The 36th edition of Auto e Moto d’Epoca set a new record with 130,000 visitors attending the event dedicated to the world of vintage cars, organised by Intermeeting in the Padua Fair pavilions.
The slogan for the 2019 edition of the event was 'Cars ignite passion', and once again this year the visitors’ response was resoundingly positive from the opening day.
The exhibition’s international reach is growing, as proved by the number of international collectors, visitors and accredited journalists from over 30 countries.
To give just one example, a group of 15 journalists from some of the most important German newspapers drove from Munich to attend this event for the first time.
The event was also more present on social media and visitors were sharing their enthusiasm for it, especially on Instagram – many uploaded thousands of pictures, videos and comments to the social media platform to share their favourite models and their excitement for taking part in the event.
“This is a difficult time for international industry events; despite the general trend, Padua continues to grow,” said Mario Carlo Baccaglini, Intermeeting president.
“We are going against the current because we put the spotlight on the visitors’ passion, and it’s only here that they can find over 5,000 high quality vintage cars. The data we are collecting proves that Auto e Moto d’Epoca is a key event for enthusiasts all over the world.”
National and international traders registered very positive results as they met buyers and collectors from all four corners of the globe. The best-represented brands were Porsche, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari and Maserati – however, there were dealers who made excellent first-time AME debuts. These include Dr. Konradsheim and his high-level Porsches, and Girardo & Co, one of the best-known dealers in the world, who has invested heavily in sports cars, such as the 1972 Alfa Romeo Type 33 TT 3, the last Alfa to have taken part in the Le Mans race.
“This year, enthusiasts have honoured us with their interest for historic cars. The stream of visitors to the Ferrari barchette exhibition was continuous,” said Angelo Sticchi Damiani, Automobile Club d’Italia president.
There was a great deal of interest in the Finarte auction which took place in collaboration with Automotive Masterpieces, registering more than €2.3m in sales, an amount which is constantly increasing due to the exceptional trend of post-auction sales. The 1947 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Sport was sold as the top lot for €639,060, with chassis no. 915303.
In addition to bringing models of excellence as per usual, such as the 1964 Luxury Ferrari 250 GTL and the Maserati 3500 GT, Ruote da Sogno has an eye to the future when it comes to vintage cars and is keen on promoting eco-sustainability through a project that allows you to turn your vintage car into an electric car, while maintaining the licence plate and vehicle registration certificate.
The Gino Macaluso Foundation for Vintage Cars also speaks positively about the experience.
“We are proud to represent an example of passion in this industry,” said Alberto Scuro, ASI president. “And we are proud to continue being loyal to our philosophy which binds us to principles of originality, culture and emotion. These are the most important values which keep vintage car motoring alive. Passion has no price. It cannot be measured by the sole economic value of the vintage car that one desires or has preserved, maybe one which has been passed down from one generation to the next. Similarly, the originality we have wanted to highlight in Padua is to be interpreted as the historical, cultural, social and industrial heritage that each vintage car needs to preserve in order to be a faithful witness for the future.”