Filippo Sole — one of those restorers who can safely be called the most active representative of the retro community. He travels around different countries in his cars, restores cars and is happy to share his impressions with like-minded people on his website.
After touring the US in a 1930 Lancia Dilambda convertible, Sol? spoke to AutoClassicNews about his passion, the future of the vintage car market, and the difference between car repairs in the US and Italy.
-How did your love for retro cars begin?
-My love for cars started when I was 18 as I thought they were so fascinating and bought an MGA 1300 light blue but my parents didn’t know about the car so I had to sell it after several weeks. Then 10 years ago my father presented me with a 1960 Giulietta Spider that I still keep. The Giulietta had many problems and this is the reason why I started to fix and work on my cars learning everyday in the workshop.
-What are retro cars for you – a hobby, a job, a passion?
-Cars are still a passion but as I spend all my time working on them I have not time for a job. I’m lucky my family support me.
-If you look at an event’s protocol, you can see a huge number of brands. Why does your heart belong to Lancia?
The fact I had some Lancias is just a coincidence. Probably because they are Italian and usually more elegant than other brands.
-I know that there are two Lancias in your collection -Lancia dilambda 227 cabriolet and Lancia-Austria Pininfarina (1938). Are you planning to expand your collection?
About my cars… I cannot tell I’m a collector as I cannot afford to have some cars at the same time, so what I do is to restore a car, enjoy 2/3 years and then sell it to start a new project. Of course now I’m looking for a new project and I can say 90% it will be a Lancia (probably Astura).
-Which cars, in your opinion, will be in demand on the market next few years?
About the market my idea is that it will keep growing especially for high end sportcars from the ‘50s (and that’s quite bad for me as I’m on prewars).
-You were the co-author of the book «Lancia Dilambda, the Blue Shadow». Would you like to write another book in a future?
With Massimo Delbo I wrote that first book because when I discovered all the story of my Dilambda I wanted to put all the data together. We already released a second book (not in the stores) about our USA coast to coast road trip with the Dilambda. The pictures were so beautiful that we wanted to share them with our friends in a book.
-Last summer, you’ve traveled across the USA, driving from New York to Las Vegas. Could you share your impressions? What was the most difficult during the trip?
— I will remember that trip for the rest of my life. The adventure on a 1930 car across USA is something you won’t forget. We did not have too many problems but I can say the most difficult part were the first days from New York to Indianapolis because of the cold and the snow.
-Would you like to repeat your trip across the USA next year?
— Of course the idea is to repeat the trip every year on a different prewar car and following a different route.
At the end of the trip, in Los Angeles, I had an accident as a car crashed on the rear of mine… The damage was quite big but I was lucky to find the right place to fix everything. I had to travel 3 times from Italy to LA to supervise the job and to take some parts from home.
-You were in an accident in the USA. Could you tell, were there any difficulties with spare parts? Is the approach to retro car restoration different in the USA and Europe?
-In USA there are a lot of great mechanics but the biggest difference from Italy is the knowledge they have on Italian cars and the prices (a lot lower in Italy).
-What events — in Italy or abroad — do you consider the most important in the world of retro cars and why?
-As for the important events I think Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este and Pebble Beach Concours of Elegance are the 2 top events followed by other important meetings as Salon Prive and Amelia Isand. 1000 Miglia is still the most famous classic cars race.
-In some events, your wife takes part as a navigator with you. How does she relate to your hobby?
-Sometimes my wife likes to participate with me, especially in regularity rallies (Passione Engadina is her preferred one). She likes my hobby but sometimes we have to discuss as this makes me travel a lot far from home.
-Could you tell us about the collaboration with Giuliano Can?- the most titled pilot in the history of «Mille Miglia»?
-I participated two times in the 1000 Miglia and I asked Giuliano Can? to be in my team as he is a friend and have so many stories to tell. I am always fascinated by stories of the past, it could be in cars but also in art and music.
-What events would you advise to fans of retro cars to attend in order to get into the spirit of the past?
-If I have to suggest an event to get into this world in the right mood it would be 100% Passione Engadina.
-There are not only cars in your heart, but also cats. Tell us a little about them.
Hahahahah of course there are cats! A lot of cats! Cats are never too many! Bruno, Piero, Corneliuss, Bernardo, Telemaco, Federico and Mia are my best friends and with 3 daughters you never get bored in my house. I think that love for animals is a good education to love people too.