Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2019

Sydorick’s elegant Alfa 2900B.

Class A was titled “Goodbye Roaring Twenties” and included this rare 1928 Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 S. Most of these cars were bodied in Italy but this one was bodied by WC & RC Atcherly in England for an English amateur race driver. The car was found in Belgium in 2010 by the current owner who happens to be the grandson of the coachbuilder R.C. Atcherly.

Apart from the future Best of Show Alfa Romeo, Class B comprised some significant cars of the thirties like this 1937 Bugatti Type 57S which retains its original Vanden Plas body panels and original engine. It was shown on the Bugatti stand at the 1938 Olympia Motor Show in London.

This unusual 1938 Delahaye 135 M is one of only two such Delahayes with roadster bodies built by the Carlton Carriage Company of London.

Still in the B class, this 1938 Lancia Astura Series IV Pinin Farina cabriolet.

This 1964 Seat Nardi 750 GT of Villa d’Este regular participant Alex Vazeos perfectly illustrates the theme of Class C : “Small and perfectly formed : the coachbuilder’s art in miniature” …

… as does this 1963 Fiat Abarth Monomille GT coming from a Japanese collection.

Also from Abarth, this Ghia bodied 205A 1100 Sport is thought to be from Giovanni Michelotti, influenced by the work of Virgil Exner and Giovanni Savonuzzi. It was first shown at the 1953 Turin Motor Show.

1958 Fiat 1200 Spyder with Special body by Fiat.

Siata introduced the 300BC, built purely for the American market, in 1951 and its barchetta bodywork was designed by Mario Revelli de Beaumont and built by Nuccio Bertone and Rocco Motto. This one has a Bertone body and raced in the 1954 Sebring 12 hours.

Still in Class C was this 1952 Maserati A6G 2000 coupé Frua recently restored by Touring Superleggera.

The D Class celebrated “A new dawn : into the Rock’n’roll Era”. Penned by Giovanni Michelotti, the one-off Alfa Romeo 1900C Super Sprint cabriolet by Vignale, called “La Flèche” (The Arrow ), was presented at the 1955 Turin Auto Show. It was entered at Villa d’Este by Corrado Lopresto.

Also by Vignale, this 1952 Ferrari 342 America cabriolet (0232AL) was the first of three cabriolets powered by the Lampredi-designed 4-liter V12 engine and is the only 342 America bodied by Vignale.

Also unique, this 1955 Ferrari 250 GT Competizione berlinetta Pinin Farina (0403 GT) features a boot lid similar to the 375 MM “Bergman” coupé.

Still in Class D, this 1952 Jaguar XK120 Supersonic coupé by Ghia is one of just three Jaguars built with Giovanni Savonuzzi’s fabulous Supersonic coachwork.

1953 Siata 208 S Spider Motto.

Class E was for the “Swinging Sixties : the Sky is the Limit”. The sky is exactly the prize reached by this 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder SWB four years ago, at the sale of the Baillon collection in Paris. The ex-Alain Delon car was in derelict state and has now been fully restored. For the better?

This Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada was part of the F Class for “Musical Stars’ cars”. It was in the ownership of ‘Little Tony’ who became in the sixties one of the most popular rock singers in Italian language.

1971 Lamborghini Miura P400 S by Bertone.

Class G was for the “Endurance Racing Legends” : this is one of two CD Panhards entered at Le Mans in 1964. Thanks to their lightness and their incredible Cx, these cars were able to reach 220 km per hour with a 848cc flat-twin Panhard engine fitted with a supercharger.

This Ferrari 340 America berlinetta Touring was not really an endurance racer, its main results being achieved in hill climbs in Belgium in the fifties. Afterwards, it took part many times in the Mille Miglia Storica, in particular with the late Ferrari driver Michele Alboreto at the wheel.

One of twelve Ferrari 275 GTB/C, # 09051 was extensively raced in Italy between 1966 and 1968.

Class H was titled as “Concepts which rocked the motoring world” and this certainly applies to the 1970 Ferrari 512S Modulo presented by James Glickenhaus. Presented at the 1970 Geneva Motor Show in non-rolling form, it has been recently restored and fitted with a running engine.

This extraordinary car was designed by Alex Tremulis for Gyro Transport Systems in 1967. It counts only two wheels and a built-in gyroscope to keep it upright. It is said that it could reach 125 mph and could sweep through turns without tipping …

The Lamborghini Marzal caused a stir when it appeared at the 1967 Geneva Motor Show and later on the traditional parade lap before the Monaco Grand Prix, driven by Prince Rainier. Designed by Marcello Gandini of Bertone, it was the precursor of the Lamborghini Espada.

Lamborghini Marzal interior.

The Vivant was created by Pontiac engineer Herb Adams in 1965. He was inspired by the Alfa Romeo B.A.T. The lightweight body was hand-formed by European panel beaters over the space-frame chassis.

Villa d’Este has also a dedicated class for concept cars & prototypes. Touring Superleggera presented the Sciadipersia cabriolet, derived from the coupé unveiled last year.

At the 1970 Geneva Motor Show, BMW unveiled the BMW Garmisch, a concept car designed by Marcello Gandini for Bertone, based on a 2002 coupé. The car disappeared after the show and no one knows where it went. BMW decided to recreate an exact copy of the lost Garmisch, based on photos and even by soliciting Marcello Gandini, nearly fifty years after the creation of the original car.

Until next year…