Auto E Moto D’Epoca Padua 2019 – A Walk Through Vintage Cars’ Heaven
AUTO E MOTO D’EPOCA PADUA 2019
Words by Giorgio Conti / Photos by Giorgia Rossi
I waited a few days more, this year, before putting on paper my impressions about the 36th edition of “Auto e Moto d’Epoca”, the historic cars and motorcycles fair that every year gathers enthusiasts from the entire globe in Padua. Now become a regular date on the agenda of those gentleman drivers who are not afraid of getting their hands dirty, it is too simple to archive a four-day event with useless figures and those typical sentenced claimed by those who very often did not even see a tenth of the various pavilions. The “Fiera di Padova” gets bigger year after year, as far as its visitors (over 130,000), exhibitors and contributes to keep the love for classics alive, which in our Country is not experiencing an easy moment as we would have hoped.
So it does not matter if there has been a substantial forfait from various car manufacturers, because the impressive stage showcased by Porsche and the newborn Cupra (with Seat alongside) are enough to outline that strong link between past and future that is always fundamental for the event. And then important birthdays, including Bentley 100 years, with a stand that thanks to Fassina group also included a brand new McLaren GT and the iconic P1, the very first to have been put on the road. The Alpine A110S is also previewed here as well, a performance car that adds power and dynamism to an already extremely tasty recipe. Not only vintage cars then, but also many modern supercars, such as those admired under the Finarte tent and ready to be auctioned and then diecast models, spare parts and any sort of collectable you could wish for.
Everything is fine, but there is more, namely that the perception of experiencing an even more compact event than in the past – not in terms of numbers or dimensions, but for the passion that was breathed through all the four days. An aspect exploded in the heart of the same, namely the exhibition of “Le Rosse in abito da corsa” (Reds in racing dress), a selection of 8 of the most prestigious barchettas of the Prancing Horse. Going back to stroll among the various pavilions, people continue to dream, where everyone could actually find the ideal car, thanks to an immense fleet of models that offered pieces for a few thousand Euros, up to specimens unique in the world, or even owned by celebrities such as a certain Juan Manuel Fangio. This year’s Padua fair has been like a glass of good wine, something that matures one edition after the other and showcases the passion of beautiful Italy towards a heritage to share and that in a set-up like this succeeds to put together the global picture of an automotive history to keep and get back on the road to give vent to those dreams of yesterday, today and tomorrow. Having also noticed an improvement on the crazy price situation – ok, to be honest, not for everyone – it seems that the only flaw is that we now have to wait 365 days to the next edition.