A CONCORSO DISGUISED AS A PARTY
There are many ways to hide something in plain sight, but Simone and his team managed to devise a very ingenious one. Sure, it takes the concerted effort of all the participants, the staff and the onlookers, but the result is nothing short of spectacular. On the jagged Costa Smeralda, I was the lucky witness of a Concorso like no other.
To the uninformed onlookers, it all seems like a party amongst very close friends, happy to take their cars for a brisk drive on some of the many delightfully twisty roads that criss cross the island. The pack could not have been more diverse, with modern supercars mixing in with pre war Mille Miglia entrants, guarded by some tough rally legends and surrounded by a buzzing fleet of jolly Fiats and Vespas. To really understand the feeling, you have to watch them drive. It’s very much like a Mille Miglia meets Targa Florio meets every Italian film that expresses the essence of dolce vita. Convertibles full of people with straw hats and hands in the air, mean sounding Lancias, that probably scared all mice on a mile long radius back into their boroughs, sharp Giugiaro modern wedges, cutting the air with the same grace as their 60s iconic designs, all together as one, enjoying the thrill of the drive, in as many forms as possible. Some Concorso, right?
The beating heart of this flavourful concert is the Piazzetta of the Poltu Quatu Grand Hotel. Nested in between the orange cliffs that surround the narrow sea channel, with views opening up towards the sea and some stunning mountains gently silhouetted on the horizon, the Grand Hotel mixes clear vernacular tones with carefully choreographed landscaping and a flair for creating spectacular vistas. If visitors can pull themselves away from the outdoor pool and the beauties who adorn its sun beds, they are treated with another set of temptations, just on the other side of the reception lobby. It’s a photographer’s paradise, with angle after angle opening up, each one different to the previous one, each one with a slightly different story to tell. In the early hours the place is an oasis of calm. Italian early hours that is, so no silly pre espresso times. It slowly attracts more and more action, predictably starting with people talking to each other in foreign languages. If this was in Britain, it would be the photographers’ hour, with many of us manoeuvring for the best shooting positions, as if we were yachts at the start of a regatta. Here, we were heavily outnumbered by indifferent cats, oblivious to the whole thing.
Us humans on the other hand, were stunned by the quality of the cars on display. The psychedelic Porsche 917, the very car that got on the podium at Le Mans, exactly 50 years ago was the undisputed start of the show. Gerard Larousse was reunited with his faithful Martini Brazil liveried beast for a lap around the Piazzetta. We all know it’s a German car, as were the few other Porsches in attendance, but even these cars felt compellingly Italian, even though they were created many miles away, by people with a probably very different mindset to our hosts. Maybe the fleet of precious Lancias and the abundance of Ferraris spilled over some Latin magic in the air. Or perhaps the people that filled in the cosy place, frantically anticipating the upcoming drive, are responsible for that. Either way, as varied as the cars were, the harmony was supreme. You wouldn’t want to change a thing.
If you wanted to experience the Italian attitude at its most intense level, this is the best way. It’s Alfa Romeo’s home turf and it shows. The grand lady of the show is a mighty 6C, brought by Larusmiani, a car that has seen Mille Miglia action back in the day. On this occasion, it was not chasing the finish line at great speed, but just indulgently ferried around its lucky passengers. It’s a class of cars that Alfa never approached again after the war, a great reminder that the aesthetics of the brand are more than holding their own when applied to something that a Bentley or a Maybach may think is their own territory. The shining Scudetto immediately connects it to the modern day, leaving every Alfista in no doubt that this one is part of our family.
Also in the Alfa fleet, the emerald Montreal from the Lopresto collection hides a very precious secret. This unassuming car just looks a little bit more perfect than any other production Montreal. You may think this is because the surroundings complement it so nicely, with the rhythm of the headlight louvres matched by the pointy leaves of the native vegetation and the pristine waters being colour coded to the metallic paint. You would be right, but there is another side to this car. It is the very first Montreal ever made, the pre production 1970 Geneva show car, the one that sits a little lower than all the ones that followed, the one with a host of little spectacular details, the one not affected by any cost cutting exercise that hit all the others built after her. It was a privilege to see the car pull up on the iconic Capriccioli beach, where the white Lotus Esprit took that unforgettable dive into the sea, with Roger Moore playing James Bond at the wheel. It just opens the door to an alternate reality, a dream of what things can become.
In the end, this is what the Poltu Quatu Classic is all about. Make la vita dolce again. We’re in the middle of a pandemic so organizing such an event must have been a nightmare. Probably many long hours and many sleepless nights were needed to pull off such a amazing act. I honestly have no idea how they did it, but the result was so very worth it. Grazie guys, well played, very well played indeed.
