Italian Vehicle Excellence and Beauty (a display of “art forms on wheels” as a means of illustrating one form of Italian culture.)
The weather was perfect (63 degrees in the morning. 78 degrees in the afternoon. Bright sunshine all day.)
I was invited to a pre-show breakfast at a local diner, which is held by the Alfa Romeo Club of Long Island. A nice group of mostly older gentlemen. At 51 years old, I was one of the younger ones there. It was a boisterous group of obviously close friends who have been together for a while. I took some ribbing for having a Fiat rather than an Alfa, and then told them not to worry, I would represent the high-end of the Italian car market. That got a chuckle from the Lamborghini Gallardo owner.
After breakfast, our caravan of 15 cars made its way to the show.
The show itself was well organized. There were plenty of Alfas present, as well as a surprising number of Fiats. Most of them new 500's, but there was an all original one from 1973. There were 5 Fiat Spiders and all were done nicely. There were also a number of Ferrari's, Lamborghini's, and Maserati's, as well as one Lancia. There were also a few Ducati motorbikes.
I got to meet Howard, from this site, and check out his 1979 Spider. I especially liked the wooden Bolla wine box full of spare parts in his trunk (including a clutch pedal).
Enjoy the pictures.
Outside the Paradise Diner
The show field at Stony Brook University
The Stony Brook mascot. This guy had to be baking in that outfit.
A beautiful Gallardo
A drop-dead gorgeous Alfa 8C
A 1973 PINK Lamborghini Spada. The owner, an elderly woman, was offered 100K for it at the show. No word on whether she accepted the offer.
A Countach
Some Maserati's
Alfa City
A few Ferrari's
If you look closely in this shot, you can spot a few of the 124 Spider's
My car
An original, 1973 Fiat 500.
