Concorso Italiano takes place on the Saturday right before the Pebble Beach Concours d Elegance and usually I get there very early in the morning. I really enjoy shooting the cars as they enter the field. We were delayed making it to the Concorso as it we had to go to two other shows that morning. You have to love Car week.
I had become facebook friends with a local fellow named Kent Weinstein, and I did not have data on my phone while in Carmel, so I had no way to get in contact with him. We were getting gas at the 7-11 near the track where we were camping and started talking to a fellow with a GMC Sprint that was bought new in Salinas and came with factory air and a 396!!!
The fellow I was travelling with, Loren Cocking works for a Chevy dealer here in Langley and instantly knew how special the rare GMC Sprint versions of the El Camino really are, and thiw was the GMC “SS” version the “Sprint” Ultra rare! Turns out it was Kent we were talking to and he told us to make sure we come by the the Coffee and cars Saturday morning…and it is across the street from the Concours de Lemons. So yes, we did three shows before we did lunchtime!
Of course the Concorso is heads above the other shows and only half of the cars I actually know the names and model names of, but that is part of the charm. To see cars even a veteran Carnut like myself have not seen before is really great.
As soon as we entered where the VIP/press entrance is located we saw a lot of amazing Lamborghinis. Following past the Lambos we ended up with the DeTomasa Mangustas and Panteras and even a Cadillac Alante and a Chrysler 300 letter car.
Then on to a couple of rows of Maseratis, then Ferraris and all the way down to the a couple of the most significant cars for use Canadians, An Apollo GT, a Intermeccanica Italia and even a Intermeccanica Torino, that was the first one I had ever seen! We had a nice chat with the couple that owned the car and they had all sorts of old photos and factory literature from the previous longtime owner.
Heading back to the car we passed by all sorts of Lancias, Alfa Romeos, Fiats, and a smattering of cars I had no Idea what they were. The owners were all very gracious about telling us about their cars and the history and I wish I could of spent all day at the event, but we had to get back to the track for the races.
So here is a little bit about some of the most spectacular cars we saw at the 2022 Concorso Italiano, and make sure you make it to the 2023 Concorso Italiano August 19th.
The De Tomaso Mangusta were built from 1967 to 1971 and were replaced by the De Tomaso Pantera.
Patina is king and originality is highly praised and the Maserati Tipo 151/2 5.0 litre 1963 Le Mans competitor, looked like it had just been dug out of the sand bank. Raced by the French Maserati team it’s transmisson ended the cars race at the 4 hour mark. Presently owned by Alex Pilibus of Fresno, CA.
Apparently the most expensive car in 1987 was also the fastest, and it was the last car Enzo Ferrari had a hand in designing before his death in 1988. Basically a race car for the street, it had a twin turbo V8 and was built from 1987 through 1992 with 213 of the 1,315 produced destined for the US Market.
A Work of art in bare metal is the tribute car built with modern mechanicals from a maranello 550 and the handcrafted body of a 1967 Ferrari 914 P. Built by John Nino who also is an aerospace engineer.
The Bizzarrini 5300 Strada . Ex-Ferrari Chief engineer Giotto Bizzarrini built 133 of these car from 64 to 68 and used Chevy V8’s for power.
This 1952 OSCA MT4 Vignale Coupe was commissioned by a chemist, Dr. Mario Demonte, from Turin. The car would win it’s class at the 1953 24 Du Lemans and the Buenos Aires 1000 km in 1954. Weighing a mere 1,654 pounds, with a 1.1 litre engine putting out 92 hp, it had a top speed of 100mph.
Photo Gallery
