Fernando Angiolini's

Fiat Racer

The 2024 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance judges surprised many car enthusiasts by awarding their Best in Show award to the first place winner of their Preservation class. The fact that the car was a Bugatti was no surprise, but the fact that the 1928 racer was essentially untouched since its construction nearly a century ago was the talk of the show. “Untouched” in the sense of having never been restored nor rejuvenated, which is to say full of patina, full of scuffs and gouges and dings and scratches. The finish on the bodywork was faded and worn, and the leather seats were well past their prime. The point of this digression is that Time has moved on when it comes to what we use to call a “Pebble Beach restoration” wherein everything is refinished to perfection with an eye to what the original builders might have done had they had unlimited funds.

Fernando Angiolini’s version of the Pocher Fiat is an homage to these traditional Pebble Beach standards, and his model captures a moment in history which may be fading fast. To picture this lovely model with barn dust and spider webs is a shock to our senses. Imagine how much easier it would be to duplicate a dilapidated prototype than to capture the look of perfection.

Chief among the virtues of Sr. Angiolini’s Fiat racer is that each detail is addressed. From the carefully wood-grained shift knob to the individual tufted seat cushions, the model is a feast for the eyes of model builders who crave accuracy. The smooth finish and carefully painted nuts and bolts can be an inspiration to the rest of us, and the wood spoke wheels can send the rest of us back to our work benches. One is tempted to wonder if Sr. Angiolini accepts contract work. Naturally, under the hood there are joys to behold, chief among them the MMLtd. cast bronze rocker arms. Delightful.

Those of us who have wrestled with this kit know what effort went into this creation. And those of us contemplating tackling this iconic subject can use Angiolini’s version as inspiration. Who knows? Perhaps in the future we may be admiring artfully rendered spider webs and barn dust. What is clearly true now is that this meticulously rendered model of a pristine automobile will always be a crowd pleaser. One suspects that it provided great pleasure to the builder as well. It has surely brightened our day.