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This years' feature:
- Alfa Romeo
- 40th Anniversary of the Lamborghini Miura
The 20th Concorso Italiano again featured the largest display of Italian automotive heritage during the Monterey week. The marque and racing history of Alfa Romeo was one of the special features at this year's event, and one of the the absolute icons of all sports cars celebrated it's 40th anniversary - the Lamborghini Miura. But the 2005 Concorso Italiano was not only about vintage Italian cars - new, future and prototype models like the 2006 Maserati Gransport, the Ferrari Superamerica and Milt's Brown Apollo were featured as well.
Italian food and music from Italian opera created a casual yet elegant ambience, the hallmark of Concorso Italiano, in which exquisite automobiles created by Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Bizzarini, De Tomaso, Fiat, Iso, Lancia, Maserati, Siata and others were presented on the lush green overlooking the Pacific Ocean at the Black Horse Golf Course.
Lamborghini Miura
1966 Lamborghini Miura
The stunning body was designed by Bertone.
The premiere of the complete Miura was presented at the Geneva Salon the following year, 1966, causing quite a sensation among the attending public and media. It is said, that even Enzo Ferrari himself was stunned by the appearance and performance of the new Lamborghini. An excursion to the Grand Prix of Monaco in Monte Carlo in the role of pace car was next, promoting the Raging Bull as a viable alternative to the Prancing Horse to the rich and famous.The Turin Salon of 1965 saw a chassis of a V12 mid-engined sports car displayed at the Lamborghini booth. This concept was thus far only utilized for competition cars, but not for a road worthy production automobile. The name of the next edition Lamborghini was Miura, named after a breed of Spanish fighting bulls. At this point no one knew what styling would take shape, this super sports car-to-be still lacked bodywork.
The name Miura is derived from a Spanish breed of bulls.
A visit to the Spanish city of Seville influenced Ferruccio Lamborghini to adopt the name for his new creation. Photo courtesy of Scott Williamson ©
Alfa Romeo
The Alfa Romeo Tipo 158 Alfetta, experienced a racing career that stretched over 14 seasons, 2 world championships, and 35 victories in major races. Photo courtesy of Aldo Zana
After WWI, the work of Vittorio Jano would have the biggest influence on the future of Alfa Romeo. His design of the P2 in 1924 would not only bring success on the race track, but also laid the foundation for one of the most desirable automobiles ever produced - the Alfa Romeo 8C 2900, first shown at the 1935 Paris Motor Show. The two 2900s participating in the Mille Miglia in 1938 finished in first and second place and averaged 84 mph over the 1000 miles run. A Touring designed streamlined coupe version of the 8C 2900 for the 1938 24 hours of Le Mans was the leading entry when it was forced to bow out due to a blown tire. Only an estimated 35 examples of the 'Two Nine' were finished before the end of production in 1939.The Società Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili or ALFA started out in 1910 in the vicinity of Milan on an industrial site called Il Portello. Giuseppe Merosi, the chief designer in the early years, designed the first ALFA, a sturdy four-cylinder automobile with 24 horsepower. The first attempt to enter Grand Prix racing was made in 1914 - even though ALFA did not manage to compete internationally, mostly due to the outbreak of World War I. In 1915, with the company strained, ALFA went into receivership. The engineer and industrialist Nicola Romeo came to the rescue and integrated ALFA into his own company. Following World War I, all produced automobiles would bear the new, and now branded name of Alfa Romeo.
Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 - one of the most desired pre-war automobiles of Italian origin. Photo courtesy of David Gooley ©
To be continued....
Please don't miss our features about the Monterey Historic Automobile Races 2005 and theConcours d'Elegance in Pebble Beach 2005 .
Previous Classics.com Features :
Concorso Italiano 2003
Concorso Italiano 2002
Concorso Italiano 2001
Concorso Italiano 2000
Concorso Italiano 1999
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