Padova, 23 – 26 October 2014
The 31st edition of the Auto e Moto d’Epoca show took place in
the Fiera di Padova between 23 – 26 October. Billed as “Quattro
Giorni di Passione” (Four Days of Passion), the show certainly
lived up to its subtitle, with a tremendous array of classic cars
and motorcycles on display, covering almost every genre of
motoring and more. The eleven halls of the exhibition complex
were crammed with a wide variety of offerings, and then there
were also large outdoor parts and vehicle sales areas between the
main halls, providing a feast of interesting subjects, spanning
many decades, for the motoring enthusiast.
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In 2013 the show recorded a record number of visitors, with
74,000 people attending over the four days, and this year the
record was broken again, with more than 80,000 recorded visitors,
proving that it has a popular and successful recipe. It attracts a
number of major manufacturers, who either provide a mix of their
heritage with examples of their latest offerings, celebrate an
anniversary, or just display historically significant models from
their past. Amongst those who were celebrating anniversaries
were Peugeot, with the 30th anniversary of the 205 T16, with a trio
of examples, including the Quasar concept car, and the heir to
the rallying success of the original model, the current 208 T16
rally car. Another 30th anniversary was that of Audi’s first victory
in the World Rally Championship with the Quattro model, again
featuring a trio of examples.
It seems that almost every event this year has celebrated
Maserati’s Centenary, and Padova was no exception, with
Maserati having an impressive stand featuring historic models,
like the beautiful A6GCS PF Berlinetta, a Mistral Spider and a
Bora, together with their current counterparts. Porsche celebrated
the 40th anniversary of the 911 Turbo, with a trio of variants,
although the star exhibit on their stand promoting their classic
division was a Carrera 6 sports racing model. Another 40th
anniversary was that of the legendary VW Golf, of which more
than 30 million examples have been sold in its seven iterations,
and VW had examples of each generation on display, all finished
in silver. Maybe not quite “Silver Arrows”, but more “Silver Darts”,
due to their diminutive size compared to the pre-war leviathans.
The recently conjoined Museo Ferrari in Maranello and Museo
Enzo Ferrari in Modena, had an impressive display occupying
Hall 3, featuring a 156-85 F1 car, a F1 simulator, for which there
was a competition to see who could lap the fastest, and a sextet
of “mulotipos”, or test mules. These cars, which were used to test
new models or new technology, were on public display for the first
time in public outside the museums, apart from the 559 Hy-Kers
which was shown for the first time in public at the Geneva Motor
Show in 2010. Amongst them were heavily disguised examples of
previous upcoming models, like the F50 in an elongated 348 style
body, the menacing looking Darth Vader like Enzo with multiple
taped on appendages, and a 458 prototype looking for all the
world like a 430 that had been badly wrapped. It was an
interesting insight into the lengths manufacturers go to, in order to
protect forthcoming models from prying eyes.
The numerous dealer stands from all over Europe featured a wide
variety of desirable cars, and even after the first couple of days
many were wearing “Venduta” signs, indicating that business in
the classic car market is strong. There were also numerous one
make and model clubs displaying a great selection of interesting
and sometimes very rare cars, with understandably Fiat, or Fiat
based, models being particularly popular, especially 500 and 600
variants, and there was even a Zastava built variant of the latter
model. Rally cars seem to be very popular in Italy, and there was
no lack of them at the show, notably with some spectacular
Lancias, from Fulvia HF through Delta Integrales and a couple of
the ultimate S4 variant, Stratos, to 037s, in both original and
replica form. The latter are built by Boldrin Auto, being faithful
copies of the original on Montecarlo frames, such that unless you
were a marque expert it would be hard to tell the difference. Then
there were cars that one might never have heard of, like a
Padovan, a strange looking creation with a sliding sunroof and a
split rear window flowing tail, based on a 1949 Fiat 1100, yours for
a mere 225,000 Euros.
Apart from all the cars that fill the main halls, most of one hall is
devoted to motorcycles and scooters, whilst Hall 7 and part of
Hall 8 are devoted to spare parts, accessories, books, brochures,
automobilia, models, in fact anything associated with the
automobile that is not a car itself. This area is a real treasure
trove of rare and interesting items from a variety of both home and
international traders, and is a must see area for the majority of
visitors, whether it be to search for that elusive part or to fall in
love with a particular piece of memorabilia for the office or garage.
The show has so much to offer the visitor, and is a recognised
meeting place for international enthusiasts, that you need all the
time available to digest and see everything.
Keith Bluemel
10/2014
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