Bath, Ohio – One of the premier automotive events in northeast Ohio is the annual La Macchina Molto Bella auto show.
And to sweeten the deal for 2024, the venue has changed and the event is now hosted on the historic grounds of the Hale Farm and Village in the scenic Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Hale Farm itself is a living history museum and, with the changing autumn leaves, the new location became the perfect setting to stroll about a fleet of antique and collector cars.
Picturesque environment aside, the event is a gearhead’s dream, regularly drawing-in a dizzying mix of prewar classics, vintage race cars, big-buck exotics, and other top-tier, meticulously restored show cars.
Upon entering, your ears will be treated to everything from a smooth European six to a rowdy American V8 with Zoomie headers.
In other words—if you have a favorite car, there’s a good chance it’ll be La Macchina Molto Bella.
To get an idea of the caliber of cars at the event, one of the first classics I spotted was a stunning Rolls Royce Silver Ghost.
The Silver Ghost was a performance car—essentially a factory Rolls Royce hot rod—that played a major role in establishing the Rolls Royce luxury-performance aura. Aside from a hiatus during the first World War, Silver Ghost production ran from 1906 to 1926.
The one at the show had a spotless inline six engine that makes close to 150 horsepower—a simply astonishing number for the era.
You may enjoy this article too: How Rolls-Royce Teamed up with Packard to Help End World War 2
Moving stateside, the event welcomed a massive collection of Fords that ranged from original Model Ts to an ultra-sleek Ford GT Carbon. Everywhere you turned, it was easy to spot Mustangs, Shelbys, T-birds, and Deuce coupes.
Suffice it to say, it was a Blue Oval bonanza.
I came across one 1932 Ford in particular that I know any hot rod traditionalist would love.
It’s a classic black three-door, done with a proper old-school flathead Ford V8 and topped with Offy cylinder heads.
The coupe wears steel wheels that would’ve have fit right in back in the late 1950s. Only the body was new, the rest of the hot rod was made from period-correct, original parts.
The show doesn’t overlook the muscle car folks either.
One of my favorites was a 1968 Olds 442 convertible—rare enough by itself, but this one packed a ProCharger supercharger with a modern EFI system to up the ante.
Yeah, it’s a real sleeper.
The Bowtie brigade was also out in force.
A particular standout was the “Black Widow” 1957 Chevy. This was the factory car Chevy supplied to Nalley Chevy in Atlanta for use in NASCAR competition.
Yes, this one was a reproduction, but it was built period-correct with mechanical fuel injection under the hood and six lug wheels.
Corvettes almost needed a standalone event, showing up in big numbers this year.
There’s an old saying that goes “all Corvettes are red” and with the number of red ones in attendance, we could make a good case.
…Until you saw some of the other rare colors there, of course.
The Mopar gang was also well represented, with several classic muscle cars and vintage racers in attendance.
A stunning example of everyone’s perennial favorite Plymouth was there too—a Petty Blue 1970 Superbird.
Indeed, with its sky high wing and pronounced nose cone, the NASCAR homologation special was tough to miss against the backdrop of featherweight European roadsters.
Speaking of European sports cars, one of the more unique models at the show was an Allard J2.
Considered one of the quintessential postwar English roadsters, this particular Allard came from Britain carrying a V8 engine sourced from Cadillac—though later cars would feature versions of the famed Chrysler Hemi engine.
As with similar events, a big part of La Macchina Molto Bella Auto Show is charity, and proceeds and donations from the event went to benefit organizations like The ASAP Foundation, Kidney Foundation of Ohio, Valor Home, Grace House, and Toys for Tots.
If you’re near northeast Ohio or are looking to take a drive to enjoy some world class cars, then put La Macchina Molto Bella Auto Show on your calendar for next year.
In the meantime, check out some more pictures from the event below:
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