The annual SpaItalia event at the legendary Belgian Spa-Francorchamps racing circuit in the Ardennes, was held this weekend between 28-29 May.

The main theme of the event concentrated on the 75th anniversary of Pininfarina. Unfortunately, Pininfarina’s latest concept car, the Maserati Birdcage 75th concept which was created to celebrate the special occasion, was not present. Instead visitors could admire the Ferrari Rossa concept, a design created five years ago to mark Pininfarina’s 70th anniversary. The design of the Ferrari Rossa was created in a fortnight by Ken Okuyama. Working weekends on the styling, Okuyama penned what was to become Ferrari’s new style in years to come, with the Enzo, 612 Scaglietti and F430 all sharing styling characteristics from the Rossa one-off.

Other special cars on the Pininfarina stand included the 1956 Lancia Florida I, an Austin A40 estate, the sharp 4-door Ferrari Pinin dating from 1980 and a Dino Spider. In fact, there was a strong turnout of Dino Spiders due to the Pininfarina theme.

As usual there was an impressive turn-out of historic Lamborghini’s, including examples of the stunning Miura, an Espada and an outrageous LM 4x4. Lamborghini Brussels also provided an impressive display of their latest models, including a Murciélago 40th Anniversary. World-famous Ferrari-Maserati dealer Francorchamps Motors also proposed a stunning display of cars, including the latest 612 Scaglietti, F430 and Maserati GranSport models. Seeing such a concentrated handful of brand new and exclusive road-going exotica outdoors was certainly impressive.

Alfa Romeo represented the most dominant turnout of enthusiast’s cars, with Alfisti traveling from as far as France, Germany and England. Interesting models included an immaculate 75 Turbo, a handsome 2600 Touring Convertible, an incredible 1969 GTAM, special factory edition versions of the Alfetta 2.0 GT and Alfasud, and numerous SZ’s.

Dutch garage Sam van Lingen (SAVALI) and the historic Belgian dealer Van Steenkiste were the main organisers for the Alfa Romeo brand and provided GT Coupe and Crosswagon Q4 Pace Cars for the Grande Parade sessions around the track. Unfortunately the event was premature for the latest Alfa’s – notably the stunning Alfa 159 and Brera. Inline with the Pininfarina anniversary theme, an amazing turnout of Series 105 Alfa Romeo Spiders tried in earnest for a record gathering attempt.
 

Lancia enthusiasts were also out in storm, with an impressive display of Integrales and Montecarlo’s. There were also rarer models present, such as a 1958 Aurelia B20 and a 1969 Fulvia Zagato.

As with previous editions, enthusiasts had numerous chances to drive their Italian cars on the legendary circuit. The Grande Parade, which occurred on three occasions throughout the day, saw handfuls of Ferrari’s, Maserati’s, Alfa Romeo’s, Lancia’s and Fiat’s take to the circuit. In fact, the circuit seemed so crowded to the organizers that Pace Cars and black flags had to be introduced as the parade got underway.

Riding as passengers in a brand-new Alfa Romeo GT Coupe 3.2 V6, we were once again impressed by the neutral, flat, handling with controllable oversteer on the limit. The screaming Arese V6 engine showed unbeatable performance, and reminded numerous SZ’s of their classic status. Nailing each apex perfectly, the GT Coupé effortlessly thrashed every car in its path, surging through long bends at up to 180 km/h, before showing off its supreme stopping power at the sharp chicane prior to the run-up to La Source.

As the evening set in, the second session of the fast Scuderia event took place. It was great fun to see a mix of equally brilliant Italian cars, each being a classic in their own right, sliding around the circuit. Cars included a Lamborghini Diablo GT, two Ferrari 360 Challenge cars joined by a F355 Challenge, numerous Giulia Berlina’s (our hat off for the red Giulia Super with three occupants that displayed such wild Hollywood-style oversteer at La Source on every lap without fail), a smooth Alfasud Sprint, a grunty 1969 GTAM, two Fiat Coupe’s and a Lancia Integrale Martini Racing. There was even a standard Nuova Punto 1.3 Mutlijet that bravely took to the circuit! Why two Lotus Elise’s and an early model Esprit were also on the track remains a mystery to us.

A tourist rally was proposed on the afternoon of Saturday May 28, which departed from the paddocks at 14:30. It was a splendid occasion to begin the weekend by meeting other enthusiasts and to explore the splendid Ardennes region in an original way. Coupled with perfect weather conditions during the entire weekend, SpaItalia 2005 was a charming event to help bolster the ever increasing interest in Italian cars within the Benelux region.

By James & Paddy Granger at Circuit Spa Francorchamps