I’ve been attending the well known Auto Moto Italia event ever since 2000 in Houten, up to 2012 it was organized by Martin de Vries Promotions … for the 2013 edition the entire show was moved to the Autotron in Rosmalen and now 402 Automotive (also know for their Viva Italia event and the Nationaal Oldtimer Festival) took the task upon themselves to gather the best of the best when it comes to Italian cars, bikes … and lifestyle.
The Rosmalen venue has a different layout compared to the previous location in Houten, now one large space is used instead of a few different halls, so visitors might have a better overview of the Auto Moto d’Italia participants who gathered some of the most beautiful ‘Italian wheels’ … together with fashion, food, literature and all kinds of automobilia related to Italian made vehicles.
Books and magazines were available on just about every make that was located in Italy at one time, add a few impressive stands with scale models ranging from €1 up to over €1,000 and you could really spend a lot of time … and money browsing these highly sought after items. Other stands allowed you to find that missing piece in the puzzle of your restoration hiding away in your workshop or to get a nice piece of jewelry or clothing … all with an Italian origin.
For car enthusiasts like myself there is no substitute for the real deal, and a high number of cars were on display too, both inside the central hall and outside on the lawn … makes like Maserati and Ferrari were shown, but the highlight of this 2013 edition had to be the Lamborghini Club Nederland stand. For the 50th Anniversary of Automobilia Lamborghini SpA in Italy (1963-2013) they tried to put together a collection of Raging Bull that showed at least one model of every series that left the gates at Sant’Agata over the last five decades.
Naturally some cars were missing, but the list was still very impressive … and total value of the Lamborghini on display surpassed the multi-million Euro mark very easily. A small overview of the different Lamborghini models on display inside the Autotron:
- the famous black 400 GT 2+2
- a very clean, silver metallic Islero 400 GTS
- a beautiful silver metallic Jarama 400 GT
- an early, bright red Series II Espada 400 GTE
- a perfectly restored, orange Miura P400 S
- the Jalpa P350 in a red dress
- the legendary red Countach QuattroValvole
- an impressive dark blue/black LM002
- a rare MY1999 silver metallic Diablo VT
- one of the last Murciélago LP640 Roadster ever built
- an awesome bright orange metallic Murciélago LP670-4 Super Veloce
- the black Gallardo rally car
- a baby blue Gallardo Spyder
- the limited edition Gallardo BiColore finished in white
And that was only the selection inside, during an event like Auto Moto d’Italia several owners show up on the parking lot with their own Lamborghini, like a dark red metallic Gallardo Spyder, a yellow Diablo and on Sunday one of the first Aventador Roadster delivered to a customer … finished in white naturally. Outside a ‘paddock’ was put together with numerous Ferrari, Maserati, Fiat, Alfa Romeo and many other Italian car makes … safe to say all these beauties drew a lot of attention of the numerous visitors that showed up at Rosmalen … enthusiasts from all over the Netherlands, but also from Belgium and Germany … all eager to see these rare cars put together and have a nice talk with fellow owners over a glass of sparkling Prosecco wine.
One of the highlights at Auto Moto d’Italia turned out to be a bright orange 1969 Lamborghini Miura S on the Club stand, this car had just completed a three year restoration from the ground up, the chassis was reinforced, the bodywork was taken back to the aluminum shell and made perfectly smooth before repainting. The correct headlights, taillights and fog lights had been fitted while the interior now boasts the finest Italian leather combining black with bright Arancio Dryope, orange leather … with the wheels and lower side panels finished in a warm gold metallic shade this specific Miura S looks absolutely breathtaking … it even won the coveted ‘Most beautiful car at Auto Moto d’Italia’ award on Sunday.
Auto Moto d’Italia for the first time in Rosmalen was a success … lots of visitors, amazing cars and bikes … lots of Italian food and drinks … books, magazines and scale models … it all came together to form a perfect picture.
