International Lancia Forums

I think everybody here know about the Coppa d'Oro winner at the 2016 Villa d'Este elegance concours: it's a 1933 Lancia Astura by Castagna.
Despite the restoration, quite controversial, this car has a I series chassis, a II series body and a III series engine. Moreover the first owner, as the concours committee stated, was Vittorio Mussolini, son of the famous Italian Prime minister of the period. In 1935 he attended to the Villa Olmo elegance concours and he entered in the Coppa Acerbo with this car. So far so good.....or not? No, the history isn't an opinion, but a fact.
Every car nuts equipped with a smartphone can have a quick access to Google, make a research and read that the chassis number isn't correct and Vittorio Mussolini, born in 1916, couldn't have the driving license in 1935. The most experts can check their files and discover that none Lancia entered in the 1935 Coppa Acerbo and that Vittorio Mussolini didn't attend to the 1935 Villa Olmo elegance concours, but he entered in the 1937 Coppa Acerbo, for the first time in his racing career, with a Fiat 6C1500.....so what we have here?
A car made with 3 different parts owned by a minor....is it enough to receive the highest prize in the most important European elegance concours?
Let me know your opinion.


P.S.
Maybe the license plate could solve the mistery?
We'll see...

Incidentally, the license plate opened up new horizons! I made a research at the PRA and i found this: in 1933 the first owner was Enrico Minetti, the most important Lancia dealer of the period. Minetti rebodied the car in 1935 and attended to the 1935 Villa Olmo elegance concours. In 1936 he sold the car in Milan and the new owner sold it again to Felice Bonetto three months later. So, the Mussolini's fairy tale deflated poorly and the car never entered in a racing competition. The history isn't an opinion, but a fact. Now what the concours committee 'll do? Will they get the golden cup back? Will they make amends publically? Because the concours, actually, doesn't make sense anymore.....

PG Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>.... Now what the
> concours committee 'll do? Will they get the
> golden cup back? Will they make amends publically?
> Because the concours, actually, doesn't make sense
> anymore.....

What? and admit they believed a fairy tale?

Surely the "2016 Villa d'Este elegance concours]" is exactly that - a competition to judge the beauty and elegance of cars. Previous ownership and the "matching numbers" of the parts is irrelevant. It is a beautiful and elegant car.

Leo