It barely seems more than a few days since the impressive turnout of over 25 Abarths at the Ace Cafe Italian Car Night in April, but the calendar does not lie and indeed a whole month has passed, and it was once again the second Thursday of the month. My diary had been in London, and I managed to keep it devoid of late afternoon commitments and thus able to get out of the office with a chance of reaching this iconic destination long before the daylight would disappear. As the sun went lower in the sky, the clouds melted away, so we were expecting a good turn out, but even by 9:15pm when I departed, the main car park was not full this month. No single marque dominated, and there was a good mix of familiar cars and a few more unusual machines to take in.
ABARTH
Although the posts on the Abarthisti forum suggested that the Puntos would dominate, we ended up with 4 of each model type. A fifth 500 arrived, and its owner – not a forum member as far as anyone knows – sat in his car glued to his phone for 2 hrs, and then without getting out of his car, he drove off, just as he did in March and April!
ALFA ROMEOThere are usually plenty of Alfas at this event, and this one was no exception.
Three 147 GTAs arrived later in the evening, as the light was fading, so are undepicted here.Giulia Berlina
One of the many 155s that arrived
Brera Spider
FIATHad not seen this 850 Spider before. The extended bumpers and side repeater lights indicate that it was a US spec car.
I had seen this 900T Van before, and got chatting to the owner, who lives locally to Ace. He told me that he had recovered it from a field near the Fiorano track. It would seem that Fiat supplied 2 or 3 of these a year to transport Ferrari personnel from the Maranello factory to the test track. It is not quite a standard vehicle as it has a rear door on each side and a few other minor differences. He also has a recently acquired ex racing 1960s Abarth 850TC in his garage, and he promised that one day he will bring that along!
From the more recent Fiat product lineups, there were a couple of Pandas and a Multipla.
Two somewhat modified Mark 1 Puntos, sporting far more plastic than was good for anyone, arrived just as we were all departing. You do indeed get all sorts at this event!LANCIA
Another showing for the lovely Hyena
I also liked this Fulvia Zagato that parked next to it.
No supercars this month. We wondered if the Ferrari guys decided to stay away after they were forced to park out on the road in April.Even so, this was a fun evening, with the chance to catch up with Abarthisti friends. The burgers are petty good, too, and you get a generous portion of chips! Roll on the second Thursday in June!
2011-05-14 07:41:11
