Belgian’s Most Important Car Show

This Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Turismo cabriolet bodied by Garavini is one of 279 6C 2500 Turismo produced between 1939 and 1943. It is believed that it was taken to the US after WWII by a returning US service man, who is said have lost the car in a game of poker.

A rare 1953 example of the first series of the Alfa Romeo 1900C coupé by Touring. In its day, this car was more expensive than a Mercedes 300 SL in Germany.

1954 BMW 502 “Loof”. In 1954, BMW wanted to create a sports car and took a shortened sedan chassis with a 3168 cc V8 and fitted it with an aerodynamic body designed in-house. The car was tested at the Nürburgring by former BMW racing director Ernst Loof. Project 502 was shelved but paved the way for the future 507.

In 1954, US importer Max Hoffman persuaded BMW to create a sports car for the US market. The 3.2-litre V8 507 was born, with a body styled by Count Albrecht von Goertz. But it proved too expensive and only 252 were built at a heavy loss to BMW.

Only two outside stylists tried to improve the design of the BMW 507, Raymond Loewy and Giovanni Michelotti. Here is the BMW 507 Michelotti, bodied by Vignale, unveiled at the 1959 Turin Motor Show.

Introduced in May 1925, the Bugatti Type 35A “Course Imitation” had an identical body and chassis to the Type 35 Grand Prix car but a less powerful engine. This particular car was originally delivered to the Marseille Bugatti agent.

Delivered new to a wealthy brewer from the Vosges region of France, this 1929 Bugatti Type 43A is one of the few examples with its original roadster bodywork. It has a dickey seat and a small hatch for golf clubs.

This Delahaye 135 MS was delivered in chassis form to coachbuilder Henri Chapron on 8 August 1950. When the doors of the 1950 Paris Salon opened on 4 October 1950, it was shown on the Delahaye stand as the prototype of Chapron’s last body for the 135.

The oldest model of the class ‘Ferrari 70’ was this 1949 166 Inter coupé Touring # 027S. Delivered to a friend of Enzo Ferrari, it was sold three weeks later to ATA, a company owned by film director Carlo Ponti, who would later marry Sophia Loren. Its third owner entered the car to the 1951 Mille Miglia but did not start.

This Ferrari 195 berlinetta # 0109S is one of the few Ferraris bodied by Ghia. Some 25 Ferraris were bodied by Ghia, eleven of them on the 195 Inter chassis, eight on the 212 Inter and five on the 340 America.

This car was delivered as a 212 Export to Augusto Caraceni who entered the 1952 Mille Miglia but failed to finish. However, he won his class in the Italian hillclimb championship. Then the 212 was returned to the factory to be uprated to 225 S specifications. It has been a regular Mille Miglia Storica entrant.

Two of the bodies available for the Ferrari 250 GT in the late 50’s, the cabriolet version and the coupé version, both by Pinin Farina. The coupé was soon replaced by the 250 GTE.

In 2015, Touring Superleggera of Torino launched a series of 5 coupés based on the Ferrari F12. Here is the last coupé of the series alongside the body master and the old F12 body.

This 1934 Lancia Astura Viotti Torpedo Sport is one of two known survivors of six short chassis Asturas bodied by Carrozzeria Viotti of Turin, whose chief styling consultant in 1934 was Mario Revelli de Beaumont.

Based on a 1948 Lancia Aprilia, this one-off “Woodie” was built by Carrozzeria Francis Lombardi. Lombardi built cars mostly based on Fiat mechanicals until 1973.

Although the Maserati 3500 GT coupé was designed by Touring, this proposal by Touring for a convertible remained a prototype as it is the Vignale design that went into production as 3500 GT convertible.

Inspired by Chrysler’s success with its Ghia concept cars, Hudson asked Touring to build a Superleggera prototype for a new coupé called Italia. This is the car you see here that led to a production of 26 Italias.

This Pegaso Z-102 is the second prototype and the oldest surviving Pegaso, showed at the 1951 Paris Salon and later to General Franco in Madrid. It was shown in various international Concours of Elegance, winning first prize at Enghien-les-Bains.

This Siata 1100/103 was discovered in France in 2015. After the early death of its first owner, his widow stored the car for almost 60 years.

A Skoda in a Concours of Elegance is unusual. This streamlined 1937 Skoda Popular ‘Monte Carlo’ is one of 50 coupés built after a Skoda Popular finished 2nd in class in the 1936 Monte Carlo rally. It is equipped with a 1385cc engine.

Belgian Jacques Coune had a car workshop in Brussels and he created several designs based on MGs, Volvos or Mercedes. In 1963, he launched a new version of the MGB. Hand built, it was too expensive and only 56 were built, all left-hand drive for the European market.

An Aston Martin at speed on the flat roads of Zeeland, a province of southern Netherlands.

Apart from the many Porsches 356, we can find some rarities like this Cisitalia 202 S MM Nuvolari Spider.

This 1955 Marino Brandoli Spider, based on Fiat 1100 mechanicals, took part to the 1955 and 1956 Mille Miglia and many Italian hill-climbs in period. It is still very active on the historic rally scene…

… as is this 1950 Fiat 1100E with Zagato body, as proven by the number of Mille Miglia stickers on the windscreen.

Owned for almost 60 years by American Larry Vivian, this 1954 Fiat 8V berlinetta Rapi is now enjoyed by a Belgian collector and is still unrestored.

A Siata Daina followed by a Triumph TR3 in the Dutch countryside.

This Lancia Aurelia B55 convertible is a one-off exercise by Swiss coachbuilder Beutler. Only 6 B55 chassis were produced, the other 5 were Florida models by Pinin Farina.

Apal was a small company from Liège, Belgium, building dune buggies. In the mid-sixties, they produced the GT, a coupé with Volkswagen or Porsche 356 mechanicals and fiberglass body. Some 150 units were produced.