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2006 Concorso Italiano
By: Frank Filipponio
Photos by Drew Phillips
August 24, 2006

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"A celebration of Italian style," Concorso Italiano covers all aspects of Italian lifestyle, such as music, cuisine, fashion and tourism. And cars. We can’t forget about the cars. Concorso has celebrated Italian automobiles and style at Bayonet Black
Horse Golf Course since moving from Quail Lodge in 2003. One look at my last name and you can probably see why I was a shoe-in to cover this year’s event for Fast-Autos.

Although the cars are truly magnificent, unlike some of the other events around the Monterey Peninsula this past week, this event is not just about cars. It's about people, seeing old friends, making new ones, and sharing a common interest. Concorso emphasizes display and appreciation over competition. It is not an event where judges labor over and under cars looking for minor imperfections. Trophies are awarded in non-judged categories. Judged competitions are frequent within individual marque clubs, but at the sole discretion of each.

Concorso Italiano celebrates Italian style, culture and the personalities behind that "special essence," with the ultimate goal of the organizers to create an atmosphere so rich with Italian culture, you'll be convinced you spent the day in your favorite
Italian city. OK, maybe it feels more like Venice, CA than Venezia, but you get the idea.

The F-A team showed up Wednesday night to get some early shots of the display cars being positioned just in time to see Lamborghini’s own Valentino Balboni tidying up an LP640 he was using for the week. He graciously took some time out to pose with what many consider to be the pinnacle of sports car design, the Miura. Che bella macchina!

Although Lamborghini had pride of place on the green near the clubhouse, Lancia, DeTomaso and Apollo shared the glory. Often overlooked in the pantheon of automotive legends, Lancia was celebrating 100 years of existence with a stellar selection of road and racecars assembled for Concorso attendees.

One of the best features of this event is the way the cars are paraded down to a staging area between a pair of grandstands. The cars are parked and the owners interviewed, allowing the crowd a chance to learn about the makes and models, and the people who love them. As a former Lancia Zagato owner, I can attest to this being an insane infatuation.

Equally enthusiastic were owners of the often-overlooked De Tomaso Pantera, which turned 35 this year. First sold through Lincoln- Mercury showrooms thirty-five years ago as 1971 models, the DeTomaso Pantera was a a unique blend of exotic European looks, and reliable American horsepower. The Pantera was the result of Ford wanting a road-going GT40-like
performance car, Alejandro DeTomaso’s desire to have a replacement for the Mangusta, and Tom Tjaarda’s striking design work coming together at just the right time. Between 6,000 and 10,000 Panteras were made in total, and about a quarter of those appeared to be on hand for Thursday’s big show. Everything from the elegantly simplistic Ls to the 1200 hp, turbocharged firebreathers.

Also having their day in the sun were the virtually unknown Apollos. Nearly 20 years before the Pantera mated an American drivetrain to a Euro body, Apollo offered its 88 customers a chance to feel the thrill of European style while being able to actually drive their cars daily thanks to Buick running gear. Several made the trip out to Monterey for the celebration, and easily fit in with the classic Alfas, Maseratis and Ferraris.

Early Thursday morning we took position at the base of the Black Horse driveway and watched as everybody paraded past. Not limited to Italians only, BMW, Porsche, Mercedes and even American cars had their own corrals surrounding the Kruse auction tent to one side of the drive. Panteras, Lambos, Alfas, Masers, and of course, Ferraris came past our viewfinders one by one. Mostly Ferraris.

Concorso is famous for their yearly arrangement of Ferraris that spell out some special word or phrase. Until the overhead shots are released, we are only speculating when we say that this year’s word was Veloce! A little short on classics this year, but also short on pretension, Concorso managed to be all things to all people. The club crowd had enough action with the music and girls (even a lingerie show!) prancing around the clubhouse, while the wine and cheese picnickers had a long greenbelt to spread out their blankets and relax.

Plenty of shopping opportunities around the grounds as well, with rows of vendor tents selling everything from Italy-shaped biscotti to Bugatti Veyrons. I succumbed and purchased two of the former and none of the latter. Hard to single out any individual automotive highlights, but there was a certain modified Enzo I had my eye on. And a sweet Lancia Fulvia HF. And the Best of Show Bizzarrini looked pretty good too. Did I mention the hours-old, record-breaking F40? With salt still stuck in the fenderwells? And that Ferrari by Vignale was pretty choice as well.

While Pebble and Quail may have all of the museum pieces, Concorso is for the person who wants to go to a huge meet and not worry about being judged. It’s for the guy who has a 308 and wants to be with 200 other owners to chat about what upgrades they have done to keep theirs running. It’s for the Lamborghini owner who wants to see what the blue chrome 6-inch dish wheels will look like on his Murci before pulling the trigger. But most of all it’s for the lover of all things Italian, especially cars.