Macchinissima Italian Car Show Brought The Weird And Wonderful To Downtown Los Angeles

It’s hard not to start with the original supercar, and this orange Miura S was a perfect example of the model. I saw one guy walk by, point at the rear badge and tell his friend “oh, I didn’t realize this was a Lamborghini.”

I never get tired of seeing Bizzarrinis, and this 5300 GT is one of just 133 ever made. It’s always very funny to see the hood of an Italian sports car popped open to reveal a big V8 with ‘Corvette’ emblazoned across the engine block.

The first-generation Maserati Quattroporte featured bodywork by Pietro Frua and construction by Vignale, and this later model has a 4.7-liter V8 that gave the Quattroporte a top speed of 158 mph, making it the fastest four-door car of its time. Only 776 of the Quattroporte I were built between 1963 and 1969.

The Lancia Appia was introduced in 1953 as the brand’s entry-level postwar model, featuring a super cute design with suicide rear doors, sliding front suspension, rear-wheel drive and a V4 engine.

I’m just glad it’s not red.

Seeing any first-gen Maserati Ghibli is rare, as just 1,295 were built between 1967 and 1973, but the droptop Spyder is especially rare as only 125 were made. This one wasn’t originally a Spyder, though, having been converted from a coupe in the 1980s.

These ‘lil cuties were some of the most winningest Abarth race cars ever, going up against competition that was much larger in both physical size and engine displacement. Early models were fitted with a 750-cc engine, while some got upgraded 1000-cc motors to compete at tracks like Daytona.

Another absolute banger from Zagato, the Alfa Junior Z has a distinctive plexiglass face and a wedge-like fastback silhouette that’s a major departure from the traditional coupe Junior on which it’s based. Only 1,117 of these were produced from 1969 to 1972.

A wonderful fastback pairing, this Fiat 850 and Ferrari FF were parked next to each other in the spectator lot, which was also restricted to Italian cars only.

The 850 was prepped for racing, with an awesome stance and wider wheels, a big exhaust tip and a stripped-out interior. These tiny coupes were already lightweight to begin with, and feature a rear-mounted inline-4 engine sending power to the rear wheels.

It’s becoming increasingly common to see Deltas just driving around LA even if it’s not an Italian car show. I’m certainly not complaining.

One of the most beautiful cars at the show, this Flaminia Sport is one of only 99 covered headlight cars that were built by Zagato in 1959. The Sport models had only two seats and a shorter wheelbase than normal Flaminias, and were powered by a 2.5-liter DOHC V6 engine.

Created as a homologation special for racing, the Bertone-designed Sprint Speciale featured incredible looking bodywork that was also incredibly aerodynamic, with a drag coefficient that wasn’t bested until decades later. This is one of at least three that were at the show.

An Aurelia is featured prominently in a chase sequence in The Calculus Affair, one of my favorite Tintin books, with the Italian driver chasing down the baddies while proclaiming how excellent Italian cars are. He’s right!

The much lesser-known sibling of the Fiat Jolly, only 80 of these Fiat 850-based Shellettes were built and fewer than 10 are thought to have survived. It was developed as a collab between Turin-based Michelotti and the yacht designer Philip Schell, and the Shellette could even hit 60 mph.

I mean come on, how could you not love a full wicker interior? The custom surfboard is a somewhat literal cherry on top.

My favorite paint color was on this stunning 1966 Flavia Sport Zagato, owned by event organizer Baum. One of Zagato’s most interesting designs ever, the Flavia Sport has tons of weird angles and details that I could’ve spent hours poring over. Just 626 of these were built.

The best details of them all are the windows. The side windows aft of the doors are concave, curling up onto the roof, while the rear window is concave. It’s an extremely strange, absolutely wonderful setup that’s unlike any other car. I don’t even want to consider guessing what replacement costs would be like.

Luigi Colani was one of the most legendary industrial designers of all time, and this 1959 Abarth-Alfa Romeo 1300 Berlinetta is the only Alfa he ever worked on. Developed off of a wrecked 1000 GT, of which only three were built, Colani’s experimental aerodynamic fiberglass bodywork, 1,720-pound curb weight and larger 110-hp engine let this Alfa reach a top speed of 130 mph, and it was the first car to lap the Nürburgring in under 10 minutes.

Like most of Colani’s other designs, this Alfa is equal parts ugly and beautiful, truly looking like an alien craft from another planet. The person who owns it is amassing and restoring a collection of Colani’s creations, which will surely be one of the best garages on the planet.

I had to include this Rat Fink door lock topper that was on a 1980s Alfa Romeo GTV.