The number of really spectacular classic car events around the world is manageable – this applies more than ever to Europe. If there is one event that should be seen, it is the Concorso d ‘Eleganza on southern Lake Como. The location, the cars and the atmosphere are nothing less than unique.
The vehicles that can be marveled at in the remarkable park area of the venerable Villa d’Este in Cernobbio can only be marveled at worldwide at the Monterey Autoweek around the exclusive Pebble Beach concours event. The Concorso d ‘Eleganza does not quite come close to their quality and especially the quantity; but otherwise only superlatives on four wheels rule this weekend on Lake Como. The reduced number of visitors in view of the ongoing pandemic did not detract from the event after it was canceled last year – on the contrary. It’s just a shame that the impressive Sunday event for uninvited guests at the no less impressive Villa d ‘Erba was canceled this time. So this time the normal audience was left out and the exclusively invited guests stayed to themselves.
They got to see grandiose classics from 100 years of car history, because at the Concorso d ‘Eleganza less is more. Where else can you see a 1926 Hispano Suiza H6 Dual Cowl with Bligh Brothers body, a Fiat 508 CS with its Balilla Aerodinamica body from 1935, or a 1939 Steyr 220 sports cabriolet with its 2.3 liter in-line six-cylinder ? Car collector Adrian Gattiker is not showing his Bavarian-blue Mercedes gullwing at Lake Como this time, but the no less neat 300 SL Roadster, which competed in the class of the German-British competition for power in the luxury league. Its competitors are no less impressive: Aston Martin DB5 Touring Superleggera Cabrio from 1965, the grandiose BMW 507 Roadster from Antja Bonczkowitz or a 1956 Bentley S1 Continental Drop Head Coupé.
Those who like it sportier lose their eyes around Villa d ‘Este to the Lamborghini Countach LP 400 S Prototype Walter Wolf Special by Shinjiro Fukuda, the 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO or the largely unknown Aston Martin V8 Vantage with Zagato body, which like hardly any other reflects the supercar lifestyle of the 1980s. Only the hypercars of the 1990s with icons such as the Jaguar XJR-15, the incomparable Isdera Commendatore 112i, powered by a six-liter V12, or the 1996 Porsche 911 GT1 by Khalid Abdulrahim are even wilder in the gardens of the Villa d’Este Bahrain, which once competed on the world’s racetracks with cars like the Mercedes CLK GTR, which crowned the hypercars at the northern Italian Concorso not only with its unique 6.9-liter V12. Once again, the organizers let visitors to the Concorso d ‘Eleganza on Lake Como take a look at current super athletes in addition to the classics. The over 1,900 hp electric flounder of the Pininfarina Battista is parked next to the Bugatti Centodieci, a 2020 Hispano Suiza Carmen Boulogne or the new edition of the original Lamborghini Countach LP 500 that took 250,000 hours of work.
Where else do you have a view of Lake Como shimmering in the sunlight, ships passing by, while the classics stroll by on the hotel terrace at the traditional parade while the sheltered guests enjoy champagne, aperitifs and snacks? No wonder that everyone is looking forward to the Concorso d ‘Eleganza next year, which is supposed to take place in May – maybe again with a public program at the Villa d ‘ Erba. But will star artist Jeff Koons be there in person at Lake Como again and give Jeff Koons a look at the special series of his BMW 8 X in a secret room? Either way, the Concorso is a dream factory.
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