The “Auto e Moto d’Epoca” (Autos and Motorbikes of the Period, referring to vintage and classic items) is an annual motor vehicle show held in Italy. The 2024 event was its 41st edition, and substantial growth forced it to move from Padova to a larger venue in Bologna. I first became aware of this show in 2023 and had hoped to attend but was unable to. However, I made the journey in October 2024 and attended all four days. I’ve experienced all types of car shows over the decades, but this was easily one of the best shows of my life (it helps that I love not only Alfa Romeos, but all Italian motor vehicles).
The 2024 show dates were from Thursday Oct. 24 through Sunday Oct. 27. I arrived in Bologna on Tuesday the 22nd so I could adjust to the 6-hour time difference. Once I got off the plane in Bologna, a 15-minute taxi ride got me to my Marriott hotel. The show was held at the BolognaFiere, a huge exhibition complex which was an easy 15-minute walk from the hotel. The Auto e Moto d’Epoca occupied 13 of its buildings, or halls, with the halls organized into 4 categories: vehicles for sale; vehicles displayed by car clubs, manufacturers, and other organizations; motorcycles; and spare parts & automobilia.
Thursday was billed as preview day, and I had pre-purchased a combo ticket for all 4 days. I arrived shortly after the doors opened at 9 a.m., and as I walked into the hall and got my first glance of the cars on the floor, I knew that my expectations were about to be greatly exceeded. As it happened, the first of the 13 buildings I entered featured cars for sale by private individuals. Italian cars included various Fiat models such has 124 Sport Coupes, 130 Coupes, Dino Coupes and Spiders, and 500 sedans. Lancias were plentiful and included various Fulvias and Flaminias. Of course, there were many Alfa Romeos, mostly GT Coupes and Spiders, but a fair number of sedans too. Non-Italian cars included various Jaguars, Mercedes-Benzes, Volkswagens, and even some American cars. And this was just the first building!
On Thursday, I only visited the halls which contained cars for sale. Aside from cars offered by private individuals, many of the remaining vehicles for sale had been brought in by specialty auto dealers, of which there seem to be a great number in Italy. Asking prices were listed in Euros, and with the dollar almost at 1:1 parity (actually the Euro is worth a little more), there were no complicated calculations to make regarding pricing. I spent about 6 hours on Day 1 wandering through 5 of the 6 buildings with cars for sale.
I’ve decided that the most organized way to share my photos is to break up the blog posts into segments based on vehicle marques, starting with Fiat.
This 1962 Fiat 600D had an asking price of €8200
Fiat Dino Coupes and Spiders
Fiat, in collaboration with Ferrari, agreed to build a certain number of “Dino” Coupes and Spiders with the Ferrari V6 engine for homologation purposes. Never officially imported into the U.S., they were built in limited numbers during the late ‘60s-early ‘70s. They have always been a favorite of mine, and I’m lucky if I see one a year in the States. Here, I saw EIGHT.
1968 Dino Spider in red
1968 Dino Coupe in red, paint was bad, asking €23,000
Yellow Dino Coupe
Blue Dino Spider, asking €97,000
1967 Dino Spider in red, asking €115,000
Yellow Dino Coupe, asking €57,000
Silver Dino Coupe
Dark red Dino Spider with a brown interior
Fiat 124 Sport Coupes
Long a favorite, as I had one in college, which ignited this Italian love affair. They have all but disappeared from the roads here, but there were 3 at the show, and two were for sale at seemingly fair prices.
This 2nd-generation 1971 Coupe had an asking price of €16,999. It looked sharp in yellow over black with its alloy wheels, but with the hood up, the yellow in the engine compartment didn’t match the exterior paint. The car was still for sale when I walked past it on Sunday.
This 1968 Coupe (1st gen car, note the single headlamp per side compared to the yellow one) had what looked like a restored interior, with headrests on the front seats. The owner was asking €13,900, a bit less than the yellow car.
This 2nd-gen silver car was displayed outside, and I presume that it was there as part of a Fiat club.
Fiat 130 Coupes
Looking somewhat like the 124 Coupe’s big brother, these V6-powered cruisers pop up once in a while on Bring a Trailer. There were two at the show.
This 1969 Fiat 2300 Coupe had an asking price of €34,000
I call this 1955 Fiat 1100 “Transformabile” the ‘Eleanor Roosevelt car’, because there is a photo of her in the driver’s seat of one. The vendor was asking €57,500 for this one.
Fiat 124 Spiders were thin on the ground at this show, and understandably so, since out of a total production of 197,913 vehicles (1966-1985), 170,720 were imported into the U.S.! Still, a few interesting examples were there.
This blue Spider looked impeccably restored, and featured the dual carbs under the so-called ‘turtleback’ air cleaner.
This presumably authentic Abarth 124 Rally car had an asking price of €105,000.
This ’69 Spider was claimed to be one of only 4 prepped by the factory for competition.
A ’68 Spider in yellow. Note the original style grille with horizontal bars.
I’ve read about Fiat 8Vs, but had never seen one in the metal before this show. Interestingly, Fiat gave it that name under the mistaken impression that “V8” had been trademarked by the Ford Motor Company.
This early 20th century Fiat racer was on display in the Center Hall.
This Fiat 128 2-door sedan looked racy with its blacked-out panels. It sold in 2 days.
The Fiat Multipla is considered by some to be the first “minivan”.
This Fiat pickup looked like a conversion job, although I’m not sure.
And you thought that Fiat only made small vehicles? This bus was plenty big. It had a 6-cylinder diesel engine.
This Fiat 850 Spider was likely the nicest one I’ve ever seen. It was an early model as noted by its flush headlights.
A Fiat Ritmo Abarth. The Ritmo was Fiat’s answer to the successful VW Golf (Rabbit in the U.S.).
The hit of the show among the Fiats were the diminutive 500 models. They were out in great numbers, in stock and modified versions. In fact, there were plenty of vendors at the show selling all kinds of performance upgrades for these air-cooled 2-cylinder pocket rockets.
Next up will the Lancia (say “Lon-sha”, NOT “Lan-see-ya”)
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