This was my second visit to SpaItalia in a row … and I wasn’t disappointed … if you were in the region of Belgium on May 29th, you should have visited this event. As the name already mentions, SpaItalia was held at the world famous circuit at Spa Francorchamps, which is a great surrounding to show off these Italian made masterpieces.
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 !
