“Slow”; this is the adjective that is most suitable to use to describe the Concorso di Eleganza Villa d’Este 2017 and all the editions of this event that have taken place over the past years, since the time when the very first real car show in history was officially reborn.
The Concorso di Eleganza Villa d’Este 2017 rhymes with class, vintage culture and fashion from the beginning of the 20th century, but also with the world of beautiful mechanics.
We are talking about 6, 8, 10 and 12 cylinder engines or just two, like in the case of that small aerodynamic torpedo called “The Lurani Nibbio” that is equipped with a 495cc and 46HP Moto Guzzi V2 engine and that won the coveted Coppa d’Oro award.
Years go by relentlessly, but, each year, Villa d’Este continues to welcome the world’s greatest collectors, who present their jewels to the selected guests that flock to the end of May’s capital of engines; Cernobbio.
The event is jointly organized by the BMW Group and A.Lange & Söhne; two companies that are ideally interconnected through a CEO, who has gone from managing one of the world’s most profitable premium car groups to the rudder of the most noble brand belonging to the Saxon school.
BMW chose Villa d’Este to show live the heir of the 850 from the 90s; the 8 Series Coupé Concept, and the latest super luxurious creation of Rolls Royce; the unique Sweptail (a customized item based on the Rolls Royce created for a wealthy Hong Kong customer, and equipped with an unusual and bizarre tapered tail that reminds us of an Aquarama).
This model was one of the main attractions of the event and so was also the Lange 1 Timezone Como Edition that was carefully guarded inside a case hosted within the hotel and ready to be awarded to the lucky winner of the competition.
On Saturday May 27 I saw the Lancia Dilambda and other Mercedes-Benz cars never seen before, I also saw the all Italian “fight” between the Lamborghini Miura P400 and the Ferrari 365GT/4 Berlinetta Boxer, with which Enzo responded to Ferruccio’s affront and critics.
I saw all that exists between that Lancia – the first in history – and concept cars like the GFG Style Techrules Ren that imitates the first McLaren stock car in history; the F1 three-seater.
I could go on with the Giulietta Sprint Speciale and the Ferrari 250 Europa GT Speciale; another two prime examples of the Italian school of motoring, to finish off with the cars of the BMW Motorsport division that were on display next to the main entrance.
Among these was an extremely beautiful and never before seen green BMW M4. If a fascinating past is made up of carburetors, mechanical gears, briar-root and Jaeger rev counters, the present time is as good as it!
Truth is that one day only – and probably not even two days – at Villa d’Este is never enough; this is why we released a video that shows you every moment of this event, which required a substantial post-production effort.
We summarized it up in a four minute video; four minutes that tell about every aspect of that day, from the start of the parade along the historic route at 2:30 pm, all the way to the moments spent with A.Lange & Söhne, whose menu was a reproduction of the Lange 1 Timezone Como Edition’s dial; an area that hosted the world’s largest group of collectors that had been invited by the Saxon brand for the special occasion and which, unfortunately, we did not get the chance to meet and photograph face to face.
See you next year and to the next unique car show, to which, if the sponsor agreed on it, we could add a car that blends together history and modernity and which, in my own opinion, represents the perfect fusion of everything that the Concorso di Eleganza Villa d’Este represents: a Singer!
(Photo credit: A.Lange & Söhne, BMW)
Gaetano C @Horbiter®
