Padova, Italy, 23 - 25 October 2009
The Auto Moto d'Epoca show, held in the Fiera complex close to
Padova's main railway station, is one of the highlights of Italy's
annual classic car and motorcycle gatherings. Now in its 26th
year, the show had 90000 square metres of exhibition space,
filling eleven halls, with further parts sellers and cars for sale in
the external driveways between them, featuring 1200 exhibitors
and vendors, with over 2200 display vehicles, of which some 1200
were available to purchase. From these figures, it can be seen
that this is a very significant show, and it attracts visitors from all
over the globe.
The range of cars on display from the numerous one make/model
car clubs, manufacturers and vendors spanned from veterans to
modern supercars like the Ferrari Enzo and Pagani Zonda, whilst
the array for motorcycle fans was no less impressive, with the
likes of BMW, Ducati, Maserati and MV Agusta. It was not only
original pristine examples on display and for sale, but restoration
projects like the bare chassis and body of a Ferrari 250 GT Boano
coupé, chassis # 0817 GT, and wildly modified cars like a lurid
yellow with matching yellow leather interior hot rodded BMW 850i
coupé, and a Nissan 350Z with scissor doors. Equally there were
some nice original cars on offer, including a nicely restored
metallic green Fiat 500L, a rare Innocenti cabriolet, a very clean
Citroen 2CV “Fourgonette”, and further up the monetary scale a
number of Ferraris, Lamborghinis and a Jaguar XJ220.
The Fiat 500 was widely evident, both in new and original forms,
with the Fiat stand showing the new 500C convertible, whilst on
the adjacent stand Abarth displayed the 500 Esseesse, and one
of the vendors had the race version on display. The original cult
status models were even more numerous, with a variety of
examples ranging from a cute pick-up to numerous Abarth
variations on the theme. Being in Italy, there was also obviously a
strong Alfa Romeo presence, including the manufacturer's own
expansive stand which featured cars from their museum, including
a 1925 P2 Grand Prix car, a beautiful 1951 Tipo 159 “Alfetta”, and
a 1975 Tipo 33 TT 12, whilst hot off the production line was a matt
white Mito. Nearby the Zagato Car Club displayed an example of
the beautiful TZ1 alongside an elegant Fiat 8V. Classic rally cars
were also much in evidence, with the likes of a World Cup Rally
Austin Maxi, a Fiat 124 Abarth, a Renault Alpine A110, a Ferrari
308 GTB and a Lancia Delta S4 amongst the examples spread
around the halls.
There was also a Coys Auction, which featured a varied selection
of offerings, ranging through memorabilia, motorcycles and a
diverse selection of vehicles, which included a 1930 Aston Martin
2/4 S International, a 1934 ex-Giuseppe Gilera (of motorcycle
manufacturing fame) Fiat Ballila, a 1963 Citroen HY Horsebox, a
stunning one owner from new metallic blue and gold 1972
Lamborghini Miura SV, through to an ex-JMB Racing 550
Maranello, chassis # 2102, raced by them in the FIA GT
Championship during 1973. In 2006 it won the GTM category in
the Campianato Italiano Velocita Montagna, and looked quite a
formidable piece of equipment in its striking red and yellow livery.
Apart from all the cars and motorcycles, there was an enormous
variety of vendor and trade stands, where one could find almost
anything motor related, or not, as the case may be. Apart from
motoring focussed stands, there were also stands dealing in
classic vintage clothing to match the era of your car, antique
furniture in which to store or display tour memorabilia, and even
one vendor with antique meat slicing machines, scales and the
like, which was actually very attractive, and there is a mechanical
element to them. Thus it can be seen that there was a truly
eclectic mix to entice the enthusiast, and it certainly did, with
large crowds throughout the weekend.
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