LAMBORGHINI GRANDE GIRO ANNIVERSARY TOUR

"It was probably at least twelve months prior to the event that we knew it was going to happen," Mark said of his first becoming aware of the Grande Giro. As an Australian Lamborghini club member, he didn't need much persuading to sign on.
"Yeah, we made the decision pretty much on the spot that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, so we're going to have to do it!"

Mark entered his 1969 model Miura S for the Grande Giro, one of 17 Miuras in the event. Mark made sure the event was a family affair, too, with his wife and two kids along for the ride. Somewhat surprisingly, there was a healthy contingent of Aussies amongst the 320 registered entrants from 29 countries.

"There were ten people from Australia who took cars on the tour," Mark explained. "My car was restored in America, so I sent it from there to Italy. Some shipped cars from Australia, one guy bought a car in England and some of the guys hired cars, so it was a real mixture."

Along with Mark, some participants lengthened their anniversary experience by participating in the "Bull's Roar" tour that followed the Grande Giro. This leisurely event departed northern Italy, taking in some top driving roads through France, Belgium and Luxembourg en route to the UK.

For the Grande Giro, the Lambos started assembling on Tuesday, May 7 at Milan's Piazza Castello, in the grounds of the Renaissance-era Castello Sforzesco.

"It was quite surreal," Mark said, both of the event and to finally be able to drive his newly-restored car. "I'd probably only done about 100 miles in it in the States, running it in. So there was the excitement of being actually able to drive the car, and driving it in Italy, which was a bit of a buzz."

After a welcome dinner at Milan's Hangar Bicocca (formerly a Pirelli factory), the cars left on Wednesday, May 8, departing in small groups with police escorts, which Mark recalled as a major eye-opener and highlight of the whole tour.

"The most vivid memory I'll take away from this whole trip was of the police. These guys were just unbelievable, and what happened there would never happen anywhere else in the world.

"They would just let [our] cars go, and speeds in excess of 200 kilometres an hour on the motorways were no problem. If you came up against slow traffic, they just moved them over to the side of the motorway, so you basically had clear roads all the way.

"On the back roads, they would block off roundabouts and get oncoming traffic to stop. Slower traffic would be pushed over to the side of the road or stopped completely. It was just like you were royalty," Mark laughed. "It was the most amazing thing that I've ever experienced.

"But that's just the culture over there. They definitely have a car culture."

This VIP treatment extended across the four main days of the tour, which took in Rome and Bologna, ahead of the Giro's conclusion at Sant'Agata Bolognese, Lamborghini's home, on May 11.

On May 10, the highlight was the 'Concorso di Eleganza Lamborghini 50 Anniversario', a concours open to all historic Grande Giro cars, held in the courtyard of Bologna's Galleria d'Arte Moderne. The deserving winner was Rust Berggard's 1970 Miura S. As they were often travelling in the same group, Mark struck up a good friendship with Rust, and found out more about the Norwegian enthusiast's rare car.

Originally-delivered to Frank Sinatra, the Miura was uniquely trimmed in 'wild boar' leather with orange shag pile carpeting, which Mark described as spectacular, especially given it's an original, unrestored car. It's also believed to be the first Lamborghini to be finished in metallic paint, in this case 'Arancio Metallico' (metallic orange), which was reportedly Sinatra's favourite colour.

Aside from the cars, the appeal of the Giro also lay in the towns and scenery that the tour travelled through.

"You got a mixture," Mark explained. "You got the typical Italian countryside on some of these back roads, which was quite spectacular. And the flipside of that was driving into Rome; you're driving down these cobblestone streets and turn the corner and suddenly there's St. Peters in front of you, which was pretty amazing.

"And driving through these little villages and small towns, you'd have hundreds of people on the side of the road, cheering and waving flags all the way. So that was absolutely a highlight."

At the Giro's finish point - Lamborghini's Sant'Agata Bolognese factory - the entrants were treated to a spectacular dinner and fireworks show, the unveiling of the 'Egoista' one-off concept, as well as the opportunity to see some concepts (including the Urus SUV) and rarities up close.

Our thanks to Mark Jansen from Oldtimer Australia (Hamilton, QLD) for his time and for providing selected images used in this feature. Oldtimer Australia are specialists in rare, unusual and desirable classic cars.

At time of posting this article, there were no Lamborghinis in stock, but the inventory did feature a Maserati Ghibli, Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint, Ferrari 308 GTB and a very tasty 1962 Chevrolet Corvette. Contact Oldtimer Australia on ph: 0417 828 569, or go to www.oldtimeraustralia.com

Lamborghini Grande Giro - the stats

The cars:
Of the 350 cars participating, 320 were registered participants, with the balance made up by press and fleet support vehicles. According to Mark's observations of the tour participants, all bar one Lamborghini model - the Jalpa - was represented. Four out of every ten vehicles entered were "historics" (ie. more than 25 years old), with impressive numbers of Miuras and Espadas represented. Some of the confirmed numbers for the major models including:
350GT: 3, 400GT: 5, Miura: 17, Espada: 8, Jarama: 2, Urraco: 6, Countach: 15, Diablo: 21, Murcielago: 36, Gallardo: 123, LM 002: 1
These confirmed numbers aside, the latest Aventador was also well-represented, including a couple of the rarities amongst this ultra-high performance model.

The route:
Day 1 - Milan to Forte dei Marmi (251kms approx.)
Day 2 - Forte dei Marmi to Rome (382 kms approx.)
Day 3 - Rome to Bologna (384 kms approx.)
Day 4 - Bologna to Sant'Agata Bolognese (32 kms approx.)
Total distance - 1,200 kms approx.