“The Ferrari is a dream. People dream of owning this special vehicle and for most, it will remain a dream apart from those lucky few,” entrepreneur Enzo Ferrari said. Those lucky few (in the Potomac area and beyond) call on Gaithersburg’s Competizione and Sports Cars, where owner Richard Capoccia makes their car dreams a reality, providing outstanding mechanical restoration, racing prep, and sales and brokering of Ferraris ranging from classic to modern.
Capoccia, a first-generation Italian-American businessman with parents from Rome, knew from the age of 14 what he wanted to do with his life. Tinkering with Italian cars with his dad as a teen led to an apprenticeship at Porsche which led to a position at Ferrari of Washington which led to opening his own shop in 2008. “Ninety-nine percent of my business is word-of-mouth,” Capoccia estimates. He’s worked with some clients for more than 30 years; in fact, Capoccia still services the cars of Ferrari of Washington’s original owners, former employers turned friends.
Most of his clients are high-profile local business or corporation owners, such as CALIBRE Systems President & CEO Richard Pineda, who had this to say about his longtime friend:
“Rich has inspected Ferraris for me prior to purchasing and it has been an invaluable service offering — from a 1957 Ferrari to something as modern as a 2022 Ferrari. Whether it be for concours, racing or daily use, he ensures that the car is what it’s supposed to be. He has done this many times locally but we’ve also been to fun PPI (pre-purchase inspection) trips like NY, NJ, IL, FL and even overseas to Japan, Germany, the UK, and of course, Italy.”
“Our relationship evolved from a vendor/client relationship to a truly deep-rooted friendship.
Independent of his professionalism and expertise in maintaining these cars for me, his passion for the brand and how to upkeep a Ferrari automobile is just top-notch,” Pineda continued. Recently, they traveled to the Finale Mondiale in Imola, Italy, an annual celebration that caps the racing season.
Clients describe Capoccia as “old-school” in his approach to business, where a handshake is good as gold. Reputation, loyalty and excellence matter to him. Everything, from specialty engine overhaul to restoration work, is done in-house or locally. He still works with two machinists he’s known for more than 30 years.
For inspiration, Capoccia visits the original Ferrari factory in Italy annually. “There’s something very special about Italian cars,” he says. “They have soul, they have meaning, the body styles are second to none, they’re beautiful, they sound amazing. Ferrari’s always been geared towards the passion of the driver and the art form of the car. They’ve had the best designers in the world. Everyone tries to copy Ferrari but it’s very difficult. They just don't have the soul that they put in from a small manufacturing plant in small-town Maranello, Italy.”
Competizione & Sports Cars
7913 Cessna Avenue Units C, D, E
Gaithersburg, MD 20879
www.competizionecars.com
