Auto Italia – Canberra 2016

I had the great pleasure to spend last weekend in Canberra attending the Auto Italia event where cars come out of the woodwork to be on show for the Sunday morning. I hadn’t been for a couple of years due to other commitments (marriage etc) and had heard that the 2015 event was a little smaller than normal. This year was different, the weather started cool but ended up as a beautiful day and the cars just kept coming!

Ferrari
I was very impressed by the Ferrari turn-out: ranging from a mid 60s 250GT Lusso to the very latest 488 and many models in between showcasing the style of these famous machines. Among the list were plenty of 246 Dinos, 360s, F430s, 308s, 328s, 458s – you name it I think there was one there, including a Testarossa.

Lamborghini
The rival supercar manufacturer was well represented with many Diablos, Gallardos and more modern machinery and even a Countach!

Maserati
The Maserati clubs came out in force with a good mixture of 3200s, 4200s, GranSports, GranTurismos and 3 generations of Ghiblis! Included were a recent MC Stradale, a 1960s Mexico, an Indy and a Khamsin too. There were two generations of Quattoportes as well: a 1960s and a 2016 model. Hidden away from the main group was also a Merak SS.

De Tomaso
I didn’t realise just how many DeTomaso Panteras were in Australia – there must have been at least 15 on show and a super rare Mangusta that I followed in to the city the night before – it was on a flat bed truck.

FIAT
As always there were huge numbers of FIATs including quite a few 500s of many ages and hidden in the group was an Alfabino, a car that uses a fibreglass shell of a 500 sitting on Alfa running gear. Many saloons and a long line of X1/9s as well!

Lancia
The Lancia group had a wide range of saloons and sports cars including a Delta (not sure if it was an HF) and several Monte Carlo Beta coupes. I didn’t manage to get any photos of the Lancia’s – like the Alfa’s, they had a large display.

Alfa Romeo
You can’t have an Auto Italia without the biggest group: the Alfa’s. There must have been at least 100 cars from new 4Cs to very old models and some beautiful Giulias and Montreals on display.

Motorcycles
Ducati, Laverda and Moto Guzzi were represented as well as the iconic Vespa brand.

I will be back next year – I loved the mix of cars and bikes plus the rare beasts that come out on a warm Autumn morning from all over the east coast.