So, on the day, I motored up to Brooklands, still nursing that flat spot at 3,000 rpm, and arrived just before 9am, taking my usual place in the AR car park…
I love the way you can just make out the engine cam cover through the rear wheel arch. But I need to fit a closure panel there as the engine gets to mucky in wet weather!
So I had a quick shufty and dropped in on the Auto Italia stand, where Mike suggested that I come back around mid-morning to see if there was any space available – happy to oblige.
So what else was around? For starters, how about this little gem…?
A 1972 Abarth single seater, with the Lampredi twin-cam hooked up to a Lancia Fulvia transaxle – very cool. What’s next?
Sadly we were not treated to any DeTomaso Pantera or Mangusta this year, but by way of consolation, here is a Longchamps, sporting some massive wheel arch extensions to cover those equally massive wheels and tyres! Using the same bodyshell as the Maserati Kyalami (DeTomaso owned Maserati at the time), the Longchamps used the familiar Ford 351 c.i. Cleveland V8 that also powered the Pantera. 3 points if you recognised the air vents on the front wings
This is the ex-John Dooley Alfasud, raced in period from 1976 through to 1982, hence the later Alfasud alloy wheels. Sounded awesome.
Speaking of Panteras, this Fiat 2300S was the first design credited to Pantera stylist Tom Tjaarda. Nice machine – rare too, this is only the second one I have ever seen.
Nice Fiat 124, I love the period Campagnolo wheels (they can be sourced new I believe). Sorry about the poor image quality, my DSLR has taken to firing the shutter before I have achieved focus (it’s getting old, like it’s operator).
By this time I had met up with my friend Sean and we wondered back to the Auto Italia gazebo to find the exclusive paddock was a little too exclusive – it was only half-full! So, did they let me in?
Of course they did! Who wouldn’t want the sight of an outrageous green car with its canopy open, driving through the crowd?
Interestingly, one of the cars that inspired the Nova was also present…
I think I have seen this early P400 Miura at Goodwood a few years back. The driver won a prize, but only by default, as the pistachio green “chairs and flares” Ferrari 246 Dino had left the site early (one reason why I didn’t get a picture of it). The car demonstrated its legendary recalcitrance by backfiring through the carburettors, which certainly woke everyone up!
Moving out towards the banking, this Maserati 3500 caught my eye, before we encountered the Lamborghini section! Obviously all the usual Aventadors, Gallardos etc., plus a burgundy Espada, and the odd Countach…
...One of two LP500s, straight out of a 1980s wall poster. There were also a couple of Anniversaries, sporting all of the excesses of a certain Mr Pagani, but I consider these to be poor examples of the marque. There was however a fine example of the ultra-rare Silhouette - one of just 52 cars built over a 12-month period, at one of the darkest times in Lamborghini’s history…
Lovely. OK, what’s next?
How about this? A Lancia 037 in full Safari Rally trim, spare wheel carriers on the roof, additional spotlights on the front wings and enormous bull (elephant?) bars on the nose. There are a few replicas around but most retain the transverse engine of the donor Lancia Beta/Montecarlo – this was the real deal; supercharged Lampredi twin-cam mounted longitudinally with a ZF transaxle. Nice.
And tucked away over in the aircraft park, away from the other Lambos, was the Carrera Sport Countach. This is such a time warp car, check out the early teledial wheels, shared with the Silhouette…
Pristine engine bay. Last time we saw this car it looked like it had blown a head gasket, but owner Mike Pullen told us that it was due to a heater problem and soon fixed. He likes to drive his cars and still runs Carrera Sport in Haywards Heath, servicing classic Lambos and other exotics.
Interior design masters. Check out the period stereo and upholstery…
OK, back at the Nuvolari paddock, another boxer engined car had arrived…
And another, with slightly more cylinders this time…
And this rather tasty Maserati Bora…
So that was it for Brooklands Italian Car day 2024. Final thoughts? It was good for me, I preferred being parked closer to the action (the Alfa car park feels very remote in comparison), but not as many exotics as I had hoped for. There was a big Ferrari do on at Shelsley Walsh I later discovered, but this doesn’t explain the lack of Fiat 500s and Abarth derivatives, like the OT1000 and Lombardi owned by Lombardi Man (I don’t know his name). Perhaps footfall was a little less than last year too, possibly due to the entry price of close to £30 per head. Shout out to Maserati Mark, always on hand with something interesting (this time a DeTomaso era Ghibli) and fellow Nova owner John Rand stopped by for a chat.
Until next time, see ya!
Lauren
