The 2011 Concorso Italiano was a huge success and the date for next year is Friday August 17, 2012 at the Laguna Seca Golf Ranch Monterey, California 9a.m. to 5p.m. The great variety of Italian cars on display this year was a great way to honour the many Italian auto manufacturers past and present.
The 2011 Concorso Italiano
Report by Cam Hutchins Webmaster & photographer for the NAACC
August 19, 2011
The 2011 Concorso Italiano was held at the Laguna Seca Golf Ranch on a tree lined fairway that was not the terrain of Mountain goats and offered a stunning layout for the cars to be displayed...but even if we were at a rundown tenement building the cars would drown out their surroundings. Much has been commented on the various locations of the Concorso Italiano since it's inception in 1985 and it must be a large nuisance to the local golfers but the nearly 1000 italian cars gathered has it's own dedicated following.
Although I never found the Ferrari F50 reunion....I only saw 3 cars and later found out that was it, I walked throughout the site and chatted with as many owners as possible. It was my second car event that day and I arrived well after lunch but the car owners were a hardy lot and stayed to the bitter end so I got to speak with a number of them. It could of been the fact that the roads of Carmel Valley during car week are stuffed with vehicles of all shapes and sizes and no point subjecting your fine prancing horse to the tortures of overheating in the ensuing lineups.
Once on site we quickly got busy snapping pics of the cars and I particulary like to take pics of rows of similar cars...something only possible to do for Italian cars at this event. Being from Vancouver my exposure to Italian cars has been a few Ferraris, a smattering of Lamborghinis (up until the Dam burst on the Gallardos/Murcilagos a few years back), some Alfas and Fiats.
The Concorso allowed us to see a wide selection of Italian vehicles that are not the premium models but sometimes are the premium examples of their type in existence...even if they are Fiat 124's. Many times I saw someone see a nondescript car and describe how their Dad or Uncle had one when they were a kid etc.
Recently the hottest trend in the collector car hobby has been the Barnfind cars that are reportedly unrestored and often extremely rough. Since most exotic cars are relinquished to being trailer queens and never driven, it seems to make sense ot just leave them dirty and haul them to shows. It seems someone is turning neglect into gold. I love the look of the rough cars parked unapologetically next to their pristine sisters and find them as appealing to photograph as any other classic. Some of these cars include Dan Simpson`s 1955 Vignale-bodied Fiat 8V and the 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB found by Tom Shaughnessy.
Judging from the crowds, Italian cars still hold a fascination for us and one of the coolest sights was a couple of guys changing a set of gaskets on a Lambo V-12 during the show. We also overheard many owners being quizzed by another owner trying to restore or repair their own car and in need of the expertise.
I got to meet the founder of the magnificent L-79 powered Iso Rivolta... Piero Rivolta was on hand chatting with many enthusiasts The L-79 being the GM code for specifying the Corvette 327 engine in Novas and other manufacturers also used the mill, and Rivolta stated in their literature of the day " It can be serviced readily at any of more than 6,000 convenient establishments throughout North America". I guess they did not plan on selling too many in Europe.
Another star was Valentino Balboni the famed test driver for Lamborghini that has since retired. He got a laugh from the well heeled crowd when he mentioned that he got his job at 19 years old as a test driver at Lamborghini and no there was not an opening for any more 19 year olds. Jay Leno made an appearance and wehn Jay was around it meant that the crowd followed him and got out of the way of other cars.
The Ferrari Club offered awards to the best examples of roadworthy Ferraris that are maintained as new and still enjoyed. The amount of winners of awards is a testament of the love the owners have for their cars. One Ferrari that probably out lived it's welcome with it's original owner was the 1955 Ferrari 212 Barchetta with a body by Touring that Enzo Ferrari gave to Henry Ford the II before their love evaporated into a battle that enlivened the race tracks throughout the 60`s.
So many other great cars were present and there even is a large selection of non-Italian cars off to the side. The tribute to all things Italian, food, wine, culture but not eccentric politics were all represented in the various vendor`s booths on the site and fleshed out with the standard vendors flogging items suited for fellow carnuts. We stayed to the bitter end and the on the way out almost by the gate sat on of the spectators cars...a lovely silver 512 Boxer...now that is arriving in style.
We drove to the event from Canada and one of the Lamborghini 400GT 2+2 there was driven from San Diego to Pebble Beach for 30 years and has over 260,000 miles on her. Purchased as a daily driver in the early 70`s and still opulent, I look forward to seeing him and the car next year.
2011 Concorso Italiano Complete Gallery
2011 Concorso Gallery of named images
Above Photo by Cam Hutchins
Above images submitted by Concorso Italiano
Above images submitted by Concorso Italiano
Above images submitted by Concorso Italiano
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Event Info
This August 19th at Laguna Seca Golf Ranch, Monterey California Concorso Italiano will once again open the traditional Monterey/Pebble Beach Weekend. Concorso Italiano's unique format features more than 800 – 1000 vehicles of Italian origin, and its atmosphere is on the vehicles on display, conversations between people who love and appreciate them, and elements of Italian style such as fashion, food, music and art – all of this on the beautiful grounds of the Laguna Seca Golf Ranch. The Ranch was crafted by Robert Trent Jones Senior & Junior and nestled among the oak-studded hillsides of Monterey, providing breathtaking views of gorgeous Central Coast landscapes.
Take everything ever made in Italy, from fashion to Ferraris, sprinkle it with some red wine, slather it in sunshine, and top it with elegance and fun, and you have Concorso Italiano.
For More info please go to the official Concorso Italiano site>>
2010 Concorso Gallery>>
25th Annual Concorso Italiano: Ferrari F40 Featured
August 13, 2010
J.J. Carlson - Director of Media Relations
Monterey, Calif. – After a very successful event in 2009, it was no surprise that 2010 would also take place at the lucious Laguna Seca Golf Ranch off highway 68. The rolling green hills and valley overview proved to be an excellent landscape for this bright ensemble of automobiles. I was delighted to see the Ferrari F40 as a featured car this year, as it has been one of my favorites for a long time. At 2400lb and 470 bhp, this really is a true super car – basically a race car for the street. The compact 2.9L twin-turbo V8 is light and spins up to 7000rpm quicky, despite some marginal turbo lag. The body is a composite of kevlar, carbon and aluminum. My favorite thing about the F40 is that it’s all business. Dare I say that it is even “plain”. Nice simple interior and dash. Nothing but seats, steering wheel and 5-speed stick at your disposal – this is no luxury car, it’s a go-kart with 470 bhp! About a dozen F40’s showed up this year, not that different from the number of 288 GTO’s from 2009. Of course the F40’s were great, but there was also much more to see. This year celebrated the 100th Anniversary of Alfa-Romeo. There were many fine examples which reminds me of last year where the three B.A.T. cars were on display. There were also many other examples from Lamborghini, Maserati, Fiat, Lancia, and DeTomaso. Even a 1969 Bizzarrini Manta in a tealish shell. There was a bit of everything, exotics as well as classics, the best of the old and the new. One that garnered a lot of attention was a 2008 Ferrari SP-1 or Special Project-1. Imagine going to Ferrari and asking them to make you a car to fit your personal tastes. I don’t mean choosing colors or options for a model, I mean making a new car entirely. This is exactly what a Japanese businessman did and the SP-1 is the result. It is a one-off custom Ferrari. Although similar to the F430, the SP-1 has a custom chassis and body. Unfortunately, there were no performance specs listed, but even so it took top honors and was “Best of Show”. Another modern marvel was the debut of the Zagato-penned Perana Z-One. The Z-One is powered by an aluminum 6.2L V8 developing 440 bhp, which seems Corvette-ish to me. It utilizes a steel tube frame and has a composite body. It’s the first low volume commercial vehicle designed by Zagato. Sales will be limited to approximately 999 in Europe and 99 vehicles per year in the US. The cost? - $50,000 Euros. All will be manufactured in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Overall, the 2010 Concorso Italiano had a lot to offer. There were nearly a thousand great cars and even some motorcycles if you’re into that sort of thing – me, of course not J. The sun was shining and the colors were vibrant. Hope to see you there in 2011, 2010 was a blast.
Photos accompanying this article>>
Click on any of the following photos to go to the complete photo Gallery of images shot by the NAACC photographer Cam Hutchins |
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