Market Letter & Cavallino magazines, long term author of socio-economic analysis of Global Ferrari price trends, and am the monthly Ferrari market analysis for FORZA magazine from 2006 to date. Today I no longer run a large restoration shop, but rather happily work with my Daughter Colleen at our showroom specializing in the cars I love so much.