David Hlaváček 
24.07.2019 Concorso d´Eleganza Villa d´Este 2019: Still in top form
On 24th – 26th May one of the world’s finest vintage car & motorcycle competition shows, the Concorso d´Eleganza Villa d´Este, took place on the shores of Lake Como in the picturesque gardens of the Grand Hotel Villa d´Este.
The main theme of this year’s event was unmistakeably presented by its motto, reminiscent of the 90-year-old local elegance competition tradition: “The Symphony of Engines – 90 Years of the Concert of the Villa d’Este & BMW Automobiles”. A total of 42 carefully selected cars within the “Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2019” were divided into 8 distinct categories, such as “Goodbye Roaring Twenties: The Birth of the Concorso”, “Fast Forward: A Quarter Century of Progress”, “Small and perfectly formed: The Coachbuilder’s Art in Miniature”, “A New Dawn: Into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Era”, “Swinging Sixties: The Sky is the Limit”, “Baby You Can Drive My Car: Musical Stars’ Cars”, “Speeding Against the Clock: Endurance Racing Legends” and “Daring to Dream: Concepts Which Rocked the Motoring World”. Where motorcycles were concerned, within the traditional “Concorso di Motociclette”, 46 motorcycles were divided into six categories called “Still in Action: Motorcycles more than 100 Years Old”, “Sound and Style: The New Motorcycles of 1929”, “Promenade Percy: Sportsman’s” Wear”, “50 Years Ago: Trendsetters for Future Success”, “Two-Wheeled Guards: To Protect and To Serve”, “Concept Bikes: New Design and Prototypes by Manufacturers and Independents”.
The time span of the exhibits ranges from the beginning of the 1920’s to the end of the 1980’s. All other studies and prototypes, usually created for this opportunity, as well as top-of-the-line modern vehicles, are often placed out of the rated categories.
The panel of leading world experts was headed by Lorenzo Ramaciotti, whose task was, besides naming the winners of the individual categories, to award one of the exhibited cars on behalf of the BMW Group, the main organiser, the highest award of the entire show – the “BMW Group Trophy”. For the sake of completeness, the co-organiser of the renowned event is the German watch company A. Lange & Sohne is. The public also voted for its favourite and based on these votes the prize “Coppa d´Oro Villa d´Este” was awarded.
To give you an idea, within the “Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2019”, owners, guests and visitors from Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the UK and Japan could, accompanied by a live string quartet, see, for example, the Vauxhall 30/98 Type OE (1930), Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 Super Sport (1928), Bugatti 57S (1937), Delahaye 135 (1938), Lagonda V12 Redfern Tourer (1939), Aston Martin DBS C (1966) ), Bizzarrini GT Strada 5300 (1966) or the Lamborghini Miura P 400 S (1971).
Interestingly, this year’s Bugatti’s 110th anniversary also featured in a single specimen of the Bugatti La Voiture Noire (2019), the futuristic concept of the Ferrari 512 S Modulo (1970), the BMW 507 roadster (1957) previously owned by the singer Elvis Presley, and last but not least, the premiere of the irreversibly lost BMW Garmisch concept, originally designed by the famous designer Marcell Gandini at the Nuccia Bertone studio for the Geneva Motor Show in 1970. Rebuilding, with the help of the state-of-the-art technology, took place under his supervision and, as was requested by BMW Group chief designer Adrian van Hooydonk, with his comments taken into account.
After 90 years, Concorso d´Eleganza Villa d´Este is still in top form.
