The Best Cars of the Best of France & Italy Car Show 2024

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The Best of France & Italy car show wasn’t just concours-ready classics but every cool old French and Italian car in Southern California, no matter what kind of shape it was in, from rust-bucket death traps to beautiful works of rolling art.

Take your pick of great car shows all over the world, but for many car fans—especially those who love cars from those two industrialized countries—and the best car show in the world could arguably be The Best of France and Italy, a humble event held the first Sunday in November in a public park in Van Nuys, California.

The cool thing about this show is that you see as many project cars as finished runners, as many beaters as beauties. It’s an amalgamation of every little French and Italian car holed up in some garage across Los Angeles whose owners miraculously (there were St. Christopher icons on many, St. Jude on others) were able to start and drive all the way to Woodley Park, in a catch basin at the headwaters of the LA River.

You never know what you’re going to get. Each year a different set of wheeled gems emerges. And you never know what the weather’s going to do. If it rained the previous summer the grass will be green and it’ll look like Pebble. But it never rains during the summer in Van Nuys, so the grass is usually a big patch of dust. This year there were powerful Santa Ana winds that blew the dust through the whole park like some kind of dirt-powered vacuu-vortex. The faithful took it all in stride.

“We had many challenges on many levels. We had a hurricane here this morning, but everybody’s fine. We’re still here,” said event co-founder Tina Van Curen, who along with husband and co-founder Chuck Forward also runs Autobooks-Aerobooks in nearby Burbank. “Yes, we have dust, but you always have your choice: dust or mud, take your pick. So we’re happy.”

Happy and trying to retire. Autobooks-Aerobooks is for sale (opportunity!) and the Best of F&I is being handed over to a benevolent new custodian, local car enthusiast Joe Tseng.

“Chuck and Tina wanted to slow down—part one—and part two is that they want the show to keep going,” said Tseng, an Art Center graduate in transportation design who made it big in SoCal real estate but always loved cars. “The intention is really to allow families to come out on the weekend, on Sunday, they didn’t have to spend $500 to go to a car show, and they can bring their dog and just walk around and see some really interesting cars.”

And there were some interesting cars. Scroll down to see our favorites.

Zagato-Bodied 1965 Lancia Flaminia Sport

The dust really laid on thick on the beautiful Zagato-bodied 1965 Lancia Flaminia Sport owned by Paul and Vicki Tullius, but beauty shines through. The couple took second in class at Pebble Beach two years ago with another Lancia—a gorgeous 1925 Lambda Casaro Roadster that seemed to be about a block long. Paul said he chose the colors on this one as if he were in the factory in Turin 60 years ago and chose the shade you see here. Or would see under the layer of dust that covered everything in Woodley Park. The couple have a number of Lancias, including a humble Appia. Always good to see what they bring to shows.

Russian SUV

This is a Russian-made SUV, according to the guys who owned it. They got it in Armenia, they said, but it was kind of hard to understand through their accents. Possibly a GAZ-69 or a UAZ 452? It was fully restored by a local shop. It looked great, even up close. If you know what it is, let us know in the comments.

1957 Zagato-Bodied Fiat Abarth

Another Zagato-bodied car is Alan and Wendy Hart’s 1957 Fiat Abarth.

“There is no more affordable way to drive a classic Italian sports car with stunning custom Zagato coachwork, razor-sharp handling, thrilling sounds, and 100 mph speed, than the Abarth GT 750 berlinetta,” wrote kidston.com on this very car. “It is, quite simply, a better mousetrap.”

Carlo Abarth took humble and ubiquitous Fiats and made them into race cars. The cars were everywhere, from the Mille Miglia to Sebring. There was even one in a drag race in Santa Ana back in the 1950s.

“The 750 GT was the perfect entry-level car for ‘Gentlemen Racers,’ who could drive to the track, win their class and drive home, and it quickly became the core of Abarth’s business.”

1956-58 Simca Aronde 90A

Best of F&I has project cars, too. This one was trailered in, as you can see. It’s a 1956-58 Simca Aronde and it’s for sale! The owner said he was going to make it into a drag car (how???) but you can have it for a mere $1,000. Imagine the possibilities. That’s surface rust, only, he says.

There were three models of Aronde, and this one is a 90A. The engine runs—the car just needs an interior. I’d leave that patina on the outside. Who’s in?

Alfa Romeo Montreal

The Alfa Romeo Montreal was designed by Marcello Gandini when he was at Bertone. It debuted at Expo ‘67 in Montreal, so the public, not Alfa Romeo, named it after that city and the name stuck. The production car didn’t come along until 1970 and Alfa manufactured it until 1977. It had a 2.6-liter V8 and a five-speed ZF manual. A very cool car to see in the metal, especially in this orange livery.

1966 Alfa Romeo Giulia Super

Peter, Jane, and Caroline Becronis’ 1966 Alfa Romeo Giulia Super was one of the great cars to come out of Italy in the ‘60s and ‘70s that were not only practical but fun to drive. The Giulia Ti Super was lighter and more powerful and intended for racing, and some of those performance improvements made their way into this roadgoing Giulia Super, including a torquier version of the 1,570cc engine and disc brakes.

1959 Peugeot 403

Sadath Kahn points out that his 1959 Peugeot 403 was used by Columbo in the TV series of the same name, though Columbo drove the convertible version of the car. Columbo also drove a 1960 model, but let’s not nitpick.

In many ways, the 403 was a benchmark car for Peugeot, Hemmings noted when reviewing the actual 403 used in the TV series.

“Introduced in 1955, it boasted ponton-style Pinin Farina styling and became the first Peugeot officially exported to the United States. More than 1.2 million were produced in body styles that included a four-door sedan, four-door station wagon, two-door pickup truck and, as here, a two-door cabriolet, which was the star of the lineup despite a retail price that was some 80% steeper than the rest of the 403 line. By some estimates, about 11,000 were built before production ceased in 1961.

“Power came from a variant of Peugeot’s existing OHV inline four-cylinder engine, enlarged to 1,468cc. With a compression ratio of 7.0:1, the bigger Peugeot engine was fed by a Solex carburetor and was rated at 58 hp, thanks to hemispherical combustion chambers and a crossflow cylinder head. Rated torque was 74 lb-ft. The four-speed manual transmission was shifted from the column. The cabriolet weighed in around 2,300 pounds.”

1964 Reanault Dauphine

Bob Stoffregen’s 1964 Renault Dauphine was one of more than 2 million Dauphines made from 1956 to 1967. Renault sold them around the world. That included in the US, where the French manufacturer moved over 100,000 of them out showroom doors in 1960. At the time it was the second-highest among “import” cars for that year, second only to the rampant VW Beetle. It was powered by a longitudinally mounted, 845-cc inline four mounted behind the rear axle. That liquid-cooled powerplant made from 32 to 40 hp.

The name comes from a 12th century ruler of the province of Dauphine, Count Guigues IV of Albon, who wore a dolphin on his coat of arms and was thus nicknamed le Dauphin.

1981 Renault R5 Turbo

Khaled Mounir’s 1981 Renault R5 Turbo not only won Best in Show at Radwood 2023, he said, but the car was on the cover of Avants Magazine this year.

“A homologation special built for rallying, Renault’s R5 Turbo is a widebody, mid-engined, turbocharged dose of insanity," wrote Car and Driver when another R5 appeared in a Bring A Trailer auction.

That was amazing performance for a car Renault offered in non-turbo form in the US market as the unsatisfying Le Car. If only they’d offered more R5s to the public... well, maybe the public couldn’t handle a car with Group B rallying performance.

“If the Citroën DS is the essence of effortless Gallic cool, then the R5 Turbo is Napoleon Bonaparte on bath salts,’ wrote CandD. “It’s fantastic.”

1997 Renault Sport Spider

The only thing owner PF Le Faou wrote in the “Special Features” section of his 1997 Renault Sport Spider’s placard was, “California Plates.” Years ago when I was offered one of these to test in Southern California, I dared to ask the importer how one registered such a car.

“People who ask those questions, they’re not our kind of customer," was the response, the supercar equivalent of saying, “Why you askin’ so many questions?”

However you import or register it, the car is a thrill to drive. With 148 hp in a machine that weighed just over 2,000 pounds, it was, as the French might say, Le Bonkers. Driving the car through the Hollywood Hills in the 1990s, Jay Leno stopped me to ask about it.

The car was intended to revive some of the sporting panache previously offered by the R5, and it delivered, in a much more civilized, but no less thrilling car. With an aluminum chassis and composite body panels, it was made for fun. Mine didn’t even have a windshield, I wore goggles. It remains one of the most thrilling cars I’ve ever driven. Just don’t ask any questions.

1972 Renault Alpine A110

Doug Joseph’s 1972 Renault Alpine A110 was actually built by carmaker Alpine, but has an engine from Renault. Alpines saw success in European rallying and have since become sought after by collectors and anyone who likes fun sports cars.

Australian journalist Rob Margeit wrote in drive.com.au, “Suddenly, the gruff rumble turns into something else altogether, an angry roar as the revolutions climb and the 1.6-liter sucks in the air and the fuel being fed it by those magnificent Webers...

“Like so many cars of this kind—low-slung, lightweight, noisy—you don’t need to be breaking the speed limit to extract pure enjoyment. Instead, revel in the mechanical dance of clutch and gearbox, a satisfying two-step that rewards with an even bigger dance on the road."

Ferrari Dino 308 GT4

Unlike seemingly every Ferrari before it, the Dino 308 GT4 was designed by Bertone, not Pininfarina. Thus the shape, rather than the sensuous perfection of the 246 Dino, was something a lot more angular, almost like a Lotus.

But remember, this was designed during the time that Marcello Gandini was working at Bertone, so the Dino 308 GT4’s lines came from the same designer who brought us the Countach, Miura, and countless other supercar classics.

It was also Ferrari’s first V8 engine, a 3.0-liter DOHC design that made 242 hp.

“Apart from the performance, which you take for granted in a Ferrari, and the remarkable flexibility of the engine, perhaps the most outstanding feature of the Dino 308 is the excellent ride it provides,” wrote Paul Frere in the initial review in Road & Track.

Iso Grifo

One of the best meldings of Italian and American automotive traits ever had to be the Iso Grifo line, featuring exteriors designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, engineering by Giotto Bizzarrini, and big American V8s under the hood, mostly Chevies. The yellow car in the middle is a 1971 Can Am Coupe. Prices for these are well into the six figures.

Ferrari Mondial T

“The Mondial T represented a further step forward in the evolution of this most singular Ferrari: a truly high-performance car with a mid-mounted engine and room for four,” Ferrari writes on its website. “The letter ‘T’ was inspired by the F1 312 T single-seater, which had just won the Formula 1 World Championship and also used the longitudinal engine/transverse gearbox layout.”

Powered by a 3.4-liter V8 making 300 hp, the Mondial T could get four people around town in top-down style at great speed. It was the first Ferrari to get power steering and the first non-race car to get an adjustable suspension. This 1989 model was the last of the Mondial line.

Lamborghini Diablo

Another design by the great Marcello Gandini, the Diablo owes its very existence to none other than Lee Iacocca. Midway through the car’s development, and at yet another financial crossroads, Chrysler came to the rescue and funded the rest of the Diablo’s engineering.

Chrysler even changed Gandini’s design, smoothing out the corners that would eventually be seen in the short-lived and ill-fated CizetaMoroder V16T. The Diablo went through many different models over its lifetime from 1990 to 2001, including roadsters and coupes, with power from its V12s going from 485 hp in the beginning to 595 in the SE30 Jota.

While handling wasn’t its strong suit, the Diablo was a scream in a straight line, hitting 60 mph in the low 3-second range, remarkable for its time.

Maserati Ghibli

The original Maserati Ghibli was made from 1967 to 1973 and was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro when he was at Ghia. Its overall shape and 4.7-liter V8 and later 4.9-liter V8 made it the perfect grand tourer.

Maserati 3500 GT

This Maserati 3500 GT was a predecessor to the one above, setting the stage for the perfect GT. This one was produced from 1957 until 1964, with all the ingredients a true GT demanded: a 3.5-liter inline-6 and looks that made women swoon and men weep, or the other way around—we’re not sexist here. It was also a commercial success, the first Maserati to sell in large numbers.

1960 Citroën ID 19

This striking orange 1960 Citroën ID 19 belongs to John Long, whose family makes those sleek, polished aluminum Bowlus trailers you may have seen on the highway. Long and family used this car to tow one of their Bowlus camping trailers all over North America. The ID 19 looks similar to the more famous DS but the ID had a decontented features list to keep it affordable.

1915 Hispano Suiza

The guy behind the wheel of this Hispano Suiza looks familiar. Hey, it’s Jay Leno! Leno is a regular at this show, always arriving in grand style with a knockout of an ancient supercar. The last few years he’s driven a Fiat straight-eight but this time opted for his 1915 Hispano Suiza with a massive 18.5-liter engine.

Fiat Multipla 600

Arguably the first minivan, the Multipla carried families across Italy in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s. Owner Mike Malamut used to have three of them among his collection of around 200 small and extremely cute cars, many of them Italian.

The original Fiat Multipla was introduced in 1956, based on the platform of the extremely successful Fiat 600 passenger car, which had debuted one year ealier, Malamut said. Resembling an early minivan, the mixed-use station wagon was dubbed the Multipla, which was Italian for “all service.”

Three versions were available, including a 4/5 seater (with front and rear bench seats that folded to make a bed), a six-seater, and a taxi. Almost 130,000 of the rear-engine, four-cylinder vehicles were built until the model was discontinued in 1969. This car was fully restored by the Malamut Museum’s in-house restoration shop.

Lamborghini Espada

Apart from the Countach, there is nothing more pure ‘70s than a Lamborghini Espada. Another Gandini design, again, from his time at Bertone, the car’s excessive back half, with flat glass over most of it, makes the shape both practical as well as performance-proven.

The 3.9-liter V12 came from the 400 and made from 325 to 350 hp.