Concorso Italiano 2026: Booming and Beautiful 

by Wallace Wyss – 

I used to exhibit my fine art at Concorso, which takes place on Bayonet Golf course on the old Ft. Ord military base in Seaside but when they changed hands a few years ago ,  I thought I would take a “wait and see” attitude to see how the new owners handled the franchise before I again made my debut with my art.

I am happy to report that not only is it a booming success with over 400 cars (some say 600) this year but it is a pleasant car show not so deadly serious on originality as say Pebble Beach. First of all the brands. They had many known brands of cars and a few that took some guesswork.

Some long out of production marques, sadly,  had only one car shown because, though decades have passed, they haven’t found their champions who restore them and show them. One such car was the Apollo GT designed in America.

A strong presence was by Ferrari owners, I’d say nearly 40 to 50, though not too many that precede the 308 model era. There were many mid-engined ones, right up to current models but no SP cars, the Special Project ones that are difficult to buy unless you can convince Ferrari you are a true believer (with five other Ferraris in your garage).

Maserati numbered fewer but still some excellent examples. Alfa Romeos had a section all their own, and considering how few Alfa dealerships there are in the US it is a credit to the owners they can keep them going. I was surprised to see a long long row of pointed tail two seaters, maybe they saw the movie The Graduate too many times!

My two favorite marques, Bizzarrini and Iso, were few and far between, I think there were two Bizzarrinis present and one was slightly customized (chrome air grate on the lower front fenders) but fortunately the green one from Billy Hibbs of Texas, dead stock, won. I wasn’t there to see the show winner roll across the stage but I think the gorgeous blonde model with his car helped make an impression (or was that London Hibbs, his actress daughter?)

NO ISO

I didn’t see a single Iso though at least five times more Grifos were made than the Bizzarrini Strada. I am speaking of the steel bodied Grifos made after Ing. Bizzarrini left Iso employ.

It could be that the steel bodied second gen Grifos haven’t reached astronomical values like Bizzarrinis so owners don’t want to spend the money for a full restoration. Bizzarrini GT5300 alloy bodied or fiberglass bodied are now passing $750,000 in value depending on history and condition.

I saw no Iso Rivoltas, or Iso Leles, both four seater Isos. It could be that they are so unknown in America, it’s a similar situation–do you want to spend the money to make them show quality when the market doesn’t reward you when you sell it?

There were many booths, including one manned by an Indian lady who made exquisite sculptures of flowers. I asked her where are her car works and she admitted she  hadn’t had time to get into cars. I hope she does because her workmanship was exquisite.

The show spreads over several small valleys on a golf course and it’s possible to miss a valley if you aren’t looking. I think I found them all. Fiats were strongly represented, including some so race quipped you wonder if they are street legal. I kept waiting for an announcement of the new Topolino–an unbelievable small car–which was rumored to be coming back to America. I wish someone was there from Fiat to explain to me why they showed a variant with an option where the metal door is replaced by rope holding the passengers in. A rope? I’m not kidding. But Jeep has such an option which makes off roading seem oh-so-adventurous. Of course you still wear your seatbelts.

DE TOMASO A RISING STAR ONCE AGAIN

In the De Tomaso section there weren’t as many cars as I hoped (I am writing for a Pantera Owners Club magazine by the way which explains my newfound rediscovery in the marque) and many were modified. But hope springs eternal, there was a genuine 1960s Mangusta, and since those are so rare (402 made) it’s great to see some owner wanted to represent De Tomaso’s most beautiful car. The new De Tomaso mid engined sports car the P72, was not there. I know it was on the Peninsula because I saw it in traffic.  It’s beautiful but I wanted to talk to the makers to see why they went so far upscale? The old Mangusta, more than 70 years ago, was more affordable at $11,000. This new one is in the supercar class like McLaren.  So they moved up the marque a few notches which I realize is necessary to justify all new engineering and styling. They should have been at the show.

ORIGINALITY? NOT SO MUCH

At least five of the Panteras shown were modified from what Lincoln Mercury owners sold in the ’70s. Two had big flares like the De Tomaso GT/4 race cars, which allowed owners to run wider wheels and tires. Now at Pebble Beach in competing for points, on originality could lose you points but here it is OK, and though I want to see a full on factory racing GT/4 (of which 14 were made) these modified cars will do in the meantime to see what you can do with a Pantera. By the way, talking about present prices on ’70s models, I thought Pantreras were still $20,000 but one owner told of selling his modified one for over $200,000. And there are several one off De Tomasos worth over a million (look for separate story).

I predict the rise in Iso Grifo prices is leading the rise in De Tomaso prices as those new to collecting realize an American engine is not a curse as it once was, but a blessing when it comes to engine work.

Incidentally though De Tomaso made many models, including the Ford-engined Deauvbille and Longchamps, none of those have reached the popularity to justify restoring them. But it will come as the marque’s history becomes wider known.

NON-ITALIAN

Now what makes the Concorso Italiano a little more the-car-show-for-every-man was that it allowed a handful of non-Italian cars to participate like what was a ’05-06 era Ford GT doing there? Well when you hear the man who brought it was the designer of the car– Camilo Pardo –it makes sense. He was also showing some of his exquisite oil paintings of–oh, the horror–Ferraris. He was a car designer in Detroit for over 30 years even though he looks only 30 years old! (Maybe he started as a baby?) There was also a Corvette or two and a Shelby Mustang replica built by some of the Original Crew that built them in ’65.

I asked some of the management why they allowed non Italian cars and they explained they are not as rigorous as say Pebble Beach. If there’s a reason to show it, they will listen. Of course they do have  another show the day before called The Paddock  where even hot rods, custom cars, low riders, off roaders, etc. are welcome to show. The idea? To have Monterey car week be open to all who are proud of their car and show it. And for some entrants  it was their first car show to show their car and what a setting. I will never forget the VIP Club dinner that was cooked Italian style and from the deck you could see the blue Pacific. A better view than dining at Pebble Beach!

THE GUEST HOSTS

I have to complement the guest host Matt Stone who I worked with at various publications, as he has an encyclopedic knowledge of Italian cars and has owned a few De Tomasos that I remember. He is one of the few writers who can deliver a good spiel. Also on the host list was Coleen Sheehan, who for years co-ran an exotic car business in the Newport Beach area.

IN SUM

So in sum, the Concorso Italiano is a valuable part of the Monterey Car Week in that it is not insistent on 100% originality. It allows newcomers to the displaying of their cars a grand entrance on stage on a peninsula full of exotic cars that week.

The spectator price of around $200-300 (depending on if you want access to the VIP lunch) is reasonable considering the absolutely unobtainable price charged by the rival concours named after a wild bird. (Of course they do have five dining rooms over there…)

And I didn’t see any new cars being introduced to the American market at Concorso except for the Topolino but I am sure the show has proven it can draw good entries and good crowds and that may come. That other show on the Peninsula in Carmel Valley has a debut every half hour. One thing I miss that Concorso Italiano should bring back is a body shop that restores aluminum car models showing a car in restoration. They might get a new customer, so shops please apply! And I’d also like to see those doing leather interiors, those with replica original wheels, etc. This could be the show to reach the Cognoscenti still building their dream car.

THE AUTHOR Artist Wallace Wyss will be doing another story when he does some paintings from Monterey Car Week.

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