2009 Auto Italia classic car & bike show

[nota]

Promotional Intro

Over 300 cars and motorbikes of Italy on display, alas with a lower ratio of classic-era machines than in previous years.

Held on the spacious grounds of Old Parliament House, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, a pretty venue.
Regrettably this site will soon become unavailable for car shows, due to ongoing damage from our now 10+ year drought.

I did not take any notes so please feel free to provide exact identity and/or add comments to any vehicle
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Lancia

1 & 2 Lancia Flavia PF Coupe
3 & 4 Lancia Fulvia Zagato Coupe
5 & 6 Lancia Aurelia B24 Cabriolet

Btw this blue Fulvia Sport (Zagato) wears a pre-1966 issue number plate...?

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Pic 1, 2: 1923 Lancia Lambda

"This car had been sold new in Melbourne in 1923 but had ended up leading a hard working life in the 1930s and 1940s with Australian utility bodywork fitted."

Salvaged in the 1960s and restored by 1979 with coachwork copied from a unique Murphy-bodied Lambda commisioned by silent screen star Gloria Swanson.

Pic 3: Clockwise from left, Gloria Swanson, Greta Garbo drives a Lancia Lambda in 1923, detail of local car.

Pic 4, 5, 6: FIAT from 1914

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Pic 1, 2, 3, 4:

1922 FIAT 501, a popular and well regarded machine hereabouts (enlarge pic #4 to see interesting vehicle description on owner's placard)

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Pic 1, 2, 3: FIAT Abarth 695 SS
(neat wheels, big alloy sump)

Pic 4, 5, 6: FIAT Abarth 850 TC nurburgring
(now that's what I'd call a well filled engine bay!)

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1967 FIAT Abarth OTR 1000 Coupe

Factory FIA Group 4 racing car

One of only eight OTRs know to have survived

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(1) FIAT 850 Coupe
(2) FIAT 850 Spyder
(3) FIAT 2300 sedan (I'm a big fan of these & owned two of 'em, a 2100 & 2300, both wagons. Rorty 6cyl & 4 disc brakes, fantastic cars!)
(4) Alfa Romeo 2600 Sprint (luxury 6cyl GT)
(5) Lancia Stratos HF

[f6fhellcat13]

I didn't think road Ferraris were ever RHD.
Was this a coachbuilt/modified or a standard car?

[Ferrer]

(Pic 1, 2, 3) 'China Eyes' among other Ferraris, unsure of exact models?

Pic 1: 330 GT 2+2
Pic 2: 330 or 365 GT.
Pic 3: 365 GTC/4

I didn't think road Ferraris were ever RHD.
Was this a coachbuilt/modified or a standard car?

Early Ferraris (like most italian sportscars) were RHD because they believed it gave you better control. This changed in the late 50's and early 60's.

[henk4]

Pic 1: 330 GT 2+2
Pic 2: 330 or 365 GT.
Pic 3: 365 GTC/4

some additions and corrections
Pic one is a series 1 330 GT 2+2, (with the double lamps)
Pic two is also a 330 GT 2+2, can't see from behind whether it is an S1 or S2
Pic three is a 365 GT 2+2.

[nota]

I didn't think road Ferraris were ever RHD.

Early Ferraris (like most italian sportscars) were RHD because they believed it gave you better control. This changed in the late 50's and early 60's.

Brand new RHD Ferraris have been retailed from Ferrari dealers in Oz since at least from the mid 1960s (ie: within my car-observing lifetime) and I've always presumed them to be authentic right-hook factory builds...?

All of the depicted Ferraris in this thread are RHD and I wouldn't be surprised if many of these were sold here as new cars

[Ferrer]

Brand new RHD Ferraris have been retailed from Ferrari dealers in Oz since at least from the mid 1960s (ie: within my car-observing lifetime) and I've always presumed them to be authentic right-hook factory builds...?

All of the depicted Ferraris in this thread are RHD and I wouldn't be surprised if some of these were sold here as new cars

Of course, that's also what happened.

I was just pointing out that early italian sportscar were RHD even for LHD countries.

[nota]

^^ No worries and thanks to you & Henk for identifying those pictured Fazz

Any clues from our resident experts as to an ID for those Lancias in pic #1, and that superb MG in pic #9?
(ie: not sure if its a TA or TC etc)

[henk4]

^^ No worries and thanks to you & Henk for identifying those pictured Fazz

Any clues from our resident experts as to an ID for those Lancias in pic #1, and that superb MG in pic #9?
(ie: not sure if its a TA or TC etc)

1 & 2 Lancia Flavia PF Coupe
3 & 4 Lancia Fulvia Zagato Coupe
5 & 6 Lancia Aurelia B24 Cabriolet

[henk4]

as soon as the USA became important for Ferrari, left hookers took over, and in fact most road cars from the fifties are LHD. Production models for the UK (and Oz) market of course could be had with RHD, but if you look at the classifieds in UK magazines, you'll notice that when a RHD car is on offer, the number of RHD cars made is often mentioned, and invariably it is a fraction of total production of that specific model.

[nota]

Was this a coachbuilt/modified or a standard car?

Definitely the former!

Owner-constructed over a 20 year period from a (presumably severely damaged) 365 2+2, by the tall gent shown in pic #6 wearing blue shirt & hat. I forgot having met him before, maybe about 10 years ago, until I had walked away .

But yet again proving a particularly friendly and approachable bloke, who's pride and enthusiasism in his creation was fully evident in his beaming replies to my questions:

" I built it myself! " .. "Yes I did, just about everything " .. " I made that entire body, from bits and pieces, it's all my own work "

In other words a genuine labour of love - not to mention artistic talent and quality workmanship - extending over decades which, when coupled to the I think extremely pleasing results, made this car so much more special and interesting to me than your 'typical' store-bought Ferrari.

Honesty you couldn't pick it as being a home-built, in his shed, just sensational! The guy definately has a great eye for style and detail; perhaps the tail is not quite as deftly realised as everything else, imho, but overall an outstanding car with an equally amazing story behind it. Iirc even those sexy steel wheels are unique, bespoke, to this car

And as an Aussie I had to smile when the owner pointed out an area of the bootlid towards the rear, and said:

" See that bit there? That's off a Torana! "

[see post #10 for other pics]