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UniQUe MoMents<br />
For the ColleCtors<br />
oF the uniques special<br />
ones: as well as displaying<br />
the Models theMselVes<br />
(top leFt a bMw isetta<br />
300 three-wheeler (1959) -<br />
winner 7th Class post war)<br />
there were also syMphony<br />
ConCerts and a priVate Visit<br />
to the st petersBurG<br />
herMitaGe.<br />
194<br />
st petersburg like Florence? just this once and for<br />
the ‘uniques special ones’, the elegance race dedicated<br />
to unique, vintage cars. Created under the<br />
tuscan flag two years ago, this year it set off for a<br />
long distance trip. as they say: if Mohammed won’t<br />
go to the mountain and the majority of the vintage<br />
car collectors come from Central-eastern europe,<br />
it is worth going to them and moving the event’s<br />
third year to the cradle of humanism in the former<br />
soviet empire and the new crucible of art patrons<br />
and lovers of the beautiful. it is purely a geographic<br />
concession, i underline, because as far as history,<br />
style and motorcars are concerned, italy still knows<br />
what its doing. and it was an alfa romeo 6C 2500<br />
ss coupé with touring superleggera bodywork<br />
dating to 1953 that won the best of the show 2013<br />
with a trophy designed by stefano ricci (the main<br />
sponsor). Fewer than twenty of these have survived<br />
to the modern day and this one is owned by dutch<br />
hans ribbens. technique and aesthetics were the<br />
key factors in the authoritative and rigorous decision<br />
of the jury which enabled it to pip a 6C 2300<br />
b Mille Miglia sedan from 1938 to the post by a<br />
fraction. a special gazprom neft prize went to a 6C<br />
2500 s Cabriolet from 1943, a special model bodied<br />
by pinin Farina and owned by russian kostantin<br />
Moshkin. the others just looked on. and this was<br />
a total victory because: “Uniques is not just about<br />
cars”, the claim goes. and, in fact, collectors alone<br />
were offered a toast in the stefano ricci boutique in<br />
st petersburg, a private visit to the hermitage state<br />
Museum, a concert by the state hermitage symphony<br />
orchestra “st petersburg Camerata” directed<br />
by Maestro Fabio Mastrangelo (at the winter palace)<br />
and the dance interludes of thetheatre of the<br />
opera and ballet of the st petersburg Conservatory<br />
rimsky-korsakov accompanied by the hermitage<br />
orchestra quartet. and the lights of kirov park on<br />
yelagin island were all around.<br />
the tsars and lorenzo de’ Medici would have been<br />
very proud about the agreement and its elegance,<br />
the true empress of the event: an italian visiting st<br />
petersburg, the new tsarina of the uniques.<br />
www.uniquespecialones.com<br />
195
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