Published in Monterey Car Week (Concorso Italiano)
By: D. Brian Smith
Photography: D. Brian Smith
Any day of the week is a perfect time to honor all things Italian but especially Saturday. Perhaps that’s what the producers were also thinking when they saw the wisdom in returning the Concorso Italiano to the Beachfront’s Bayonet Black Equine Fairway and to make this auspicious event a Saturday affair during Monterey Car Week.
As it happens having the Concorso Italiano 2014 on Saturday gave the crew of Monterey Car Week a great opportunity to cover more events during this greatest week of every year in car worship history.
So the Concorso Italiano is for celebrating all things Italian — the great food, the Italian way of life, Italian style and design and best of all for auto aficionados, all those spectacular Italian automobiles. Ferraris, Lamborghinis, De Tomasos, Lancias, Alfa Romeos, Maseratis, Fiats — these are the sort of machines that have the design, engineering and style the autophiles the world over adore.
There’s more than a sufficient amount of Italian being spoken and an abundance of Italian supercar engines producing a magnificent sound at idle or at redline to stir the romance of the heart. So in essence that’s what the Concorso is all about.
This year the Monterey Car Week team was a man down. Monterey’s co-owner, Ben Moment, is also a lieutenant in the U.S. Army. As of this writing he’s flying missions in Korea. Though he wishes he could be here to work his magic behind the camera lens, he needs to help keep those North Koreans under control.
Concorso Italiano
The Bayonet Black Equine Fairway was the sight of the Concorso from 2002 through 2007. We don’t know why the producers of this epic event decided to go back there, as the Laguna Seca Golf Course is a fine venue. That said, the Bayonet location is equally appealing.
As has been the case for many years, Sports Car Market Publisher and What’s My Car Worth celebrity Keith Martin was the Master of Ceremonies. He is a most entertaining MC and knows a very great deal about automobiles.
Esteemed automotive journalist and author, Matt Stone, shares the MC duties with Keith throughout the day. Matt has written several auto books, with the most recent tome being about the cars of Steve McQueen. Mr. Stone is also the former editor of Motor Trend Classics as well as a longstanding scribe on Motor Trend magazine. The wealth of automotive acumen behind the microphone at the Concorso is each year only excelled by the enthusiasm of the Monterey Car Week staff, we humbly assert.
Since we’ve covered this fantastic event so many years, it always seems as though we’re coming back to good friends. Mr. Martin’s mom volunteers each year and is always there to say a warm hello how are you doing and is the epitome of good hospitality at the event’s media tent.
What’s more, many of the show’s participants caravan in their Italian supercars as part of club drives to the venue every year. We always see new faces and new cars, but also get to catch up with many Italian auto owners from previous Concorsos.
Don’t get the idea that the show only displays Italian automobiles. All makes and models are welcome, so long as the machines are significant and show-worthy.
Should you wish to be a part of the all things Italian celebration that is the Concorso Italiano, either enter your car next year, or be a show goer. We warn you though that you’ll want to come back every year in mid-August to the Concorso Italiano. Until next year’s event, feast your eyes on what captured our fancy for 2014. Enjoy!
