Ferrari of Rancho Mirage has a new owner, and he has big plans for the dealership, including additions that will please Ferrari owners and aficionados alike.
“We are currently building a race facility for our customers and friends and clients, and our race team, which we will eventually develop with customers for Ferrari Challenge Racing, and so that will be an exciting new addition for that store,” the new owner, Todd Blue, CEO of LAPIS, told WardsAuto in a Zoom call.
That facility will be at The Thermal Club’s racetrack in Thermal, Calif., Blue said, and its purpose is to “support, service and entertain our customers, their collections, as well as their race cars.”
The Thermal Club is an exclusive development in the California desert near Rancho Mirage and LAPIS is a member, he said.
Blue also is adding a new service facility on the Ferrari of Rancho Mirage’s five-acre campus. Scheduled for completion in 2026, it will service new, pre-owned and classic Ferraris, Blue said. “We will also have storage space for our customers in that building,” he added.
Additionally, LAPIS is developing its own Classiche program, which authenticates, certifies and restores classic Ferraris, Blue said. Authentication and certification follow a detailed process dictated by the manufacturer.
Such certification not only preserves the car’s historical value, potentially “increasing its value in the event of its sale, it allows owners to benefit from long-term spare parts and take part in the most prestigious official events,” according to the Ferrari website.
The vision: Connecting with customers through events
Blue said he is focused on giving customers access to unique events.
“I want direct connectivity to my customers, literally direct,” Blue said. “I think that store, that brand, that market not only invites but thrives when the owner, him or herself, can have that.”
Indeed, Beyond the Drive: The Future of the Luxury Automotive System, a December 2025 report by Boston Consulting Group and the duPont REGISTRY Group, a high-end automobile digital marketplace, concluded that players in such a luxury ecosystem should “double down on experiences.”
Nearly 95% of respondents said experiences are a valuable part of their brand satisfaction, and driving-focused events such as track days were especially valued, the report concluded.
The report drew on a survey of over 400 current owners, former owners and prospective owners as well as interviews with leading dealers, collectors and auto executives.
From selling IndiGO to a new opportunity
Blue is no stranger to Rancho Mirage, located in California’s Coachella Valley, which also includes Palm Springs. He previously owned IndiGO Auto Group, which includes luxury dealerships in the Coachella Valley.
Though he loved being a car dealer and turned down many offers to sell, Blue said that changed in 2017 when Dutch conglomerate Pon Holdings called him to say they wanted a luxury platform in the U.S. and wanted to partner with him.
He was offered “a number I couldn’t refuse at the time,” Blue said, and sold IndiGO to Pon Holdings.
Blue stayed on for three years to manage IndiGO, then left the retail automotive business. Due to a non-compete, Blue couldn’t immediately acquire another dealership. But he couldn’t get it out of his blood.
After the non-compete clause expired, LAPIS, under Blue, acquired a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Flagstaff, Arizona, in 2023.
The store “was very broken,” Blue said. “It’s still a rebuilding project, but I love the Mercedes brand. Love it.”
He had been looking for another store when the opportunity to acquire Ferrari of Rancho Mirage arose.
In some ways, Blue seemed fated to one day own Ferrari of Rancho Mirage. While still the owner of the IndiGO group, he went to Ferrari 2015 and suggested the automaker should locate a Ferrari dealership in Rancho Mirage, Blue said.
In 2017, Ferrari did just that — but the automaker didn’t award the dealership to Blue. “I was really disappointed,” he said.
That original owner, Bill Story, sold the dealership to billionaire Ron Burkle, and about a year and a half ago Blue said he “cut a deal to buy that store from Ron Burkle.”
It was not to be. Ferrari exercised right of first refusal and instead gave the store to the Holand Group in September 2024.
Though he was “a little wounded,” Blue wanted to stay friendly with the Canadian group. “Seriously, I really had to bite my tongue,” Blue said.
That turned out to be a wise move. Blue called Gad Britton, head of the Holand Group, about eight months ago and discovered he would consider selling. “By October of 2025 we put it under contract,” Blue said.
This time, Ferrari approved the acquisition. “Ferrari finally blessed me, and I am grateful to now be in the family,” Blue said. “It’s like a lifelong dream, and I would say it feels like I really earned it this time.”
Future acquisitions on the horizon
According to the BCG report, the luxury and exotic car market in the U.S. is projected to grow from $110 billion today to between $180 billion and $215 billion by 2035.
Blue is looking to grow his participation in that market by acquiring more dealerships. He admits his acquisition pace has been pretty slow. “I’ve only done two in two years, so I gotta get going,” Blue said.
He isn’t looking to build a giant dealership group. “I’d love to build a boutique group that I can really stay connected with my customers and partner with great brands,” Blue said. “Hopefully, I will have some announcements, I hope, in the next three or four months,” he added.
The brand he would most like to acquire next? Porsche “would be a good guess,” Blue said.
