While the flotillas of Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Maseratis, Lancias and lesser Italian marques may have been secretly yearning for the Costa del Sol or the Cote d'Azur their owners were quite content to converge on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin.

The president of Canberra's Italian Cars Association,Tony Hanrahan, was amazed.

''Exotic car owners are usually quite wary about bringing their cars out if there is a chance of rain,'' he said. ''This is a very impressive turnout.''

An estimated 10,000 to 15,000 spectators visited to get a closer look at cars usually only seen in movies or magazines.

Sodden conditions underfoot, the result of almost a week of non-stop rain, had brought the event to the brink of cancellation and special permission had to be sought from the National Capital Authority for the cars to be parked on the paved terraces. This, in turn, restricted the space available for display.

''The official count [of cars] is 250 for the day,'' Mr Hanrahan said.

''I am very impressed by this when you consider that on a perfect day we might have between 300 and 325 cars.''

Participants included John and Judy Gove of Melbourne whose bright yellow 1965 Maserati Mistral Spyder stole the show.

''We have our highest turnout of Maseratis ever,'' Mr Hanrahan said. ''They are our featured marque. It is Maserati's 100th anniversary in December.''

The Goves also own a coupe version of the same car, the Maserati Ghibli bought by Bob Jane at the London Motorshow in 1968 and another Mistral Spyder that is kept for use in England.

At 66, Mr Gove is currently trying to retire from his market consultancy business. ''John wants to spend more time getting involved with vintage Maseratis,'' Mrs Gove said.

The family garage also houses a Fiat-badge Dino 206 and a 2002 model Maserati 3200.

''What do we love about Maseratis?,'' Mr Gove pondered. ''They are more elegant than the other Italian supercars of the era - the Ferrari Daytona and the Lamborghini Miura.''

That doesn't mean the Mistral, the most expensive of the three when new, is more style than substance.

Its jewel-like twin overhead camshaft, twin-spark plug 3.5 litre in-line six cylinder is the direct descendant of the engine that allowed drivers such as Fangio to dominate grand prix racing in the 1950s.

''This was the era of the fabulous six,'' Mr Gove said. ''Maseratis raced against Mercedes 300SLs and Jaguar D-types, both of which also used in-line six cylinder engines,'' Mr Gove said.

It's not just about the performance: classic cars allow the chance to mix with people who share the passion.