Several weeks ago, my wife and I planned a quick, four-night visit to the L.A. area to spend time with her brother, who has lived in Southern Cal for the last thirty years. After securing our airline tickets and hotel room, I searched the ‘net to see what else was going on. I stumbled across a car show scheduled for Saturday September 27 in downtown L.A. called Macchinissima. The name is a made-up word that even the locals can’t pronounce, and I discovered that most folks have shortened it to “Macchi.” Works for me. Now in its third year, it is a display of 100% Italian machinery and culture: cars, motorbikes, bicycles, food, drink, and music. I bought my ticket before leaving NJ, and at 9 a.m. Saturday morning, my wife and BIL dropped me off. (And by the way, why does NO ONE believe me when I say that my visit to Los Angeles during Macchinissima was a complete coincidence??)

At first, I wondered about my surroundings. I was in an industrial neighborhood with low-rise offices and warehouses, and graffiti plastered on every outside wall. The first show cars I spotted were all 105/115 series Alfa coupes and Spiders from the ‘60s and ‘70s, and I thought that this might be everything. As soon as I made a left turn through an open gate, the rest of the show opened up before me. The outside automotive displays extended as far as I could see, and the two buildings on either side of me were open and filled with more mechanical treasures. Besides the Alfas, within the first ten minutes I spotted Ferraris, Fiats, Lancias, and four Lamborghinis: two Miuras (both orange) and two Espadas. The hip L.A. crowd ranged from Millennials to Boomers of both sexes, absorbing the culture through all five senses. My wife had jokingly asked if she should pick me up in an hour. I realized now that I would be sticking around for most of the day.

The show’s organizers worked hard to make this something other than your typical car show. Vehicles were placed in small groups based on make, or model, or even color. There was no attempt to cram as many cars as possible onto the showfield; in fact, the spaciousness around some cars was refreshing and assisted with my (and others’) photographic efforts. The aforementioned graffiti actually provided a unique background for pictures. Inside one of the buildings, cheekily named the “Redrum,” every car was some shade of red. Instead of monotonous, it worked (helped by the popularity of rosso on Italian cars).

The evening before the show, I took a chance and emailed Elyse Barrett, who is the Managing Editor of the Alfa Romeo Owner’s Club (AROC) national magazine, Alfa Owner. She has published several articles of mine in the past, and we have never met. I was thrilled to hear back from her, informing me that she would be there. We found each other, and she and her husband Jim were very giving of their time with me.

There were almost too many highlights to call all of them out here, but for starters, there was a new Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale supercar; a DeTomaso Vallenuga; a 1935 Fiat Biallia; a Lancia Stratos; and my favorite car of the show, a one-off custom 1974 Alfa Spider with significantly modified sheetmetal, a custom interior, and a three-liter Busso V6 jammed under the hood (more about that car below). Italian cultural highlights included a coffee bar, an adult-drinks bar, pizza, Italian heroes, and gelato. If there was a disappointment, and it would be a minor one, it was the relatively small number of Fiats. There were no 124s of any body style, no 130s, no 850s, and a lone Fiat Dino, a Spider. Not sure if this was by choice or by availability.

We have many wonderful concours on the East Coast, including Lime Rock, New Hope, and Hershey, all of which have been covered extensively on this blog. However, Macchinissima has no rivals on my home turf. While I wouldn’t make the long trek every year, it might be worth winging my way back every second or third year for the one-day immersion in La Dolce Vita, automotive style.

ALFA ROMEOS

This GTV (above) had a Busso V6 under its hood

 

(Above) an Alfa Romeo 1900 Zagato coupe

(Above) the 33 Stradale

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The 1974 Alfa Spider Custom

I approached this car and could not make sense of what I was seeing. The windshield, door handles, headlights, and instrument panel left no doubt about its Spider origins. Or was I hallucinating? Not a single body panel looked like any Alfa Spider I had ever seen before. The grille was there, but the hood’s center section was raised. The side scallops were obliterated, replaced by smooth sheetmetal that reminded me of a ’50s or ’60s Ferrari Spider. The tail end, with its large round lights, was reminiscent of a Fiat Dino. What was this? Who built it? Was there more than one of these lurking somewhere? Personally, I found the changes to be breathtakingly beautiful, and I am at heart an “all original” kind of guy who eschews customization of almost any kind. All morning long I kept circling back, hoping to run into someone who knew the story. Finally, after lunch, the hood was opened, and yet another surprise: a 3.0L Alfa “Busso” V6 sat there looking like the car was born with it. The owner was present. I gushed. He told me that he is an architect, and he did 100% of the design work. But it was his brother, a “master metal fabricator,” who brought this dream to reality. Wow. If one popped up for sale, I would need to talk to my financial advisor to figure out a way to put in my garage.

 

LANCIA

 

FERRARI

(Above) One of the few new cars at the show was this 2025 Ferrari 12Cilindri. These photos do not do justice to the visual impact of this drop-dead gorgeous automobile. Yours for a cool half-million. Oops! Looks like it’s sold out.

 

FIAT

(Above) 1935 Fiat 508S Balilla

 

(Above) Fiat Abarth

 

(Above) Fiat Dino Spider

 

DE TOMASO VALLELUNGA

 

LAMBORGHINI

 

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