The Fiat 600 Club in Argentina has held its 5th National Meeting and this year the city chosen as venue was the city of Mar del Plata with 175 of the tiny cars streaming in for a weekend of celebration. On Sunday, during a very pleasant day, the event made its way to the Peralta Ramos Institute, a site at Calle Salta place where all cars were exhibited.

As has been the case since 2003, the Fiat 600 Club in Argentina this autumn held its 5th National Meeting; this year the city chosen as venue was the city of Mar del Plata, while previous editions had made the visit to Dolores (2003), Olavarría (2004 and 2005) and Tres Arroyos (2006). This event, which received sponsorship from Fiat Auto Argentina, saw an impressive participation of one hundred and seventy five Fiat 600s.

The meeting started on the Saturday (13 October) with the arrival of the Fiat 600s from cities such as, Rosario, Bariloche, Bahía Blanca, Tres Arroyos, Balcarce, Buenos Aires, Maipú, La Plata, Necochea and General Roca, as well as representatives of the Fiat 600 Club of Córdoba and the Club of Friends of Fiat 600 of Olavarría, Paraná, Villa Regina, Claromecó, Benito Juárez, Madariaga, Pinamar, Miramar and Dolores. Throughout the day, all the participating groups received maps of the city and timetables for the event among other advice from the organisation.

On Sunday, 14, during a very pleasant day, the event made its way to the Peralta Ramos Institute, a site at Calle Salta place where all cars were exhibited. From half past eight in the morning the 600 owners began to enter in the campus, nicknamed in Argentine "Fititos", and which were parked, grouped by club or city, as had been the previous layout. It should be noted that each of the clubs taking part in the event collaborated with the local hospital of Mar del Plata.

At noon, lunch was offered with the traditional “empanadas”, a cake made with meat and several ingredients which are greatly appreciated in the country, to more than 350 people, while during the sunny afternoon hours, two rock groups played to all those present. The first group called Bolas the Fuego (Balls of Fire), is fully formed by partners from the Fiat 600 Club Buenos Aires, while the second called July Fernández is a local group of the City of Mar del Plata.

The event then proceeded to deliver the distinctions, diplomas and trophies to all owners of the Fiat 600 present. At the end of the ceremonies special awards were handed to four cars elected by the jury in four categories, the awardees being are as follows:

Original

1st Luis Buscaglia (Buenos Aires)
2nd Roberto Paez (Mar del Plata)
3rd Francisco Yantorno (Buenos Aires)
4th Marcelo Lago Bello (Buenos Aires)

Street Modified

1st Marcelo Bormida (Olavarria)
2nd Juan Ignacio Bamonte Lozano (La Plata)
3rd Rodrigo de Sousa (Buenos Aires)
4th Jorge Muñoz (Villa Regina) 

Sport

1st Martín Leguizamo (Dolores)
2nd Maximiliano Lise (La Plata)
3rd Damián Mascias (Buenos Aires)
4th Gustavo Cavallo (Rosario) 

Tuning

1st Diego García (Mar del Plata)
2nd Carlos Damboriana (Tres Arroyos)
3rd Damián Ganim (Tres Arroyos)
4th Cesar Trozola (Olavarria) 

Finally the organisers proceeded to distribute amongst the Fititos present the gifts that had been graciously sent by Fiat Auto Argentina, including hats, gloves, scarves, knifes, CD’s, key chains, pens and guides of maps.

On Monday 15, the event's activities were conducted in Camet Park, the programme consisting of tests of driving skills, which saw the 600 owners driving around a circuit laid out with cones and flags and having to respect a default path. The cars were divided into two categories according to their motorisation as standard and modified, the awards going to the best three times in each division.

At the end the exposition, the convoy of Fiat 600s was escorted by 10 motorcycles, and it conducted a picturesque and bustling caravan with the horns blowing; departing from the Institute, it headed along Av. Libertad and up to the coast, continuing to the Av. Colón, before coming back again along the coast to the navy's submarine base and returning as far as the Av. Constitution, in order to reach a night club, where there was offered a dinner and then live shows and dancing open to all participants in the event.

by Claudio Perlini