Exclusive and Down-to-earth: Our Time with Italy’s Scuderia Sports

Photography by Federico Bajetti

If you’re into cars, I think you’ll agree that enjoying old cars is to experience the soul and the energy of the people who created it. Most days, that’s the only thing that matters to me.

For the very wealthy, there exist few organizations where like-minded enthusiasts can enjoy the combination of good friends, cars, roads, and events. Seeing a parking lot filled with Scuderia Sport’s near-priceless group of member cars is always a good sign that everyone is there to relax and have a good time!

Scuderia Sports was founded in 2009 by Mark Gessler and Luciano Viaro to join a few friends with a huge passion for Zagato, coachbuilt cars, and vintage racing. Over the years, it has become a successful establishment and one of the most prestigious and successful European vintage racing teams: for five years in a row, its crews gained podiums in the Mille Miglia—and two of those were victories. These days, people call the team Scuderia Sports and Scuderia Zagato sometimes interchangeably, thanks to its close relationship with Zagato.

The spirit of the organization is not about exclusivity alone, but a certain type of owner does tend to drive a certain type of masterpiece. That said, everyone is there for one reason above all else. One of the principals said, simply: “We love cars”.

As a matter of fact, it might seem a strange spectacle, looking at rare and unique masterpieces like Giulia TZ, TZ2, OSCA, Aston Martins and Lancias parked in exclusive locations without being in the same atmosphere of Pebble Beach or Villa d’Este. The experiences we had with the Scuderia felt more like spontaneous gatherings rather than a high class reunion.

Someone once told me that so-called “true enthusiasts” generally buy cars for less than $500,000. Any other vehicle acquired for a larger sum of money is 90% for financial speculation. For some, that may be true.

But during my experiences with Scuderia Sports during the 2015 Mille Miglia, I think it’s even more simple: there is passion in everything, regardless of the market value. Passion cannot be quantified in numbers or in the value of the cars you own.

Even though many won’t have the chance to join a club like Scuderia Sports, being a car enthusiast is an attitude—