Auto e Moto d’Epoca
Padua, Italy 26-29 October
THE TRADITIONAL LATE autumn show in northern Italy, formally Fiera Auto e Moto d’Epoca, tends to mark the end of the season for the Italian classic car hobby. For most it matters not only because it is the premier Italian indoor show, but also because it is the final opportunity to show a car for sale, or to buy a project, before winter sets in.
In 2017 the event offered the usual impressive selection of cars for sale, although the crowded autojumble halls had fewer NOS parts and more remanufactured items, confirming that even Italian warehouses are starting to run out of original stock.
Visitors did appreciate the significant improvements made to the format of the show and its buildings. Previously owned by a French company, the Fiera di Padova exhibition and trade centre is now run by a group of local investors that has spent large sums on the vast site. The result is a show held in far more refined and welcoming halls.
Most of the major Italian manufacturers had an official stand, with varying degrees of success. Maserati impressed with a very rich tableau showcasing a spectacular 1955 A6G/54 Allemano 2+2 Coupé, one of only 21 built, and pairing a dual-overhead-cam 2.0-litre engine with a set of exceptionally smooth lines from Giovanni Michelotti. On the same stand was an A6 1500 Pininfarina as well as a 5000 Coupé by Allemano.
The Mercedes-Benz stand was as imposing as usual but perhaps had less to appeal to diehard classic fans, with only a single W201 AMG 3.2 16 surrounded by modern fare to celebrate 50 years of the tuning company that has since 2005 been owned by Mercedes. Better covered was the 60th anniversary of
Clockwise from top left A6 1500 Pinin Farina on the Maserati stand; Audi’s Auto Union D Type; unique Peugeot 305 intended for African rally; busy autojumble; ‘sporty’ baby Fiats. the 300 SL Roadster, with a Gullwing and the Roadster prototype side by side.
Peugeot’s Sochaux museum brought the one-off 1981 305 V6 Sport. Originally created for the African Rally, this rear-wheeldrive car used the stronger diesel 305 chassis with its firewall moved back into the cockpit some 150mm to make room to mount the 3.0-litre V6 amidships. Its development was halted by the arrival of Jean Todt at the helm of the competition department. The thenfuture FIA president had spotted the potential of another car in the range and refocused the company’s motor sport programme around the 205.
There was nothing too exotic among the hundreds of cars for sale, but there was a nice selection of well-preserved, highly original small Italian cars from the 1970 and ’80s. Best was the Fiat 600 Multipla Mirafiori, boasting a huge Plexiglas canopy and built to ferry VIP guests around the vast Turin plant. Having been sold in Rome in the early ’70s, it has had only one owner since and was rapidly snapped up by an Italian collector.
The 24th edition of Raffaele Gazzi and Adolfo Orsi’s Classic Car Auction Yearbook was also launched during the show, which will be held on 25-28 October next year.