The triumph of Made in Italy in the green Californian hills. On 20 August, the thirty-seventh edition of Concorso Italiano took place, a great festival of theitalian car as part of the prestigious Monterey Car Week, on the fairway of the Bayonet & Black Horse Golf Course in Seaside.
Numerous awards were presented on this occasion, including the Lifetime Achievement Award with "The Beautiful Machine Award a Maurizio Corbi, senior designer Pininfarinaartist and our esteemed lecturer, and to Mariella Mengozzi, director Mauto of Turin. Both protagonists of the Italian Competition Hall of Fame 2022 collected the authoritative and well-deserved award in person.
"I am very proud and excited to be here in this marvellous place and to find myself surrounded by masterpieces that have influenced my career as a car designer and cars that have seen me as a protagonist in their stylistic definition,' Maurizio Corbi commented. And his thoughts immediately flew to the new generations and the importance of always having a solid background, with a special look at the past: "I would advise all young designers to study the history of car design as the greatest inspirations come precisely from the past.
Finally, thanks are due to the company that took him to the podium. "I want to thank Pininfarina: it has been a great privilege for me to work 33 years for this brand, the most important signature in the world of design'.
Maurizio Corbi and the international climb
An innate talent for drawing, also realised through years of studying architecture. Maurizio Corbi lands at Pininfarina in 1989with his wealth of experience gained in companies such as Aviointeriors and Bertone. He has been a Senior Car Designer for over thirty years, an undeniable fulfilment of his childhood dream: designing cars. In his CV he can boast prestigious collaborations such as those, just to name a few, for the design of the Ferrari 550 Maranello, Ferrari F50, Ferrari 355 and Ferrari California, presented at the Paris Auto Show in 2008.
With his maturity, Corbi then began to pay more attention to classic cars and more: for some time now he has been alternating his work as a designer of four-wheeled dreams with that of a lecturer in automotive design at institutions such as the Italian Design Institute.
His talent, skills and long experience earned him, along with a respectable work ethic, a well-deserved lifetime achievement award at this year's Monterey Car Week.
The tricolour excellence competition
Concorso Italiano is an event that started in the mid-1980s in Monterey, California, and has for years united numerous brands from theItalian automotive. The event draws energy from the passion for Italian cars and is an opportunity for constructive dialogue between illustrious personalities from the international motoring world. A day that focuses on Italian excellence, but also on the people and stories of those who work in the sector.
Back in attendance after two years of restrictions due to the pandemic, the event was held in all its splendour, closing with a positive balance thanks to the presence of around 4,000 participants among collectors and Italian car enthusiasts and more than 1,000 models exhibited by and for the international tricolour-loving public.
"This year we celebrated Maurizio Corbi, senior designer at Pininfarina, Mariella Mengozzi and Benedetto Camerana of Mauto in Turin. The American public always appreciates the presence of Italian protagonists, especially when they have engaging experiences to recount"., he explained Tom McDowell, Italian Competition Chairman.
An honour for Corbi's long career and yet another important milestone achieved by a talented Made in Italy professional.
