I made sure to arrive early at the famous circuit at Zandvoort, I knew from previous years that if you don’t get there in time you’re standing in a long queue to enter the paddock area, and as an added bonus … it was still rather nice in the morning … temperature would rise to about 30 degrees Celsius during the day, that may not be much in some parts of the world, but in the Netherlands this is hot, believe me.
And being there so soon also made it possible to photograph some of the Lamborghini that were already on the stand without any people around, it was possible to park the cars on Saturday evening, complete with security patrols during the night, much saver than leaving your car at the hotel, that’s for sure.
One of the cars that were already there was a stunning black metallic Murciélago Roadster … remember the Swiss owned black Murciélago Coupé with the Carbon Fiber rear wing from last year ? This amazing Roadster is owned by the same person, sold the Coupé and bought a Roadster.
Another awesome looking Lamborghini was a German registered orange metallic Murciélago, and I must admit it nearly hurts your eyes parked in bright sunlight, I just love this color on a Lamborghini. Other early participants were two silver metallic Diablo, an early 2wd model and an SV edition and a very nice blue metallic Diablo boasting a white leather interior. A really nice black Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary also spend the night at Zandvoort, so even before the event opened it’s doors to the public there were a total of six amazing cars parked there already … and there was much more to come.
Probably because of the nice weather several owners drove their ‘Bulls’ to the Italia a Zandvoort event, in total over 20 Lamborghini would be present during the day, which actually caused some creative thinking to get them all on the stand reserved for the Lamborghini Club Nederland.
I’ll try to give a short list of the cars present starting with the oldest one, an black 400 GT 2+2 model in great shape could be admired all day long, parked close to it you could see three Jarama, a red 400GT model with wide wheels and a full leather interior and two ‘S’-models, one silver metallic and one finished in a very light blue metallic shade. Next there were also three Espada, the well known red Series II model, a new club member with a light green metallic Series II Espada and a brand new looking Series III finished in a dark green shade. Parked behind these Espada was an amazing looking pale blue metallic Islero S … even the tires on this car look brand new, very nice … and to end the ‘classic’ models there was an intimidating looking black Countach LP500S with gold painted wheels and a light tan interior, and the massive rear wing naturally.
Going onto the more recent models there were the three Diablo mentioned earlier, the orange metallic Murciélago was later accompanied by a black and a yellow metallic one while there was also a yellow metallic Diablo VT 6.0 later on. Naturally there was also a Gallardo in Zandvoort, finished in black metallic with a nice brown leather interior, a rather special combination that worked well actually. The icing on the cake here was a bright orange metallic Gallardo SE, only 250 were ever made and this one had serial number 192, it’s obvious this car drew a lot of attention … the glass engine cover exposing the impressive V10 and the combination of black and orange inside the car made it look very pleasing. This Gallardo SE and the black Murciélago Roadster were real magnets on the stand, always surrounded by several rows of people trying to get a glimpse of these rare exotics.
But Italia a Zandvoort isn’t about show only, these Raging Bulls are also taken onto the circuit, an experience which is always welcomed by the owners, giving them an opportunity to take their cars to limits they could never attempt safely on the open road … and it didn’t matter if you were driving a classic V12 or one of the newer models … the ‘free time’ on the circuit was big fun. Both for the driver and for the occasional passenger … I talked to the passenger of the Murciélago Roadster afterward and he compared it to a ride on a roller coaster … but more fun … and more adrenaline pumping.
That’s what events like this are meant for … to have fun and to talk to fellow owners and enthusiasts, the Lamborghini Club Nederland organized their entry again very well and I’m sure that everyone present had a great time … I know I did, despite of the high temperatures … and the sunburn, if you didn’t make it to Zandvoort this time I can only say this ; make sure to get there next time.
