The 33rd Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix will take place in the Pennsylvania city’s Schenley Park this July 18-19, with its central focus a celebration of The Marques of Italy. The Vintage Grand Prix is actually a 10-day outing with a number of related events culminating in the two-day vintage racing extravaganza. This year those events will feature the many magnificent marques of Italian heritage, including Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Abarth, Lancia and de Tomaso among others.
Executive director Dan DelBianco describes the event: “Our devoted volunteers transform 2.3 miles of winding city streets into a race circuit, then they convert a city park and golf course into a grand show field for 2,000 cars and 150 tents so that 200,000 spectators can watch the vintage races and peruse the International Car Show.”
Given this year’s Italian emphasis, a major element will be The Cortile, the Grand Prix’s Italian Car Show. “Cortile” translates into English as “courtyard,” and this year the 18th fairway at the Bob O’Connor Golf Course in Schenley Park will serve as the courtyard for the seventh edition of the all-Italian car show. It will be supplemented by the Fiat Club of America’s 32nd annual gathering, the “FreakOut,” which runs from July 15 through 19, particularly appropriate this year because Fiat will be the Prioettore Macchina, the spotlight marque, of the Cortile. For complete information, please visit www.pvgp.org/