Our report from Padova Auto&Moto d'Epoca 2021
Buongiorno Garagisti! Padova Auto&Moto d'Epoca, the most important exhibition of historical vehicles in Europe, took place also this year. The numbers speak for themselves: 15,000 square meters, 11 pavilions, 1,600 exhibitors from 32 countries around the world, more than 5,000 vehicles and 4 exhibitions. It is a great fortune to host all this heritage in Italy. On the other hand, Italy is the womb of designers, mechanics, chassis builders and motorists who have made the history of this world. People who, with their pen and their inspiration, have bewitched millions of people around the world, filled trophy cases of all sorts and still influence the automotive world today.
Witness to this heritage is the exhibition we found set up this year among the pavilions of the Fair, which presented us with the iconic cars that made Italy victorious in racing: Maserati model 26B of 1928, the Ferrari 500 F2 of Alberto Ascari and the legendary Lancia-Ferrari D50 of Juan Manuel Fangio.
But in Padua what is classic can also become innovative: we are talking about the new trend of "restomod".
Restomod is a word made up of the terms "restoration" and "modification," used to describe a refined yet small niche of classic cars, restored far beyond their original condition through the addition of modern-day components, technologies, connectivity and solutions. As such, we saw the Citroëns brought to us by the 2CV Méhari Club Cassis, which restores and electrifies classic cars, and the Effeffe by Fratelli Frigerio.
A restoration of classic models, but more conservative than the contemporary restomod, also involved Miky Biasion. In fact, the former rally champion presented in Padua his revised vision of the Lancia Delta Evo 2 Martini Racing, revising details of the bodywork, engine, braking system and shock absorbers.
Even the big car manufacturers are dedicating capitals and energy to the world of classic cars: in fact, the Heritage Parts catalog is being enlarged by the Heritage Division of Stellantis and Mopar, the well-known manufacturer of original spare parts. The aim is to offer lovers of this sector a vast portfolio of DOC components for vintage models.
Finally, Porsche. Lots of Porsches! We have been attending Auto&Moto d'Epoca for a few years now and we can say that there are more and more classic models on sale. Walking through the pavilions, it is now inevitable to lay our eyes on a Stuttgart model. Let's face it, we are great admirers of this house. It has created many models and almost all of them have excellent performance and driveability even at affordable prices, but don't you find that sometimes prices reach unjustified levels even for "common" models? We leave it up to you!
Matteo & Daniele - Garagista.eu