by Will Udovenya and James Noble
An event very familiar to MCS, this year in an unfamiliar location; indeed, the Ferrari Club of Victoria’s Annual Concorso is one of our favourite regular events you'd find circled on our calendar, and it was just held on the 1st of March.
| What makes it one of our favourites? A gathering where steel and wood is juxtaposed with carbon and titanium, and where both young and old car enthusiasts stand side by side to admire their hero cars. It's a place where future car lovers catch the bug, and where the passion for automotive runs deep. Approach any owner, and they'll be happy to give you the full story of what makes them, and their car, tick. This year, and for the first time since 2017, the Concorso was held in the heart of Melbourne at Xavier College Kew’s football oval in favour of the Yarra Valley’s spectacular Eastern Golf Club that we’ve become accustomed to over the past three editions. No matter; the selection of Cavallino Rampante (prancing horses) grazing on the lush green grasses of the well curated turf still preserved that familiar charm we’ve come to expect. |  A breathtaking 250 Testa Rossa recreation on display |
Photos: Dylan Rose
The day traditionally starts well before sunrise on Sunday, preparing cars for some of the most discerning eyes in Melbourne’s automotive circles, and some of the most passionate car enthusiasts of all brands. For some owners, it started weeks or even months earlier, restoring, fixing and cleaning cars for Concorso judging, where neither bolt nor tool goes unnoticed (more on that below).
Bump-in is traditionally a wonderful sight to behold - a long queue of Ferraris snaking into Xavier shrouded in towering gumtrees is one of the only traffic jams you’d actually enjoy being in. There are few other places you’d see a 1960’s 246 Dino GTS sandwiched between a state-of-the-art 2015 F12 TDF and an iconic 90’s Testarossa wedge. Just make sure no gum leaves fall inside your Daytona Spider if you’ve put the roof down…
Bump-in is traditionally a wonderful sight to behold - a long queue of Ferraris snaking into Xavier shrouded in towering gumtrees is one of the only traffic jams you’d actually enjoy being in. There are few other places you’d see a 1960’s 246 Dino GTS sandwiched between a state-of-the-art 2015 F12 TDF and an iconic 90’s Testarossa wedge. Just make sure no gum leaves fall inside your Daytona Spider if you’ve put the roof down…
The Competition
Nothing escapes the judges, most of whom have been passionate about Ferrari since birth...
We hardly envy judging duties, either, owing to the sheer body of knowledge you’d need to undertake it equitably. One minute, you could be critiquing the shape of a bolt head sitting in the engine bay of a 328 GTS; next, you’re debating whether Ferrari offered valve-stem caps with the Ferrari horse on them for the 360 Challenge Stradale (or are they $15 eBay items?). A missing 19/18mm wrench in a 308’s toolkit (or an optimistic Bunnings replacement) would probably slip past our eyes, too...
| Thus, the judges are known as walking, talking Ferrari almanacs and are usually life-long Ferraristi (the name affectionately given to Ferrari owners by Italians), restorers, or collectors. The chief categories upon which cars are judged on in a Concorso include originality, authenticity, condition, cleanliness, and overall presence, and are all recorded on a comprehensive judging scorecard. ‘Over-restoration’ is also penalised, which consists of excess plating, or a polished part that should be unfinished or painted. Each car begins with a perfect 100, with points subtracted for each defect, and no cars built within the last five years are permitted to enter (that just wouldn't be sporting, would it). Owners can usually be found just inside the earshot of the judges, ready to provide commentary or justification as to why this-or-that item is "definitely original from factory!" |  |
Cars in the Concorso competition can range from the 1975 308 GTB, all the way to a 1999 360 - and more.
Unfortunately, this year the results were not released on the day, citing a too-close-to-call result. Instead, we'll have to wait until the club's Christmas lunch in December where the winner will be announced. Announcements were made, however, on the ‘People’s Choice’ award, taken out by the gorgeous blue-striped 488 Pista Spider in first (entrant 35), with a Testarossa (entrant 08), and a 360 CS (entrant 69) following in second and third respectively.
The Highlights
Without a clear headliner in the form of a Ferrari halo model (think: F40, Enzo, or even LaFerrari that we’d usually hope to see), attention was divided between the comprehensive range of eras and periods, which were each well represented.
Holding down the fort for the grandfathers of the Ferrari brand, a 250 Lusso, a 250 GTE, and a handful of 330 GTCs gave the purists plenty to talk about, and endless little details to peruse: wooden steering wheels, analogue dials and gauges labeled in Italian (naturally), and spoked-wheels were to die for here. The Lusso had been purchased in 1969 by its current owner, who had just completed a two-year engine rebuild to keep the car running well into the lifespan of its next owner (or, its next 'custodian', the term you might more likely hear a vintage car enthusiast saying at events such as this).
A range of 512s were present (dark blue was the pick of the bunch here), with a strong showing of over five Dino 246s, a Daytona Spider, two stunning silver 550s (the best spec for the 550, in our opinion) and a handful of 308s rounded out the classic highlights. We’ve omitted one key example here - it’s our pick of the show, and we’ve left it to the end...
| For the more discerning of Ferraristi and enthusiasts, and certainly one of the more unusual and rare examples we’ve seen at any Concorso, was the special 348 GT Competizione. We can’t blame you if you hadn’t heard of it before. We hadn’t either, but were instantly smitten by its parts-bin look and feel. One of 50 made, this one was rescued from rot and mould in an abandoned garage in Hong Kong with an incredible 130km on the clock. It's 190kg lighter (!) than the standard 348, and heavily features kevlar/carbon composites in the bumpers, doors and sills, and a pair of seats straight from the F40. A full work-over by @auto_attention certainly brought out the true lustre of the car, too. |  |
Into the newer categories, we were pleasantly surprised at the range of the oft-compared trio of track-oriented naturally-aspirated V8s: the 360 Challenge Stradale, 430 Scuderia, and 458 Speciale.
It was impossible to avoid any debate with the nearest observer around which of the three did their thing the best; was it the CS’s simple and lightweight pre-manettino dial brutality, the Scud’s pioneering F1-Trac and E-diff systems that could make anyone look like a hero, or the Speciale’s symphonic V8 wrapped up in a near-perfect modern package? No progress was made towards solving this debate...
It was impossible to avoid any debate with the nearest observer around which of the three did their thing the best; was it the CS’s simple and lightweight pre-manettino dial brutality, the Scud’s pioneering F1-Trac and E-diff systems that could make anyone look like a hero, or the Speciale’s symphonic V8 wrapped up in a near-perfect modern package? No progress was made towards solving this debate...
Finally, and certainly a pair of MCS-worthy new-moderns, was the sophisticated Rosso Mugello-over-tan F12 TDF, and one of the newest 488 Pistas in Melbourne, the silver 250 GTO-inspired GARA example. Nearby lurked the aforementioned 488 Pista Spider, with its light-grey interior which could be admired up close with the roof down, and its stripe that became a royal blue in the direct sunlight. 458s and 599s were well represented, as were their newer siblings in the 812 and 488. We chuckled at the remark we made in 2017, where we were crossing our fingers to see an 812 in 2018 - there were well over five examples here this year.
Overall, there was something for everyone at this year’s Concorso, if you spent some time looking.
| The age-old hypothetical question: what are you ‘taking home’, in the impossible scenario of the owner handing you the key? The sophisticated Rosso Mugello F12 TDF has to be a shortlister for its pure performance, as would a 360 CS for its simple and lightweight pre-manettino dial brutality. But for us, it would be the green-over-tan iconic 365 GT/4 BB; its lineage-defining mid-engine design, growling carb-fed flat-12, and quirky mismatched front and rear overhangs. Did we mention six exhausts? Recently restored in 2015, the car drew a subtle grin from nearly every person who walked past it. As always, our answer changes by the day (by the coffee, even).  |  |
The Gatecrashers
As always, a selection of cars try to crash the Ferrari-exclusive party, with this year seeing a cheeky matte-orange Lamborghini Huracan Performante attempt to park on the oval to much displeasure of the Ferraristi. A selection of Porsches joined the party, too - a gorgeous black 911 GT3 Touring and an equally gorgeous red 964 Turbo were spotted in the car park alongside the behemoth of the Rolls-Royce Cullinan.
As always, a selection of cars try to crash the Ferrari-exclusive party, with this year seeing a cheeky matte-orange Lamborghini Huracan Performante attempt to park on the oval to much displeasure of the Ferraristi. A selection of Porsches joined the party, too - a gorgeous black 911 GT3 Touring and an equally gorgeous red 964 Turbo were spotted in the car park alongside the behemoth of the Rolls-Royce Cullinan.
Thanks as always to Dylan Rose, who provided a handful of outstanding the photos above. You'll easily discern them from our optimistic iPhone snaps.