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2004 Concorso Italiano
By: Drew Phillips
Photos by the author
August 27, 2004

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If the events at Monterey were rated by size, Concorso Italiano would be the undisputed champion by technical knockout. More than one thousand automobiles of Italian origin graced the greens of the Black Horse in Seaside, CA, and another five hundred sports and exotic cars were in the adjacent car corral to the show. Nearly 600 Ferraris were in attendance along with over 100 Lamborghinis and dozens of DeTomasos, Alfa Romeos, Fiats, and Maseratis. This was by far the largest gathering of cars in the event's nineteen year history. In fact, there just might have been too many cars. Despite the organizers best efforts to improve traffic flow getting into the show, it took some of the cars nearly three hours to finally make it into the event. Those wanting a more quiet and intimate show attended the Quail Motorsport gathering across town at the Quail Lodge.

Once all the cars were finally on the greens and fairways of the Blackhorse Golf Course, however, no one could complain. The organizers really put together an incredible show. This year is the fiftieth anniversary of Ferrari in the United States, and Concorso celebrated it like no other show could. The Ferraris gathered took up two complete fairways, and there were even still enough red Ferraris left to write out "Ferrari" on the golf course. Unfortunately, no one could clearly see the writing except from an aerial view. Unlike last year, the cars were organized and grouped together so it was possible to see all the different models together. Dozens of Maranellos, Modenas, Testarossas, Mondials, Dinos, and more were parked perfectly in line to form beautiful flowing patterns of curved fenders and rounded taillights. Less common Ferraris like the Enzo, 288 GTO, and several older models like the 250 GT SWB and the 250 GT California Spyder could be seen as well.

Specifically featured by Concorso this year were the Dino cars. The "Dino Reunion" as it was called, featured all the Dino road cars. For those unfamiliar with the name, Dino is Enzo Ferrari's only son who died at the young age of twenty-four. Before his death, Dino had been working on a new V6 engine for his father's company, and when the engine was completed a year later Enzo dedicated it to his son. The engine saw a lot of use, both in street and racing cars. Ferrari won the 1958 and 1961 Formula 1 Manufacturer's Championship with the Dino V6, and Ferrari also used the engine in several sports racing cars. The most well-known use of the engine, however, was in the Dino 206 GT and 246 GT/GTS road cars. The 206 GT was Ferrari's first mid-engine road car, and the 246 GT/GTS is one of Pininfarina's most beautiful creations. Ferrari produced a later Dino model called the 308 GT4. Another automobile with the Dino engine was built by Fiat. The Dino Spider/Coupe used the Dino V6 in a compact 2-seat body along with a 5-speed transmission.

Lamborghini took the opportunity to make the official U.S. introduction of the Murcielago Barchetta. The roadster version of Lamborghini's flagship made its international debut at Geneva this year. Based off a concept first presented in Detroit of last year, the Barchetta provides open-top driving to go along with the 6.2 liter V12 that powers the car. Lamborghini brought two to Concorso, one with E-Gear and one with the standard 6-speed manual. Other Lamborghini models at the show included the beautiful Miura, Countach, Diablo, and Gallardo, which made its U.S. introduction at last year's show.

Bizzarrini made an impressive appearance at the show. Two production 5300 SI Spyders were at the show in addition to the silver prototype version, accounting for all three produced. This was the first time the prototype had been seen in over thirty years. The car was just restored before Concorso and made its first appearance just weeks before at the Meadowbrook Concours. The red 5300 SI Spyder, owned by Mark Sassak, took this year's "Best of Show". Another Bizzarrini at the show was the Lamborghini-powered P538, one of four ever built. This particular example is chassis #2 and raced in the 1966 Can Am Championship.

This year was the fiftieth anniversary of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta and was a feature of this year's show as well. Turning Alfa Romeo into a mass producer of cars, over 175,000 of the nimble sports car were produced between 1954 and 1962. Featuring a 1.3 liter inline 4 producing anywhere from 65-90 hp, the Giulietta provided open air driving in Spider form, or sporty closed-cockpit in Sprint form. Later models included Berlina (sedan), Berlina TI (Turismo Internazionale), SS (Sprint Speciale), and SZ (Sprint Zagato). Specifically featured at Concorso this year was the Giulietta prototype built by Bertone.

While Concorso Italiano is an Italian car show, there are always plenty of automobiles with non-Italian descent for the show-goers to feast their eyes on. Ford made a surprise introduction of its new Shelby GR-1 Concept featuring the same V10 in the Cobra Concept that debuted at Detroit this year. This was the first time the car had ever been seen by the public, although it made more appearances throughout the weekend. Giving homage to the Daytona Coupe, the GR-1 Concept features striking lines penned by designer George Saridakis. The car corral featured hundreds of sports and exotic cars including Porsche, Lotus, Jaguar, Corvettes, Vipers, and more. Another notable appearance at the show was a McLaren F1 that probably attracted more attention than any other car at the show.

Concorso is the show for the every-day car enthusiast. There's lots of music, food, people and, of course, cars. Lots of cars. Italian cars! There's just something about all-Italian cars that brings a huge smile to your face. For me it's the most upbeat part of the whole Monterey weekend. The show gives off a more personal vibe than any other, almost like a huge picnic where everyone just wants to enjoy the cars and have a good time.