Over 200 American cars took part in the fifth edition of the event dedicated to vehicles from across the Atlantic, which traditionally brings the Italian Bike Week weekend to a roaring close with its spectacular parade
On a weekend dominated by the roar of motorcycles, it may seem unusual for enormous American-made V8s to take centre stage for the grand finale. Yet U.S. Car on the Beach has now become an unmissable tradition of Italian Bike Week, the two-wheel festival that has just wrapped up its fifth edition in Lignano Sabbiadoro, in the province of Udine. From Thursday, September 17 to Sunday, September 20, 2026, the Friulian seaside town on the Adriatic fired up its engines for four days dedicated to a passion for motorcycles, culminating with the gathering which — under the banner of specialist magazine Cruisin’ Life — brings together, for one last celebration before summer ends, hundreds of American car fans from across Northern and Central Italy, with a strong turnout of enthusiasts from several Central European countries as well.
From 9 a.m. on Sunday, the car park in front of the Guido Teghil Stadium began filling with colour as no fewer than 200 vehicles arrived, including muscle cars, pick-ups, hot rods, luxury sedans and vintage gems. They were neatly lined up beneath the shade of the maritime pines under the supervision of volunteers from Old School Garage, the Pordenone-based club that has been involved in organising the meeting since its first edition in 2022. Between conversations about modifications, peeks under the bonnets to admire the power of the American-made eight-cylinder engines and a few “soundchecks” loud enough to make the ground vibrate, the car owners prepared for the start of the great parade through the city, which got underway shortly after 11 a.m.
After drawing crowds along Viale Europa, the festive convoy headed towards the seafront, following the avenue running alongside the beach. Back at Teghil Stadium, it was time for the awards ceremony, which crowned the 20 four-wheeled stars of this year’s edition. Among them were classic models such as Uroš Hvala’s 1968 Ford Mustang (Mustang Club Slovenia), Marco Piccin’s 1951 Chevrolet Styleline Deluxe from Pordenone and Rudi Pfeffenkorn’s Corvette, who travelled from Germany in a gleaming 1974 C3. There were also highly customised examples such as Austrian Werner Fraiss’s Chevy SSR, as well as modern pony cars such as Dominik Grossensteiner’s Camaro from the Czech Republic.
Among the best-represented clubs were undoubtedly the Mustang Club of Austria and Italian clubs Crazy Gang and Ram Division, the latter always providing invaluable logistical support to the organisers with its trucks.
Still on the subject of American V8s — but with two fewer wheels — Italian Bike Week also saw an impressive turnout of Boss Hoss motorcycles, the imposing machines made in Tennessee and conceived by visionary Monte Warne around “monster-sized” Chevrolet automotive engines. One of the examples present in Lignano — virtually all of them coming from Germany — was even equipped with an 8.200 cc big-block, capable of producing 600 hp.
The fifth edition of U.S. on the Beach was further enlivened by the sparkling presence of the Pin Ups, fresh from their own contest held on Saturday afternoon. Organised by Francesca “Lady BB” Turello, the competition crowned Madame Liù, real name Liousy Dose, a family assistant and bartender in everyday life, but from today also Miss Pin Up IBW 2026!
Below is the full Top 20 ranking of U.S. Car on the Beach.
TOP 20 – U.S. CAR ON THE BEACH 2026
1951 CHEVROLET STYLELINE DELUXE – Marco Piccin (PN)
2005 CHEVROLET SSR – Werner Fraiss (Austria)
2017 FORD MUSTANG – Alessandro Facchin (UD)
1968 FORD MUSTANG – Uroš Hvala (Slovenia) / Mustang Club Slovenia
1968 FORD MUSTANG – Günter Kallus (Austria) / Mustang Club of Austria
2022 CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 – Hippe (Germany)
1974 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C3 – Rudi Pfeffenkorn (Germany)
2003 DODGE RAM – Berni Bindels (Austria)
2017 CHEVROLET CAMARO – Dominik Grossensteiner (Czech Republic)
1966 FORD MUSTANG – Wolfgang Machal (Austria) / Mustang Club of Austria
2020 FORD MUSTANG GT – Christian Hofbauer (Austria) / Mustang Club of Austria
1961 FORD COUNTRY SQUIRE – Jakob Moser (Austria)
2009 FORD CROWN VICTORIA – Simone Rosson (Germany) / Petrol Monkeys
1969 DODGE CHARGER R/T – Giacomo Milocco (UD) / Crazy Gang
1973 FORD MUSTANG MACH 1 – Vasco Rebellato (PD)
1965 CADILLAC CALAIS – Valter Sbaiz (UD) / Old School Garage
1946 CHEVROLET FLEETMASTER COUPE – Lucky Met (UD) / Old School Garage
1950 CHEVROLET STYLELINE – Rudolf Schneider (Germany)
1979 PONTIAC TRANS AM – Simone Fornasier (PN) / Crazy Gang
2003 HUMMER H2 – Amedeo Martin (TV) / RM Custom
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