This year Lamborgini Brussels was also present with a nice stand, no less than five Raging Bulls were on display, ranging from a classic Gallardo Spyder over a stunning LP570-4 Superleggera and a Murciélago LP640 right up to a rare dark grey Bicolore and a white Performante … safe to say these beauties drew a lot of attention during SpaItalia.

This year SpaItalia celebrated De Tomaso as the Italian make, and naturally several Pantera, Longchamp and more classic models built by Alejandro De Tomaso were present, both as a static display and on the track, as SpaItalia is not only about show, most of the cars you can admire on the paddock later take on the track for a few spins on the famous F1 circuit.

But as much as I like a nice De Tomaso, my heart belongs to the Raging Bulls, so that’s where I spent most of my Sunday, surrounded by cars like a classic Espada and it’s smaller sibling the Jarama, but also three Urraco were present, two blue ones and a nice yellow one, both the early P250 variant and the younger P300 edition with the 3-Liter V8 engine.

There was no Jalpa, but many Gallardo took the drive to Spa, from the early 5.2 V10 models over their Spyder counterpart and Superleggera version right up to the current LP560-4 super car, in all kinds of shades from the sober grey to the bright orange metallic.

As nice as these cars are, most of the attention was grabbed by the select few V12 engines that were also there, the 40th Anniversary still remains an impressive car in his exclusive shade of green, and even better, a nice lavendar metallic Diablo SE30 was parked next to it, clearly showing the two limited edition V12 models. A more classic Diablo was parked near by, this one was finished in silver metallic and I’m sure I encountered these three V12 for some years now at SpaItalia.

If you know your Lamborghinis I’m sure you are aware of the legendary Miura V12, the first super car of it’s kind for road use … and a bright yellow P400 S model showed at in Spa, still one of the most sensual Raging Bulls ever made … and a model that is becoming more and more appreciated over time judging by the staggering sales price of a Miura SV recently … no less than $ 1.700.000 for a pristine sample, that’s no pocket change in my opinion.

Remember the amazing looking Diablo SVR from earlier SpaItalia events ? Well the owner recently bought another Diablo, a bright white pearl metallic shade SV edition, this car looked really nice and was driven ferociously on the track. Later I noticed SVR style side skirts and I wouldn’t be surprized he will mount a racing style rear wing on this car later on.

All in all the 2011 edition of SpaItalia was another success, some really amazing Raging Bulls were on show and from the other Italian car makers a stunning selection made their appearance in Spa … I for one can’t wait for their 2012 edition, and which Italian make they will celebrate next.

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Naturally I was more interested in the more hard core super cars like the Lamborghinis that gathered during this two day event, the latter being both an advantage and a disadvantage … you have people and owners that will only show up one day, so as a photographer you just have to be there both days or you will miss some of these amazing automobiles. On Saturday the number of people arriving with their prized exotics wasn’t very high, I didn’t get to see many Lamborghini at all, however one silver metallic Gallardo caught my eye quickly … something looked different on this one, and when I got a closer look in the pit box where this beauty was ‘resting’ I figured it out : they stripped the car to make it as lightweight as possible, it even ran on racing slicks … go figure.

I actually recognized this car from last year when it had a French registration plate and was driven like a regular Gallardo, but this year it was a different car altogether … that was hauled on a trailer I would find out on Sunday. But there were more than one Lamborghini at SpaItalia naturally, and the best was still to come on Sunday, an entire group of the Belgian club made their way to Francorchamps to enjoy some quick rounds on the track, and later on an impressive group of cars would join the 1000 Virages stint on the track, naturally comprising a few Raging Bull … among them even a brand new Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera finished in fashionable white.

You can get an impression of the different Lamborghini models that were either on display or on the track during SpaItalia from our extensive image gallery, so I’m not going to get into lists in this review, safe to say that we all enjoyed yet another edition of this amazing event that once again managed to get some classics and some ultra modern exotics together for visitors to enjoy and gaze upon, just take a look at the cars that hit the track in the 1000 Virages section, ranging from Porsche over Ferrari, Rolls Royce, Audi and Nissan GT-R right up to several Lamborghini … as an avid car enthusiast you must be having the time of your life when cars like this rush by on the famous Spa Francorchamps track … I sure did have a great time and can’t wait to get back to Spa next year … let’s see what they will be celebrating this time.

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Remember they had a Lamborghini tribute last year ? A stunning collection of Raging Bulls made the drive to the famous circuit of Spa Francorchamps, so I was expecting only a small selection of cars this year … I couldn’t have been more wrong to be honest.

Both on Saturday and on Sunday some amazing Lamborghinis appeared on the paddock … and on the track naturally as SpaItalia isn’t a static event, there are ample possibilities to take a spin on this world famous Belgian circuit, either in the relatively slow paced Gran parade spins or in the much faster Scuderia stints.

Among the cars in the latter was naturally the by now famous silver metallic Diablo SVR, this car was present at SpaItalia every year that I visited it, it’s owner even took it outside the gates of the circuit for a one on one photo shoot with me, so expect some more images of this great car later on.

Naturally that wasn’t the only Lamborghini of interest at Spa this year, a massive collection made the drive, ranging from the classic Jarama and one of the oldest, still driving Espada in the world, over the more recent Countach and Diablo models right up to the Murciélago and Gallardo. There was even a Miura present on Sunday, parked next to a Diablo SE30 and an equally limited edition Murciélago 40th Anniversary finished in that amazing green metallic paint.

It was again a nice opportunity to talk with owners and fellow enthusiasts as SpaItalia is a very relaxed event, I’ve been able to take several cars outside of the paddock for photo shoots, so I’m really happy with this 2009 edition of SpaItalia … I’m sure to return next year to try and top this edition once again.

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On Saturday the Belgian weather was up to it’s usual manner … rain, a light drizzle kept falling down way into the afternoon, but that didn’t stop some amazing Bulls to be present at Spa, ranging from the brand new Gallardo LP560-4 and Murciélago LP640 which were shown by Lamborghini Brussels, right up to some exclusive Bulls like the Pregunta prototype and the one of a kind Miura SVJ Spider, the latter being finished in a very bright green bodywork.

This was also a great time to finally meet the president of the new Belgian Lamborghini Club, who arrived in his flawless silver metallic Jarama which was parked next to a stunning selection of Lamborghini’s from France, among them an amazing purple metallic 1999 Diablo SV, a red Diablo, a bright Espada, a silver metallic Gallardo, a dark blue Urraco and a white Countach to name a few.

This already impressive collection was later joined by the well known black Murciélago Roadster from Switzerland, a dark blue metallic Diablo and a silver metallic Diablo SV, the latter two from the Netherlands by the way.

Close to the two new Lamborghini’s there was another display of Bulls, showing one of the oldest Espada in the world alongside a yellow Miura, a magnificent red Countach and the Pregunta, on the other side of this row you could admire a red Jarama, a brown Islero, a black Urraco and the bright green Miura SVJ, while another Murciélago LP640 was present too, together with a dark gray Gallardo Superleggera.

As always, on Sunday the collection of Lamborghini’s was a bit different, for one the sun came out so people were more likely to take the drive to Spa, and this meant an amazing white metallic Gallardo Spider showed up together with a bright orange metallic Superleggera. A similar shade of orange could be found on the stunning Diablo VT 6.0 that came from the Netherlands on Sunday, together with a great looking Diablo finished in red over a tan leather interior. A couple of yellow Gallardo were also present, together with a dark gray and a silver metallic Urraco, while a classic purple metallic Diablo SE30 was there too accompanied by a yellow Murciélago and the well known red Diablo with the SVR style rear wing. Later during the day a nice silver metallic Diablo arrived on the paddock too, but probably one of the most impressive Lamborghini’s at Spa on Sunday was a brand new Murciélago LP640 Roadster … finished in an amazing black exterior over a stunning black and orange interior … what was more, this car was only a few days old and showed only 500 Km on the counter. Save to say it drew a lot of attention, to top it all of there were another two Jarama, a black Gallardo and a second dark gray Superleggera, the latter even took some spins on the circuit during the day.

Naturally it weren’t only Lamborghini’s that were shown and driven during SpaItalia 2008, a large collection of Alfa Romeo’s was on site, some really amazing Ferrari’s, Fiat’s, Maserati’s and deTomaso could be admired on the paddock area and on the circuit during one of several ‘drives’ on this famous circuit.

Without a doubt I can call the 2008 edition of SpaItalia one of the most impressive of the last years, the number of rare and exotic cars was outstanding and thanks to the kind people organizing SpaItalia I was able to take photographs that normal visitors weren’t allowed to take, being in the pit lane while the cars were racing by.

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But let’s focus on the event itself, just like every year, there is a special Italian make that takes first place during SpaItalia, and for 2007 this was Maserati, let’s hope that Lamborghini will be the forerunner next year.

But that didn’t prevent several Lamborghini owners to take the drive down to the south of Belgium, and both show and drive their car during SpaItalia.

This is a two day event, so you’ll notice that some owners only show up for one day in Spa, that’s why I visited both days this year, since I missed a few very interesting cars last year, and my feeling was right, several beautiful Lamborghini were only present on Saturday, while others were only there on Sunday.

So let’s take a look at which models showed up at SpaItalia for this 2007 edition. On Saturday a stunning dark gray metallic Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder was on display on the reserved Lamborghini space, next to it an equally nice black coupé, which also would be present on Sunday. An amazing red Lamborghini Diablo with a massive Carbon Fiber SVR style rear wing was in Spa both days, as was a very nice yellow Diablo with French license plates, actually more Lamborghini from France showed up in Spa, like a very nice silver metallic Gallardo.

Naturally several other Lamborghini were shown too, among them a very nice red Lamborghini 400 GT 2+2 and a silver metallic Espada Series II, on Sunday a few more Diablo arrived, among them a magnificent silver metallic one including the factory rear wing, and a late model, pre-1999 Diablo VT finished in bright red over a tan leather interior.

But some of the best were still to come … how about one of those rare Diablo SE30 editions, naturally finished in the typical lavender metallic shade over the blue alcantara upholstery, a very nice combination. This rare Diablo was accompanied by a stunning yellow Lamborghini Miura S, this latter featured a thundering exhaust system which the owner aptly demonstrated by dumping the gas pedal a few times, much to the enthusiasm of the people surrounding this amazing automobile.

A nice looking, dark metallic Urraco S with a bright white interior was shown on Sunday too, but this one wasn’t driven on the circuit during the several ‘Grande Parade’ that were held over the two days.

A car that did head onto the track regularly was a nice silver Diablo SVR, a regular during SpaItalia, driven by a true enthusiast that really knows what he’s doing on a race track, he pushes his Diablo to the limit, and when you consider it is possible to have a spot in the passenger’s seat, you also understand that you just have to wear a helmet when driving on the circuit.

The weather could have been better, but at least it didn’t rain, and with the sun sometimes pushing the clouds away, SpaItalia 2007 was a success, both for the visitors and for the owners that had a great time driving their car on an enclosed circuit with all modern security measures … can’t wait to head down to Spa Francorchamps again next year.

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But I didn’t drive to the famous circuit of Spa Francorchamps to see Lancia or Abarth, which are great cars, don’t get me wrong, but I’m a Lamborghini guy, so I want to see the latest and greatest from Sant’Agata … and this is were SpaItalia 2006 didn’t live up to the expectations unfortunately.

Previous years there was a massive input from Lamborghini Brussels, who made sure there were a large number of Lamborghinis, both new and classic would be present, even some factory cars were there, but this year it was decided they wouldn’t participate at SpaItalia…

And it showed, there were a lot less Lamborghinis at Spa when compared to last year, no factory cars, no Valentino Balboni ! Fortunately there were still several owners that came to Spa in their classic Lamborghinis, from Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Germany (on Sunday at least).

They represented some of the greatest models made at Sant’Agata, like the 400 GT 2+2, the Espada (both Series II and III were present), the Islero S, the Jarama and Jarama S, the Urraco, a magnificent white Countach LP500S (on Saturday there was a yellow Countach LP400S), a nice red Diablo with Carbon Fiber rear wing, a Diablo SE30 and a silver metallic Diablo SVR that still made a thundering sound like last year … a great car.

Apparently on Saturday there was a Gallardo Spyder present, but it didn’t show up on Sunday, also the first day of this event saw the Bugatti Veyron on the track, what a sight …

As you can read, on Sunday there wasn’t a single Murciélago or Gallardo at SpaItalia which really was a shame, also the space reserved for Lamborghinis was a lot smaller than last year, as still a nice number of Lamborghinis showed up on Sunday they had to find some more space in a hurry …

I still had fun, talked to some really nice people from the Lamborghini Club France who showed up in a nice looking Series III Espada, in original, unrestored condition, a driving car that went on the circuit too, really nice. Fortunately the Lamborghini Club Nederland showed up with an impressive number of cars, I guess they accounted for more than 50 percent of the Lamborghinis present, if you know that some of these owners drove about five hours to get to Spa you can imagine the effort they will go through to be able to share there Lamborghini with fellow enthusiasts in Belgium.

I sure hope next year Lamborghini Brussels will be back, those people know what Lamborghinis are about and they are doing a great job to get the Lamborghini name better known in Belgium, and I’m sure an event like SpaItalia is a great opportunity to do just this … perhaps it’s time to have an official Lamborghini club in Belgium too.

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And they arrived in large numbers, not only from Belgium, but also from other countries, a stunning pearl yellow metallic Lamborghini Murciélago Roadster even showed a Swiss registration, and it arrived ‘top down’ naturally.

Fortunately the weather was at it’s best (for Belgium that is), with an open sky and lots of sunshine most of the day, so the proud owners of these cars weren’t afraid to drive their pride and joy to Francorchamps to share these stunning cars with the numerous visitors that arrived during the day.

Lamborghini Brussels presented several cars, ranging from a massive, black LM002 over a red Miura, an Espada, several Gallardo and Murciélago and a stunning, dark purple metallic Murciélago Roadster boasting an awesome interior featuring black leather combined with blue alcantara.

They even showed a rare, limited edition 40th Anniversary edition Murciélago, probably the most exotic Murciélago to date …

Just like last year, the factory provided several cars to take passengers onto the famous circuit, both production models were available, the Gallardo and the Murciélago, one of the Gallardo, a black one with a yellow/black interior even showed the optional glass engine cover and dark wheels, an awesome combination.

And to make your ‘drive’ on the circuit even more fun, Valentino Balboni was present … and taking in a few rounds on an enclosed circuit with the famous test driver for Automobili Lamborghini SpA will get your adrenaline up, trust me …

If you didn’t manage to get a seat inside one of the Lamborghini’s you could always watch the action from the hospitality area set up by Lamborghini Brussels, overlooking the pit lane. From here you could get really close to the action, seeing these stunning cars ‘roar’ past is just ‘the next best thing’.

You could see (and hear) a Belgian owned Diablo SVR reaching impressive speeds on the straight, but also the factory cars and a few private owned cars would ‘battle’ on the circuit, within strict security rules naturally.

SpaItalia 2005 was again big fun, it was an opportunity to chat with both Lamborghini owners and enthusiasts, and to get to know the people who actually drive these dream cars, because let’s face it, only a small percentage of the people visiting events like SpaItalia will ever be able to afford the cars they dream about, but it is the possibility to see these cars ‘in the flesh’ that makes it all worth while.

It didn’t matter if you’re a fan of the classic models, or tend more toward the new models, they were all present at Francorchamps this year. Some very nice Jarama arrived, joined by several Espada and an Islero. The Lamborghini Miura was also shown, this automotive icon was present in all three editions, the first P400 finished in red, a yellow Miura S and a stunning red Miura SV.

There was even an original V8 powered Urraco at SpaItalia this year, naturally the legendary Countach was present too, both the LP400 S model and the LP500 S model could be admired, while a nice selection of Diablo were on display at the Lamborghini area. Naturally the Murciélago and the Gallardo were shown in several colors, and no less than two Murciélago Roadsters were present.

A very nice black Murciélago came all the way from Switzerland to drive on the circuit, this car featured a magnificent, high gloss, Carbon Fiber rear wing and the owner also installed the Roadster wheels … among others.

I’m really looking forward to visiting SpaItalia again in 2006, for more information on this event and the date for next year’s event check out the official website at : www.SpaItalia.be … see you there !

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The Lamborghini stand was completely set up by the people from Lamborghini Brussels, the official distributor for Automobili Lamborghini SpA in Belgium, and thanks to them I was able to attend this important Belgian event and offer you an impression of this successful meeting.

For the first time on Belgian grounds, the Lamborghini Murciélago Roadster was shown to the public, a stunning metallic black one was proudly showing it’s top-less design on the Lamborghini stand … drawing a lot of attention naturally.

Spa Italia could be called a big success, about 40 Lamborghini’s showed up on Sunday, ranging from the classic 400 GT 2+2 up to the latest Murciélago, covering the Jalpa, Espada, Islero, Diablo, Gallardo, LM002, Urraco and some stunning Miura.

Lamborghini Brussels reserved four garages in the pits, two of them were used as a reception area, while the two other housed several Lamborghini’s that were supplied by the factory in Italy, both the Murciélago and the Gallardo were available as track cars, offering rides to the people invited by Lamborghini Brussels. Naturally the owners that brought their cars to the circuit could also get some experience on a race track with their own Lamborghini.

Among these Lamborghini’s was an awesome Diablo SVR owned by Jac Cars, who also hit the track, and without a doubt this was the loudest and probably also the fastest Lamborghini on the circuit that day.

As mentioned, there were about 40 Lamborghini’s present from various European countries, not only Belgian owners were kind enough to show their ‘bulls’ to the public, one of the Italian registered Murciélago was even driven by none other than Luc Donckerwolcke, the chief designer at Automobili Lamborghini SpA, probably combining this event with a visit to his roots … he is Belgian after all.

A small overview featuring most of the Lamborghini’s during Spa Italia 2004 is offered on the image gallery of this event but I would again like to thank the people at Lamborghini Brussels for this possibility to offer so many Lamborghini’s gathered in Belgium, and I can only urge you to visit Spa Italia 2005 if you have the chance, it is worth it … trust me.

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