Reverse Gear is a look back at past events to fill the void 2020 has created.
A wise man once said, the journey of a proper recap begins with a single word. For Festival Italiano, now in its third chapter, that word would be ambition. The event, a celebration of four-wheeled wonders hailing from, you guessed it, Italy, was the creation of Tony Boniello. Tony, despite being just 26, has been organising some impressive events for years. His group, Cars & Caffe, meets bi-monthly in the sunnier months and has been responsible for some of the largest single-day gathering of cars on the East Coast.
According to Tony, “Festival Italiano was founded as a result of my passion for both classic and exotic Italian cars. I became enthralled by Italian cars at a young age. The designs, the sounds and the intimate feel of the cars I've experienced further boost my passion.” He put that passion to the pavement and was able to assemble some of the finest cars in the area, ranging from classics all the way up through modern machines. And the venue was far beyond a basic vacant parking lot.
The Hermitage is a US National Historic Landmark, a stone farmhouse built in the 1700s (yet renovated in the Gothic Revival style in the mid-1800s) and situated on five acres of beautifully manicured grounds. The front yard, under the shade of various ages-old trees, played host to Festival Italiano. With past events for German and British cars, as well as Cadillacs, Tony jumped at the opportunity to curate a collection of Italians to complement the Hermitage’s automotive CV.
This year, the weather couldn’t have been greater, the grounds of The Hermitage greener, nor the selection of cars grander.
And Mother Nature turned out to be an Italian car fan after all, allowing the event to go on without having to engage its rain date. This, no doubt, assured that the majority of its 60+ preresgistered entrants would be in attendance, since they didn’t have to rearrange their schedule to deal with a last minute date change.
Cars began rolling in around 8 a.m., with preregistration making ingress as smooth as possible, preventing a traffic backup leading in. The first to arrive was an immaculate Ferrari F430 Spider, finished in none other than Rosso Corsa, the dropped top showing off the sumptuous tan interior. A recently purchased Fiat 124 Spider followed, lovingly wiped down by its owner as soon as she parked it.
Other Fiats included both old and new 500 models, the newer one of the Abarth variety. Spiro Kalamaras brought his silver 1980 X1/9, a car he’s had the pleasure and privilege of being its sole title holder.
Representing Lancia was another vehicle driven by its original owner. The 1967 Fulvia Sport Zagato of Joseph LaCognata was a real looker. During its restoration, Joseph fitted the flared fenders of the racing model to enhance its street presence. It certainly worked, as it took home the honors of Best in Show runner-up, earning him a nice piece of kit from sponsor MetroVac. One of my favorite Lancias was the bright red 1993 Delta HF integrale Evoluzione. There’s just something about a rally monster for the street that turns my gears. It even arrived carrying kids inside (the best place to carry them, of course). A standard Fulvia Coupé rounded out the offerings from Turin.
Ferrari seemed to play the numbers game and brought quantity and quality, with a 250 GTE, a Dino 246 GTS, a 365 GTC/4, a lovely white 308 GTS, and numerous other 308/328s waving the vintage flag. The Best of Show was also a Prancing Horse, but more on that later. If there was an award for best mustache, Giovanni Calabrese would have won, hands down. He was displaying his black 328 GTS, his son, Dante, riding shotgun.
From the newer stables were a select group of 355s, a pair of 360 Challenge Stradales, 430s, 458 Italias, Spiders and Speciales, a 488 Spider, and a Mondial straddling the line between classic and modern. Rob Krupski’s F12tdf with plenty of carbon fiber to match the Rosso Corsa paint took home the People’s Choice and with it, some professional-grade goodies from MetroVac.
Wide World Ferrari, another sponsor of the event, brought along double shot of showroom shiners, including a GTC4Lusso and a 488 Spider.
Lamborghini had a strong showing as well, with plenty of twelve cylinder music makers for the crowd to enjoy. Due Diablos and a Countach made friends with impressionable children, their scissor doors a never-ending source of excitement. And when was the last time you saw a Jalpa? Sant’Agata only built 410 over an 8-year model run, but one was on hand to inspect and ogle.
Who knew that Alfa Romeo had a way of bringing families together? Father and son, Robert and Rob Vadala, each displayed their Alfas, with the junior Rob’s being a 1969 Series 1 Spider and father Robert fetching a second place trophy for his 1967 GT 1300 Junior, personalised with upsized wheels. Also on the roster: a Montreal, a few other Coupes and Spiders, a rather rare GTV6 Maratona, a Stelvio and the gorgeous 8C Competizione.
An Arnolt-Bristol briefly stopped by, its bodywork by the renowned carrozzeria Bertone. Rounding out the Italians with an imported heart was a De Tomaso Pantera in a striking orange, it’s Ford V8 rumbling as it found its place on the field.
Auto Polishing Center, another sponsor of the event, had a hand in detailing a few of the cars present.
When it came time to crown the Best in Show, it was no surprise that it went to the Ferrari F50, a local legend that’s female-owned and driven. As one of the 349 produced, and no doubt the only one with a tongue-in-cheek application of a Plymouth badge on its rear mesh grille, the Rosso Corsa rockstar rose above the field to take the top nods.
Lest you think judging was completed by a rudimentary team of ragtag amateurs, Tony assembled a conclave of seasoned professionals.
“When I launched Festival Italiano, I reached out to Charles Lennon, longtime Cars & Caffe member and Greenwich Concours veteran, to assemble our judging team. Dr. Lennon was not able to make the 2019 iteration of our event, but our staff, mostly chosen by Dr. Lennon, consisted of Matt Maisano, Bob Austin, who is a former Volvo executive and director of the Rolls Royce Owner's Club, Gordon Bortek, founder of the Tuxedo Concours, and Dick Gundeck, who made his judging debut at our event. Gundeck, Lennon and Bortek are all founding members of Cars & Caffe. Maisano is also a Greenwich Concours participant and has been with Festival Italiano since the first year as well.”
What does the future hold for Festival Italiano? Tony says he’s envisioning [it] growing into one of the premiere Italian automotive events in the Northeast. “I might add a "Tony's Choice" category,” he says. “How do you qualify? I test drive your Italian car of course!”