The Concorso Italiano is a major event occurring during the week of the west coast's big annual classic car multi-event gathering which also includes the world famous Pebble Beach Concourse and the historic races at Laguna Seca. It is billed as the largest Italian car show in the world. It is also the one event each year in which the De Tomaso entrants are hosted by Pantera International (i.e. Debbie and I).
The Maserati Club International, founded by Francis (Frank) and Janet Mandarano, held the club's annual concourse at the Quail Lodge in Carmel in 1981. The venue was so well liked that they returned in 1986 and began booking the venue for their annual meeting each year thereafter. The Mandaranos began inviting clubs representing other Italian car marques to join them in 1987, the resulting event was no longer a "Maserati-only event" and was thus named the "Concours Italiana"! The De Tomaso marque was invited in 1989. The roster of invitations did not grow to include "all" Italian automobile and motorcycle marques until 1991 however. The Concorso awards program for "Best of Show" began in 1992.
As the event grew in size a larger venue became a necessity. Thus it moved to the Bayonet Black Horse Golf Course in the city of Seaside in 2003. In its new setting the event grew to become the largest Italian car event in the world. Chairmanship of the event was passed to Jack and Leslie Wadsworth in 2004. The event moved to the airport belonging to the city of Marina in 2008, a setting lacking the aesthetics of the previous two venues. The decline in aesthetics combined with the world wide economic crash that year resulted in a dramatic decrease in event attendance. Chairmanship of the event was passed to Tom McDowell the following year (2009); Tom relocated the event to the Laguna Seca Golf Ranch, and retained the event's founder, Frank Mandarano, as a consultant. The event has steadily improved ever since. In 2014 the event returned to the Bayonet Black Horse Golf Course due to that venue's superior accessibility.
The philosophy of the Concorso is "a celebration of Italian style" centered around, but not limited to, Italian automobiles and motorcycles. The purpose of the event is to assemble a wide cross-section of Italian machinery, along with those who own and/or appreciate them, in a relaxed, informal and aesthetic setting. The emphasis is on display and appreciation over competition. Many people are turned-off from showing their cars at a "white-glove" style concourse, but the Concorso is not a traditional competition like that. The Concorso is the place where cars which aren't "show cars", i.e. cars which are driven regularly and/or cars which are in various stages of "aging", will fit-in perfectly. An owner simply drives their car onto the green, dusts it off, and enjoys the show. Its quite intentionally a very informal and relaxed environment. That is quite a bit different than the spirit of the Pebble Beach concourse, and quite a bit different than the spirit of other "older" shows you may be familiar with such as the Newport Beach concourse, but it is the "founding spirit" of the Concorso.
Concorso Italiano 2015
This year marked a personal milestone, the 10th year I have hosted the De Tomaso corral (I've been blessed with Debbie's steadfast assistance since 2009).
Over the years I have witnessed De Tomaso corral attendance at its all-time high of 81 the year we celebrated the Pantera's 35th anniversary (2006), and as low as 25 the year the event was held at the Marina airport (2008). This year we had 41 registered exhibitors, 38 were in attendance, and 3 were no-shows; a few no-shows is normal. This attendance was up from 33 exhibitors in attendance last year. We were slated to have 4 Mangustas in the corral this year, but one of the Mangustas was a no-show. I would really enjoy seeing regular attendance by Vallelunga, Longchamp and Deauville owners too. Seven exhibitors came to the event from out-of-state: three from Nevada, two from Arizona, and one each from Louisiana, and Oregon.
I'd like to challenge each of this year's exhibitors to invite a fellow De Tomaso owner to join you in exhibiting next year. I believe it is important for the number of De Tomaso exhibitors to grow. The more exhibitors we have the more respect we get from the event organizers. Secondly, we need to make a strong showing at this very "high-profile" Italian car show as representatives of De Tomaso owners and enthusiasts worldwide, lest this grand old marque's impact upon the motoring world fades further from the motoring world's memory.
Debbie and I are trying to establish a new custom for the Club, that is to provide a modest gift for each De Tomaso exhibitor at the Concorso. The idea had its roots in 2009 when we gave each exhibitor a tee-shirt commemorating the 50th anniversary of the De Tomaso factory. Last year we provided De Tomaso coffee mugs, the year before that it was live orchids. This year our gifts to the exhibitors were leather De Tomaso key rings.
Interesting fact #1 - All 3 Mangustas in attendance received an award!
Interesting fact #2 - At least 6 of the cars in attendance had been ground-up modified or restored by Don Byars.
The Award Programs Overview
Our corral is one of only a couple which has our own awards program, besides the awards program of the Concorso. During the day I interact with the Concorso folks and their program, while Debbie works with the De Tomaso exhibitors to manage our awards program. There are therefore two sets of awards to report, the Pantera International awards and the Concorso awards.
There is a major difference in the awards programs. The Concorso awards are based upon the superficial, hastily formed impressions of three "on-stage" judges, as opposed to a thorough examination of each car; but their judging is quite specifically focused on the originality and provenance of the cars presented to them. The Concorso judges exhibit a preference for cars retaining their "original patina" over those which have been restored. I must present the Concorso judges with the best original cars I have at my disposal if the De Tomaso marque is going to earn and maintain credibility with the Concorso organizers and judges. Each marque receives three awards from the Concorso, "Best of Marque", "Second Best of Marque", and "Third Best of Marque". The marques receiving these awards this year included Alfa Romeo, De Tomaso, Ferrari, Fiat/Abarth, Iso/Bizarrini, Lamborghini, Lancia, and Maserati; plus awards for Italian motorcycles and "special coaches". Each car awarded "Best of Marque" also competes for the Concorso's "Best of Show" award. A De Tomaso has never won the Concorso's "Best of Show" award, but we came very close in 2014. It is a personal goal to see this happen.
Pantera International's awards program is not bound by the rigid criteria of the Concorso judges (i.e. originality and provenance). For our awards program the cars are judged by the exhibitors (this is called popular judging or judging by peers). Each exhibitor casts a ballot for their choices in 5 categories, based upon their personal criteria and prefernces. Debbie tallies the votes and we present our awards based on the results of the tally. We never know how the voting is going to turn out from year to year! Quite often custom Panteras are voted for the best of show.
For years I've had a hard time getting people to gather for our afternoon 2PM awards ceremony ... I've decided Pantera International needs to purchase a larger and louder PA system. The exhibitors shall hear me next year!
Pantera International Awards 2015
- Best of Show
- Gary Spratling (modified red 1972 Pantera, work performed by Don Byars)
Originale Class - First place = John Buckman (POCA president)
- Second Place = Tom Galli (PCNC treasurer)
Modificato Class - First place = Tim Dell (modified blue 1972 Pantera, work performed by Don Byars)
- Second place = Daryl Johnson (PCNC vice president)
Speciale Class - First place = Bud Millard (red Mangusta, PCNC store manager)
- Second place = Phil White (black Mangusta)
Pilotato Class - First place = Steve Dalcino
- Second place = Don Spratling
Concorso Awards 2015
- Best of Show
- Ted Johnson, Ocean Ridge, Florida (1961 Ferrari 250 SWB)
Best De Tomaso of Show - Jeff Cobb (Red Mangusta series 2 prototype)
Second Best De Tomaso of Show - George McGuire (Yellow push button Pantera restored by Don Byars)
Third Best De Tomaso of Show - John Schwamm (Very original yellow 1972 Pantera)
In closing, we hope everyone who attended enjoyed themselves. Debbie and I appreciate each and every exhibitor, they are all dear to us. We wish we could afford a special award or trophy for each and everyone of them, but its just not financially possible. One aspect of the Concorso we always look forward to is meeting new people, and getting reacquainted with old friends. I truly wish I could spend all day just chatting and catching-up with each and every exhibitor, and the attendees from places like Canada and Hawaii who stop-by to say hello. But the day of the Concorso is my busiest day of the year, its non-stop from 4AM to about 5PM. If I didn't stop-by and say hello, or if I was pulled away from a conversation, please accept my apology. We also appreciate the support of the local POCA chapter, the Pantera Owners Club of Northern California (PCNC).
An Invitation To All:
Please consider joining us next year for the 31st Concorso Italiano
Saturday August 20th
At the Bayonet Black Horse Golf Course, in the city of Seaside California.
We hope you'll consider joining us, if not as an exhibitor, at least as a spectator. We acknowledge the hotel rates go up unreasonably during this week, but we've also learned there are ways to minimize the financial impact of this situation. You're always welcome to contact me privately for lodging suggestions via telephone, via Pantera International's email, or via a private message on the forums. We'd love to have you join us at the lovely hotel where we stay! If enough people were interested in booking a room in the hotel where we stay we would book a meeting room for Thursday August 18, and we could all spend an afternoon meeting each other and chatting about whatever is on everyone's mind.
Below is a picture of our trophies. That's Debbie and my long-time friend Dale in the background.
Dale is the original owner of a very early 1972-1/2 Pantera L, purchased at Mayberry Lincoln/Mercury.
Mike Mayberry is the forum member who you know as "King". I purchased my Pantera from Mike too, 31 years later.
