A journey through some of Italy’s most beautiful locations
Automobili Lamborghini just hosted its “Giro Polo Storico” for international customers and their classic Lamborghinis in a tour crossing some of northern Italy’s most distinctive regions. As part of celebrations marking its 60th anniversary, the company reunited vehicles from different countries around the world and models from every generation up to the beginning of the third millennium, which are followed by Lamborghini Polo Storico: this department maintains the historical archive, including the cars’ production documents; provides the original configurations and other data, and produces and certifies and restores Lamborghinis up to the Diablo 6.0 SE series. Several cars with a special history joined the tour, such as the 350 GT with the second chassis number, the oldest existing production Lamborghini, today in perfect running condition.
“It was really exciting to live these days under the Lamborghini flag,” said Federico Foschini, Chief Marketing and Sales Officer. “This is a very important year for our company, and we are delighted to have celebrated it with the cars that have been so important in forming the brand’s history, so as not to forget our roots while we constantly look to the future.”
Beautiful cars, beautiful countryside
The tour started from Franciacorta, with roads surrounded by vineyards. From there, the cars continued through the Alto Garda Bresciano Park, following the panoramic road along Lake Idro’s edge up to Riva Del Garda on the northern shore of Italy’s largest lake. At Riva Del Garda, the cars parked on the Spiaggia Degli Ulivi, a perfect place to combine beauty and technology, where the most faithful replica of Bob Wallace’s no-longer-existing ‘Jota’ stands out, built from a crashed Miura during thirteen years of relentless work by an English enthusiast. It is remarkable that the mechanical part of this car was rebuilt to the same specification as the original by Bob Wallace, the historic test driver from Sant’Agata. The participants then continued to the Terre Scaligere to end the day with a visit to Verona.
The following day, the cars went onwards to Valpolicella with its undulating vineyards, crossing the historical Visconteo bridge in Valeggio sul Mincio (VR) and stopping for a tour of Villa Sigurtà. Amongst the vehicles was the Countach LP 400 S that was the pace car at the 39th Formula 1 Grand Prix of Monte Carlo, which was also present at this year’s Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance, arriving directly in Italy from the United States. The car, at the time owned by the Mimran family who headed Lamborghini at that time, ‘competed’ in the Grand Prix on 31 May 1981, complete with a large flashing light mounted on the roof and the inscription ‘intervention’, as a pace car. Founder Ferruccio Lamborghini established a Lamborghini tradition of using the Monaco GP setting to present his best creations as openers, such as the Miura, Countach and the unrepeatable Marzal.
Villa Malaspina Guarienti
The tour participants were welcomed in Guastalla (RE) at Villa Malaspina Guarienti, one of the most beautiful examples of the neoclassical style, with a history starting from the early decades of the 11th century and made even more famous by its English-style park. Starting off again, catching the eye was the Diablo VT used as a ‘demonstration pace car’ during the 1996 PPG Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) Indy Car World Series races. In history, only two Diablo VTs have ever fulfilled this role, one in black, present at the tour, and one in gold. Both were equipped with roll-bars and the Jota kit to increase maximum power to 600 hp, complemented by a dedicated air intake on the bonnet and a front bumper with two tow hooks.
Historic Modena
On Saturday 16 September the guests arrived in Modena where, after parking in the Parco Giardino Ducale Estense, they took part in the gala dinner together with Lamborghini management. The Giro came to an end with the last day spent at the historical Sant’Agata Bolognese headquarters. the guests were former company employees from eras when classic models were produced, relating anecdotes from their working lives dedicated to Lamborghini.
“The Polo Storico Tour represents a central event in the 60th Anniversary celebrations,” said Alessandro Farmeschi, Lamborghini’s After Sales Director, “not only for the Polo Storico, custodian of the brand’s history, technical and material heritage, but for the whole of Automobili Lamborghini, which felt compelled on the occasion of its 60th birthday to host the faithful owners of iconic classic cars. It was a special privilege for me to take part in the tour driving the last Diablo produced, one of the gems of Automobili Lamborghini’s collection, on display at the company’s museum.”
Conclusion
The final lunch of the tour was held in the Finishing building, where customers had the opportunity to admire the location where Huracán, Urus and Revuelto production is concluded.
All photos © 2023 Automobile Lamborghini
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