Wintertime is exhibition time. With the cooler temperatures and, above all, the threat of salt on the roads, the oldies slowly but surely retreat back into their garages.
The trade fairs then boom. There are more and more of them and they are getting bigger every year, with more and more halls and more and more suppliers with even more cars, spare parts, accessories, automobilia and the like. Unfortunately, however, the perceived quality suffers as a result of the increased quantity.
Would less be more?
Often less would be more and only a few of the cars from a huge oversupply are remembered. Unfortunately, the "Auto e Moto d'Epoca" in Padua, which opened its doors from October 26 to 29, also succumbed to this gigantomania.
From the classic car enthusiast's point of view, there were far too many new vehicles to be seen in the crowd, which meant that historically interesting cars sometimes had to be searched for almost like a needle in a haystack. However, those who had time and leisure were definitely able to discover one or two rarities that could not be found elsewhere.
In any case, the figures are impressive: 115,000 visitors are said to have made a pilgrimage through the many halls at the 34th edition, seeing around 5,000 (old and new) cars in a good dozen halls and exhibition areas.
Formula 1 through the decades
In the special show at the Autodromo di Monza, a total of twelve historic Formula 1 racing cars from different eras were on display. From the Bugatti 35 and the Alfa Romeo P2 to Schumacher's Ferrari F1-2000, cars with a wide variety of drive concepts and shapes were on display.
The most interesting car was perhaps the Merzario A3 from 1979, which may not be one of the most successful, but is certainly one of the rarest seen. It is a one-off that was driven by Arturo Merzario in Monza and by Gianfranco Brancatelli in Monaco.
Electricity does not stop at the classic car
A surprising amount of electrics had found their way into the exhibition halls in Padua.
Even Tesla, a car manufacturer that can look back just a dozen years, had its own stand and Jaguar had a Formula E racing car instead of one of the legendary Le Mans winners of the C or D type.
On the Audi stand, the empty space behind the R18, the last Audi to compete at Le Mans in 2016, also pointed to a later appearance of the Abt Formula E.
But not only the modern electric cars paid their respects, Pagani also showed that its sports cars are on a direct path towards classic status, or at least would like to be.
The young cars on the Pagani stand were no exception; practically all the manufacturers present showed a colorful mix of old and new.
Déjà vu?
Much of what you saw on the various stands was and is familiar. There were hardly any surprises, but at least the eye of the Odltimer fan with a focus on rarities always spotted a rarity that made him lift the corners of his mouth, for example at the sight of the chic Osca sports car ...
.... or the ice-blue Fiat Spider.
The Alfa Romeo Giulia SS Coupé from 1963 was certainly not an everyday sight either.
The Canadian-American CanAm also found its way to Padua with the Genie MK12.
Jim Rattenburry from Vancouver, who was already 47 years old at the time, entered the car in various races and then sold it on to Mike Barbour, who entered it in the CanAm and achieved a 13th place in the 1970 Edmonton CanAm race as his best result.
Among the really great cars, the 1954 Conrero-Lancia B20 must also be mentioned.
Of course, tastes differ and anyone who has not already visited several other motor shows in 2017 will certainly have been surprised more often than the almost professional motor show visitor.
Italo-German duet
Alfa Romeo and Porsche set the tone; there really were a lot of vehicles from these two brands in Padua.
The Mercedes-Benz 190 SL, which is very popular with us, was also represented in surprisingly large numbers.
The prices called up to over EUR 200,000 were astonishing, especially when you looked at the breadth of the range, which offered almost everything you could imagine in terms of colors and equipment.
More than just a trade fair
However, Auto e Moto d'Epoca is not just a trade fair. It is actually also an invitation to Italy and Padua offers a lot to sweeten a weekend. And there's no need to mention the excellent Italian coffee and the many culinary specialties of the region.
For the first time, Bonhams also organized an auction at the fair. In fact, it was the first Bonhams auction in Italy in 35 years. Although many interesting cars were on offer, the British auction house was only able to sell around half of them, which was perhaps again due to the oversupply at the fair (more on this in the auction report ) .
Additional impressions from a humorous perspective are provided by the picture story on Auto e Moto d'Epoca 2017.
