Many things were new at the eighth Concorso d'Eleganza Italiauto on May 3, 2015, especially the location. For the first time, the former St. Urban monastery hosted the Italian beauty competition and the old walls provided an extremely festive and, above all, spacious setting.
Only Peter was not kind to the organizers around Urs Vogel, because it rained almost only once on Sunday, namely constantly. The hoped-for brightening of the weather failed to materialize, with the rain only letting up towards the end of the trophy presentation.
However, neither participants nor spectators were impressed by this and if it rained too hard for once, shelter could be found in the old buildings.
Even the gardener saw no reason to deny the classic cars access to the damp lawn. And so the almost 70 cars present were allowed to drive over gravel paths and fine lawns. And you really can't present old cars in a much more impressive way.
But too much rain?
Unfortunately, almost three dozen registered participants stayed away from the event and, surprisingly, these were not pre-war vehicles or special bodies, but in many cases the more popular cars that did not show up. They left the field to the waterproof classics with vintages between 1932 and 1985.
Enthusiastic participants
Those who had not shied away from the drive to St. Urban were enthusiastic about the new location. The classic car owners interviewed were unanimous in their opinion that it was spacious and ideally suited for a Concours.
And as the food and drink was also provided and the temperatures were still within an acceptable range, there was really no reason to complain.
Special category for a coachbuilder for the first time
Another new feature of the eighth Italiauto was the creation of a vehicle category for a coachbuilder.
In 2015, this was dedicated to the Turin designer and coachbuilder Pietro Frua, who was responsible for many classics with various glass and Maserati models. A Glas Coupé 3000 V8 from 1966, the Maserati models Mistral, Quattroporte and Kyalami as well as the Ford Monte Carlo GT from 1971, which is almost unknown in this country, could be admired in St. Urban.
The trophy, however, went to the Italsuisse Opel Kadett convertible from 1964.
With a short tour
As always at the Italiauto, the afternoon was opened with a short drive in the area around St. Urban. Due to the weather, only some of the Concours vehicles took part, although the beautiful area would have been ideal for a Corso.
One of the smallest becomes Best of Show
There would have been several candidates for the most beautiful of the day. However, instead of the perhaps expected Lancia Aprilia Spider Tipo Miglietti from 1939 by Pininfarina or the brute-sounding Fiat-Abarth GT 2000 racing car from 1968 from the collection of Engelbert Möll, the jury decided to award the small but nevertheless very pretty Fiat 600 with coupé bodywork by Viotti from 1959.
This car is still unrestored and has not covered 10,000 kilometers since it was shown at the Motor Show.
14 trophies
A trophy was awarded in each category, although the Fiat 127 Sport, which won the "Berlina 1971 to 1985" category, was unable to receive its award on site as it had left early.
At the award ceremony, each of the prize-winning cars drove over a red carpet and was briefly characterized by jury head Roger Gloor. In addition to the trophies, the participants also received other gifts, which meant that there was a shortage of space in some of the cars.
Special prize for Balilla
The jury awarded an additional prize to the Fiat Balilla (508) from 1935. The open pre-war Fiat, designed by Eusebio Garavini, was particularly appealing. With a hydraulic all-wheel single-circuit braking system, a side-steered four-cylinder engine with a displacement of 995 cm3 and 24 hp, the pretty Fiat reached around 80 km/h.
For the next edition, we can only wish the event more weather luck and therefore more spectators - this Concorso d'Eleganza definitely deserves it, because you can hardly present Italian classics in a much more beautiful way.
An overview of the award winners
- Best of Show:
Fiat 600 Coupé Viotti, 1959 (number 87) - Coppa OCC - Vettura pre-1941:
Lancia Aprilia Spider Pinin Farina, 1939 (number 62) - Coppa OCC - Fiat Topolino, 500 + 126:
Fiat 126 Bambino, 1981 (number 38) - Coppa OCC - Berlina 1949-1970:
Lancia Ardea Series IV, 1950 (number 5) - Coppa OCC - Berlina 1971-1985:
Fiat 127 Sport, 1982 (number 9, retired early) - Coppa OCC- Coupé di serie 1958-1970:
Fiat 600 Coupé Viotti, 1959 (number 87) - Coppa OCC - Coupé di serie 1971-1980:
Lancia Monte Carlo, 1980 (number 21) - Coppa OCC - Coupé grande 1954-1972:
Lancia Aurelia B 20 GT, 1957 (number 88) - Coppa "zwischengas" - Coupé lusso 1962-1981:
De Tomaso Longchamp GTS S. 2, 1979 (number 45) - Coppa "zwischengas" - Berlinetta 2 posti lusso 1971-1979:
De Tomaso Pantera, 1975 (number 53) - Coppa OCC - Convertibile/Cabrio 1961-1969:
Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider, 1961 (number 23) - Coppa OCC - Convertibile/Cabrio 1970-1984:
Fiat 124 Sport Spider, 1973 (number 63) - Coppa "SwissClassics" - Vettura da competizione:
Fiat-Abarth OT 2000, Periscopio, 1968 (number 34) - Coppa "SwissClassics" - Carrozzeria Pietro Frua:
Opel Kadett Cabr. Carr. Italosuisse, 1964 (number 4) - Coppa OCC - Categoria Speciale:
Fiat Balilla Convert. Carr. Caravini, 1935 (number 3)
