Story and photos by John Wiley
Now in its 8th year, the La Jolla Concours d’Elegance returned to the theme of the first show by featuring Italian cars for the 2012 event, held on April 1st. Held in Scripps Park which draws its name from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the ocean front location provided a beautiful backdrop for a variety of Italy’s automotive creations. The weekend featured activities in and around La Jolla starting with a book signing Friday evening, a tour Saturday, a party Saturday night in Scripps Park, and the concours on Sunday.
The 1956 Maserati A6G-2000 Allemano s/n 2125 owned by Jonathan Segal, was awarded Reserve Best in Show next to the Best in Show 1925 Hispano-Suiza H6B Kellner Landaulet. The Maserati also collected Most Elegant Post War Car. Residing in Italy most of its life, s/n 2125 came to the U.S. in 2007 and was recently refinished in the correct original color. Before appearing at La Jolla, the car won Best in Class at Pebble Beach in 2011.
Malcolm Barksdale’s1966 Lamborghini 350 GT Touring participated in Saturday’s tour and won its class for Italian Sports 1966 – 1985. Found in a small body shop in Marseille France, the car had sat for 25 years while it was debated how best to repair a small dent in the nose of the aluminum Touring Superleggera body. Restored by the Bobileff Motorcar Company of San Diego, the 350 GT now gets exercised regularly on driving events and shown in concours.