PITTSBURGH,  — The Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix (#PVGP) is delighted to unveil the theme for the 2024 Proiettore Macchina at the Cortile Italian Car Show: AUTOVETTURE PICCOLE. This Italian phrase, translating to "small cars," celebrates the elegance and innovation found in compact Italian automobiles.

The PVGP Cortile  invites enthusiasts to explore the charm and craftsmanship of small Italian cars that have left a lasting impact on automotive design. From iconic microcars to stylish compact models, this theme promises to showcase the diversity and ingenuity of Italian automotive engineering.

Participation and Highlights
Owners of AUTOVETTURE PICCOLE are encouraged to participate in the Cortile Italian Car Show, contributing to the vibrant display of Italian automotive excellence. The event promises a captivating experience for both participants and spectators.

How to Participate
For those wishing to showcase their AUTOVETTURE PICCOLE at the Cortile Italian Car Show, registration details and additional information can be found on the the registration link which will open in January 2024.

Below is a list of cars that we want to invite to our 2024 event.  Did we miss anyone?  Let us know in the comments! 

by Bernard Martin

PITTSBURGH, PA - Artist Lyn Hiner has been announced as the featured artist at the Cortile Italian Car Show at the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix's 2023 event featuring Ferrari as the Marque of the Year. 

Lyn is an internationally recognized palette knife painter based in Southern California.  Known for portraying expectedly detailed elements through an emotionally expressive application, Lyn’s bold colors and palette knife strokes create a sense of energy on the canvas revealing a beautifully unique perspective.

​Her  palette knife technique is reminiscent of  Impasto without quite the thickness.  Rob, her husband, says that her style most closely resembles Abstract Expressionism which is defined as an Impressionist-style, but with an emphasis on varying measures of abstraction.  Lyn says it's more of an emotive expressive approach. 

What you will find mesmerizing about Lyn's work is how it draws you in from afar.  Each piece can capture you and then you find yourself moving closer.  ​

You are attracted to it more and more as your eyes try to translate the colors and abstract lines of each highly recognizable piece in your mind.
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​But the colors are bolder than what you expect as the norm, more vibrant.  
​

Launched in November 2017, Lyn’s "Petrol" collection was first debuted at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas and is now regularly featured at juried fine art shows, galleries and distinguished automo-
tive exhibitions internationally:

We are just over 30 days away from this summers Cortile Italian Car Show at the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix!
We've got some great new things for you to enjoy this year!
Saturday & Sunday July 20-21, 2019

As you know, each year the Cortile selects a marque to highlight for our annual event.

The Macchina of Alfa Romeo have been selected as our 2019 Proiettore Macchina!

Joining us this summer is the Alfa Romeo Owners Club (AROC) who will be holding their North American Convention and honored also as the spotlight car of the 2019 running of the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix.. 

The theme for the AROC convention is "Cortile della Corsa", the "Courtyard of Racing" and will feature Alfa Romeo's on the track as well as iconic racecars on the showfield. Be sure to check out the poster car that was raced by Fangio and Phil Hill. 

Deb Schurko came up with the idea of Wine Tasting on Turn 9 a few years ago and it's become the best place to watch the races on Sunday. Plenty of shade and some wine tasting, courtesy of Mazza Winery, after the opening ceremonies and parade! This year we're introducing something new, but first...

This year, we've had a slight price increase on weekend registration to $150.  After 10 years we've experienced a few cost increases and it was time to adjust up a bit to make sure we where keeping our contribution to the charity growing compared to the other marques down the hill from us.

But, in conjunction with Wine on 9 at the Westinghouse Pond on Sunday,we've also got a NEW sponsor in JKS Financial . As a company with more than 45 years of combined experience, JKS Financial prides themselves with the relationships they build with their clients and they want to build some charitable relationships with us!  This summer they are sponsoring and hosting the Sunday Catered Lunch at the Westinghouse Fountain. 

This year your weekend entry will get you lunch for two on both Saturday and Sunday!
We've also upgraded some of our goody bag stuff. This year we're including a collapsible umbrella (to keep you in the shade of course) and some beeswax lip balm so your lips aren't burned for the wine tasting!  And you will love this year's t-shirt! It features the poster art you see up above. 


Artist Kelly Telfer will be on hand to autograph the posters and even your shirt or hat. Oh! I forgot to mention the hat!  This year's is different from previous years.  You'll just have to wait and see that!

If you have not gone over to the judges tent at the previous years events and chatted with the judges you may just want to do that.

Did you know that Steve Barney was the first person outside of a direct Ferrari employee to ever get to own a Ferrari Grand Prix Car?  Ask Steve about Nikki Lauda's F1 Car that he owned thanks to his friend Enzo Ferrari.  Steve is also the founder of Foreign Cars Italia in the south and is pretty intimate with all Italian marques.

You may also want ask some questions of Tom Frasca.  Tom was Dipendenti Ferrari for the North American Racing Team, more commonly known at NART. Tom served as Luigi Chinetti's right hand man for 26 years until 1994 and was a witness to much of the history that has made Ferrari an iconic name today.

Stop by the judges tent at 2pm to ask them some questions!

Now, to do all that you've got to register! 

If you have not done so already, click the button below and register now for the Cortile Weekend.  (If you own an Alfa Romeo CLICK HERE instead).

Thank you very much for your continued support of our charities!
Bernie

PITTSBURGH, PA.  The Three Rivers Alfisti, the local chapter of the Alfa Romeo Owner's Club (AROC)  in North America, is hosting the 2019 AROC Convention which is being called the Cortile della Corsa: The "Courtyard of Racing." The Club has over a weeks worth of events planned including trips to historic Frank Lloyd Wright landmarks, rally tours, a parade into the City of Pittsburgh, which includes a display at the headwaters of the Ohio, and a weekend at the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix's Cortile Italian Car Show.

On Wednesday morning, July 17, Alfa Romeo's will parade through the City of Pitttsburgh and then be on display at Point State Park, where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers meet to form the headwaters of the Ohio River.  Alfa Romeo owners will take an afternoon tour around the city in vintage  'Duck Boats". The six-wheel-drive amphibious DUKW's, built in 1944 and 1945, will get in the water and offer a preview of the Tune Up Party location that attendees to the convention will enjoy that evening.

On Thursday, convention participants will enjoy a day at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex for on track "Time Trial" as well as Autocross and some competitive karting amongst CLub members.  The event culminates that event at Jergels, starting for with a tech session at Indian Motorcylces of Pittsburgh covering Tuning for the 4C and then moving acrorss the parking lot and up to the VIP Suites at Jergels to be entertained by Three Car Garage.

Friday, July 19 starts off with a Rally through the the backroads of Butler County  through McConnells Mill for lunch at Moraine State Park, (not far from where the Jeep was invented) and returning back to the DoubleTree Hilton for a car was sponsered by Meguirs' before heading down to the welcome dinner at The Hisotric Pittsburgh Golf Club to mix and mingle with the Alfa Romeo Vintage Race Cars and drivers.

The Cortile della Corsa Weekend at the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix is being hosted at the Cortile Italian Car showfield. Saturday will include Cortile Cup Judgine, Alfa Romeo "Shine and Show" Judging  ad wll as the prestigious Certificator d' Oro judging for 98-100 point Concours level show cars.  Also on display is the 'Courtyard of Racing" - Alfa Romeo race cars from their very robust racing history. This will hearken back to names like Nuvolari, Fangio & Andretti. 

Saturday Evening will be capped of with a banquet for Alfa Romeo Club members at the Doubletree Hilton with vocalist  Jessica Lee, who also has a unique role in the preservation of Pittsurgh's Blue and Jazz history.

The Convention culminates Sunday with the main event: racing!  Racing is what made Alfa Romeo became famous over 100 years ago!  There is a special VIP viewing area for Cortile and Club Members at Westinghouse Pond, turn 9 on the purpose built street course, with a lunch hosted by JKS Financial and "Wine on 9" hosted by Mazza Vinyards.  It's also the day for paddock tours.

We caught up with Steve Lebrun at the 2017 PVGP Historics at Pitt Race where he talks about his beautiful recreation of an Alfa Romeo GTAm and the heartbreak that can come with racing.

The GTAm (1969–1971) could produce up to 240 PS (180 kW; 240 hp) in the 2000 cc car—a car usually related to the GTA, but unlike the GTA derived from the GTV 1750 (US version). The 1750 GTAm (later called 2000 GTAm when the 2000 GTV was introduced) was created in 1969.

There are two schools of thought about the "Am" moniker, neither one ever having been officially confirmed by Alfa Romeo: One expands Am to Alleggerita Maggiorata (Italian: lightened enlarged), the other America Maggiorata. The car had a full steel body modified with aluminium and / or plastic parts. Because of an increased minimum weight in 1971 (up from 920 to 940 kg), the GTAm's had less need for aluminium and / or plastic parts.

The base for the GTAm was the 1750 GTV with a SPICA mechanical fuel injection system. The majority of the genuine GTAm's built by Autodelta have a chassis number starting with 105.51.XXXXXX. The European market 1750 GTV with dual carburettors from Dell'Orto or Weber carburetor and chassisnumbers starting with 105.44.XXXXXX was also used as a base.

The same goes for the 2000 GTV and the 1300 GT Junior bodyshell that was lighter. Note that some racing teams and private workshops ordered the parts from Autodelta and other tuners and assembled the cars themselves on a new or existing bodyshell.

The original 1750 engine block (actually 1779 cc) was used and by inserting a monosleeve instead of four individual cylinderliners, received 1985 cc and later to 1999 cc to participate in the 2000 cc class, explaining the "maggiorata" (enlarged).

​According to the sources, some 40 GTAm's were built by Autodelta and by private workshops. This number is difficult to verify as the GTAm's didn't have their own specific chassis number series. In the second revised edition of the book `Alleggerita` (written by Tony Adriaensens & Patrick Dasse), published in 2012 by Dingwort Verlag, you will find the most complete list available of GTAm's.

Dave Lebrun takes a few minutes for an interview about his 1967 Alfa Romeo Giulia GTV right before the Group 4 Race on Sunday during the 2017 PVGP Historics at Pitt Race.  

written by Bernard Martin
Vincent Vaccaro, from South Salem NY  has vintage racing for a little over 9 years. He purchased his current racer, a 1972 Alfa Romeo GTV five years ago. Prior to this car Vince raced a 1959 Alfa Romeo Giulietta which he campaigned in Pittsbrugh for 4 years when the track was called Beaverun.

The 1972 Alfa Romeo GTV 2000, which hits a top speed of around 130 mph has got a 2 litre engine and twin Weber 45s. It's sports a red and black livery that features the Captain Lawrence Brewery Logo, the brewery that's owned by Vince's son Scott and located in Elmsford, NY.  ​

When we asked him about his favorite section of the newly expanded Pitt Race course he got a big smile!  "The Downhill corkscrew is just incredible!"

In 2014, Vince was treated to a tour of the newly re-opened Alfa Romeo Museum and he told us that the racing history of Alfa Romeo on display was something that each and every Allfisti should some day make a visit to see.

Vince goes on to explain that the Alfa Romeo racers are a very close community who really support each other during the races. ​

by Bernard Martin, Managing Director, Cortile Italian Car Show

The 2017 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance exemplified grace under pressure. With a 100% chance of heavy precipitation forecast for Sunday for the scheduled Concours d'Elegance and a sunshine-filled Saturday in the mix, Bill Warner and his team chose to move Sunday’s award-winning Concours to Saturday.  No small undertaking.
​

As I was having lunch on Friday with several other writers, I noted that I had heard that Warner and his team had come up with a "Plan B" back in 2000 if a weather event caused the the Concours to be moved.  As happenstance would have it, one to the people at the table chimed in "I'm on the Board and THIS is Plan B. We are in it. There isn't a Place C. We'll see if it works"

​It's a momentous task shoehorning a full schedule of Saturday and Sunday events into one day.  The Concours show would now coincide with Saturday’s "Cars & Coffee at the Concours presented by Heacock Classic Insurance".  The entire Cars and Coffee show field had to be relocated to an adjoining field, transport staff had to move up plans for unloading Concours cars by a full day; with cars that where still en route!  It required parking two different cars shows at the same time.   

Warner and his staff, according to rumor, had to make it all happen with 40% less volunteers who where only scheduled for a Sunday event. No small undertaking. It went off gracefully. It was a tremendous show. Warner and his team pulled a rabbit out of their hat while herding cats and looked great doing it!

It also made the task of trying to see over 600+ cars in a short period of time just as daunting.  Nevertheless, I was able to find some very nice examples of rolling Italian art on both the Concours and Cars and Coffee Showfield. 

Easily befitting our 2017 Proiettore Macchina, The Best of Show - Concours de Sport, was a 1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spider from the Dano Davis Collection.

In the 1930s, the 8C 2900 Alfa was not a mere sports car but was the most advanced, modern and compelling sports car money could buy.  Milan's own Carrozzeria Touring patented the "Superleggera" construction which coincided with the birth of Alfa Romeo's masterpiece. 

​Approximately 32 of the 2.9 chassis were made and it is believed only 12 are Touring Spiders, seven of which are the long chassis like this car.  This car's known history starts in 1949.  In February 1949 it was raced in Sao Paulo by amateur driver Mario Tavares Leite who had the car imported from Italy to Brazil.  Mario won races with the car in 1949 and 1950 after which the car disappeared.  

Later it had a Corvette engine installed and the chassis was modified.  It is possible this car traveled to Brazil from Argentina in the mid to late 1950s without the Touring body and with the Corvette V-8 only to be reunited with the original Touring coachwork some four decades later. ​

Alfa Romeo Images courtesy of Nathan Deremer, Lead photographer and owner of Deremer Studios, the official photography studio of the 2017 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance.

The Bonhams Amelia Island 2017 auction was held Thursday, at the Fernandina Beach Golf Club. It generated nearly $10.2 million in total sales with an 87% sell-through rate. A selection of more than 85 automobiles were offered at Bonhams’ 3rd annual sale. 

​Amongst the auction results, of the cars pictured below, the 1955 Ferrari 250 GT Europa Coupe was the top dollar car sold at the auction for a whopping $2,227,500. Bringing in the 3rd top dollar position was the 1986 Lamborghini Countach LP5000 Quattrovalvole for $335,500 while the 1968 Lamborghini Islero 400 GT, sold for $247,500, the 8th biggest sale of the show.

The Gooding & Company’s East Coast auction showcased at the Omni Amelia Island Plantation, a classic beachfront resort.  Held on Friday before the celebrated Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, Gooding & Company’s auction showcased a curated lineup of cars, invited spirited bidding.  Since debuting at Amelia Island in 2010, Gooding & Company’s prices realized have more than doubled, earning the event its reputation as the premier East Coast collector car auction.

Pictured below are some to of the examples of Italian design that went up on the block.  

The little 1958 Fiat 1200 TV Trasformabile pictured at the beginning of the slide show was a car I first saw at the Concourso Italiano show in 2015 during Monterey car week. It was based upon the Turismo Veloce, or fast touring, version of Fiat’s 1100 series, the limited-production 1100 Spider delivered fine details, a luxurious cockpit with swiveling seats, excellent road manners, and a handsome body designed by Fabio Luigi Rapi. By 1957, larger engines inspired the 1200 TV designation. While more revisions came in 1959, the 1957–58 models captivate today’s collectors. 

Along with a green convertible top, this sporting 1200 TV is presented with the body handsomely painted Gray Beige over upgraded green leather upholstery highlighted by white piping. It includes twin fog lamps, whitewall tires, correct spin-off hubcaps, a discreet modern radio, plus a factory-type steering wheel.  As you can see in the slideshow, we opened the hood to make sure that the olive oil can was still in place.  A rather humorous touch by the previous owner.

One of the marvelous things about the Amelia Island Concours d'Elgecance is the extremely rare cars that you can only find on display at Bill Warner's event.  

As you look through the slide show below, you'll find a one-ff 1930 Alfa Romeo 1750 GS Testa Fissa.  Its the gray colored race car featured at the beginning of the slide show.  It has a very unique body that was recreated on the original chassis.  Just three months after its introduction, a 1750 driven by Giuseppe Campari and Giulio Ramponi would win the 1929 Mille Miglia. Later that year, Marinoni and Benoist won the Belgian 24 Hour Race at Spa. Alfa would take the Targa Florio, too, and one year later, the company won its second Mille Miglia, in addition to a host of other events. In short, Alfa Romeo began the 1930s as it ended the 1920s—utterly dominating Italy’s sports car and competition scene.

The Alfa 3000CM was featured in the Alfa Romeo booth again this year.  If you recall from last years report, it was campaigned at the PVGP back in the early 1980's and is part of the Auriana Collection. 

​When you get to the end of this slide show you'll see a lovely 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300. The 8C 2300 Tipo Le Mans' was the sport version of the '8C 2300' and it had a successful debut in the 1931 Eireann Cup driven by Henry Birkin. It won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1931 (Howe-Birkin); 1932 (Chinetti-Sommer); 1933 (Nuvolari-Sommer) and 1934 (Chinetti-Etancelin).

One of the most interesting vehicles at Cars and Coffee at the Concours was this 1959 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Veloce "Confortevole" pictured in the first few slides below.  The production total of the Confortevole (comfortable) variant of the Sprint Veloce (SVC) was 199, the first 50 having aluminum framed windows. An SVC seems to be an SV which falls between the SVAlleggerita (SVA) and the 101 body based SV which began production in early 1958 and upon which 101 mechanical components were gradually phased in until the 750 bits were all used up, sometime in 1960.

​Basically, the Confortevole is an updated version of the race-bred lightweight  "Allegerita" Sprint Veloce but has a more comfortable interior and lacks the aluminum body panels & plastic windows of the lightweight.  It still maintains all of the high-performance mechanical features of the lightweight but in a grand touring version.  

​As a side note, the folks pictured in the lawn chairs behind the red caravan turned out to be from Pittsburgh originally, just like the van which had a pre-insterate Pennsylvania map sitting on the dash.  

We're also very excited to welcome Heacock Classic Insurance to the 2017 Cortile as a sponsor and they will be providing Coffee on both Saturday and Sunday morning July 15-17 during the arrival of the show cars!

The “Cortile" is the Italian Car Show at The Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix. In Italian "Cortile" translates into courtyard which is an appropriate name for the display of fine Italian macchina on the 18th fairway of the Bob O'Connor Golf Course at Schenley Park during the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix.  Each year the Cortile selects a marque or model to highlight for the annual event based upon factors such as historical significance, unique local interest or brand resurgence.  ​

About the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix
The Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix, presented by the Greater Pittsburgh Automobile Dealers Foundation, has a mission is to produce a world-class vintage racing event in order to raise funds that help provide residential care, treatment and support individuals with autism and intellectual and developmental disabilities in the Pittsburgh region through the Autism Society of Pittsburgh and Allegheny Valley School.  More information is available at http://www.pvgp.org

​Alfa Romeo was founded as A.L.F.A. "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili"  which stands for "Anonymous Lombard Automobile Factory" on June 24, 1910. In August 1915, the company came under the direction of Neapolitan entrepreneur Nicola Romeo and in 1920, the name of the company was offically changed to Alfa Romeo.

Alfa Romeo has competed successfully in Grand Prix motor racing, Formula One, sportscar racing, touring car racing, and rallies over it's illustrious history. It has competed both as a constructor and an engine supplier, usually under the name Alfa Corse or Autodelta, and private entries.

​The first racing car was made in 1913, three years after the foundation of the company, and Alfa Romeo won the inaugural world championship for Grand Prix cars in 1925.

​The company became a legendary icon in motorsports when Enzo Ferrari founded the Scuderia Ferrari racing team in 1929 under the Alfa Romeo racing team, before becoming independent in 1939. Alfa Romeo holds the world's title of the most wins of any marque in the world.

In 1961 Alfa Romeo started importing cars to the United States and was became a bit of a household name as a result of it's starring role in the move The Graduate. In 1995, Alfa Romeo took a hiatus from the United States market until it was officially confirmed on May 5, 2006 by Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne they new Alfa Romeo's would once again be sold in the US. North American sales resumed in October 2008, with the launch of the low production 8C Competizione coupe. The next biggest significant milestones in Alfa Romeo's North American return occurred in 2014, with the launch of the more affordable two-seater 4C coupe and most recently the Giulia’s launch quickly followed by the Stelvio SUV.  We hope to have several Guilia's on the show field for viewing this summer.