A Koenig Special, based on the Ferrari 348 complete with a twin turbo V8.
Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
For the past few years, the Villa d’Este Concorso has not been the only show in town as it now shares the limelight with Guglielmo Miani’s Fuori Concorso, which is held across three lakeside villas about a kilometer outside Como, all on the same weekend as Villa d’Este, (this year, May 16-17).
Whilst described as a Concorso, unlike Villa d’Este, the cars on display are not judged, so no one wins a prize. The event is simply a celebration of car culture, fashion and lifestyle. Each year the event in themed and in previous editions has celebrated Turbo cars,Aerodynamics, British Racing Green, and last year Velocissimo, Italian Racing cars.
2026 it was the turn of the German cars under the title Kraftmeister, a journey into the creative force and engineering excellence of German Automobiles. So with that in mind, at about lunchtime on the Saturday I decided to miss the Villa d’Este parade of cars during the afternoon and instead take a walk back along the lake shore to Villa Del Grumello and see what ‘Kraftmeister’ had to offer.
These two shots were taken by me at Villa Flori, which I passed on my way from Villa d’Este to the Fuori Concorso. It was where Kimera were launching their new EV39.
The car which inspired the Kimera.
But first we stopped on the way to take a quick peek inside the grounds of Hotel Villa Flori, which is normally the home of Kimera Automobili during the Como car weekend. I was not disappointed as they had just launched their newest creation, the K39, a 1000 bhp Koenigsegg Twin Turbo V8 powered supercar inspired by the Lancia Beta Monte Carlo Turbo, which they just happen to have parked next to the new K39. Suitably impressed I continued my walk to Villa Del Grumello and joined the crowd at the Fuori Concorso. I have to say the event seems to attract a very young crowd, all of which had camera phones and were filming left right and center, and I did feel at times like the oldest person there!
After a few hours of photographing, I recommenced my stroll back to Como, but not before spotting a pair of very strange cars that I have never seen before; two Zagato Zeles, a very small electric car built between 1974 and 1976.
Never having seen one before, I was very surprised to see two back to back. Zagato Zele, an electric microcar built, I understand, between 1974 and 1976. No idea what they were doing on the shores of Lake Como. I just happened to spot them whilst walking back to our apartment.
On Sunday the Villa d’Este event moves along the road to Villa Erba, and is open to the general public. Having photographed the concorso cars the previous day, my wife and I decided to have a quieter day at Villa Erba and just look at the cars rather than dash around photographing like the proverbial blue arsed fly, but we did pop into the onsite Broad Arrow auction where I felt compelled to use the camera again.
On sale at the onsite Broad Arrow Auction, this unique 1967 Meccanica Maniero 4700 GT. Commissioned by industrial entrepreneur Angelo Maniero and designed by Giovanni Michelotti, the Meccanica Maniero was first shown at the 1967 Geneva Motor Show then retained by the family for the next 52 years. Powered by a 285 bhp 289 cu-in Ford V8 mated to a four speed manual transmission, sold for 172.500 Euros
And so we begin with Kraftmeister, a journey into the creative force and engineering excellence of German Automobiles
Where it all started 140 years ago, from Mercedes Benz Classic, the 1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen.
1906 6 cylinder 120 hp Grand Prix Mercedes
1928 Mercedes Benz SSK (W06)
1937 Mercedes Benz W125 750kg racing car
1955 Mercedes Benz 300 SLR
1952 Mercedes Benz 300 SL (W194)
1981 Mercedes Benz R107 500SL Rally car, 230 kilos lighter and stronger than the road car.
2007 Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren, the racing version of the supercar of the 2000s.
From the Benz Patentwagen to this the 2024 AMG One complete with its F1 derived power train.
The 2005 Maybach Exelero, the fastest Maybach in the world. Based on the platform of the Maybach 57, the Exelero concept car weighed in at more than 2.7 tons, was powered by a twin turbo V12 motor with over 700 bhp and was capable of a top speed of 350 km/h.
The one off ex-Walter Wolf 1984 Kremer K3. When Porsche refused his request to build him a road legal K3 he turned to Kremer Racing in collaboration with engineer Ekkehard Zimmermann. The result was a virtually untouched Group 5 racing car only minimally adopted for the road powered by a 740 bhp 2.85 liter twin turbo flat six giving a top speed of about 340 km/h.
1979 BMW M1 Procar Group 4
1970 Porsche 917 LH (Langheck, Long tail) chassis 917-043. known as the “Hippie Car” due to the psychedelic Martini livery. 2nd at that year’s Le Mans and also winner of the Index of Thermal of Efficiency award in the hands of Gerard Larrousse and Willi Kauhsen.
Commissioned by a wealthy client from the UAE, the unique Lotec C1000 was developed by the small German engineering firm Lotec with a serious ambition to build a road car capable of exceeding 400 km/h. Powered by a twin turbo, heavily modified Mercedes V8 tuned to produce 1000 bhp, hence the C1000 name. Did they succeed? official records do not indicate but rumors suggest 430 km/h was exceeded in testing.
1986 BMW 635 CSi, the winner of the 1986 Spa 24 Hours.
1959 Porsche 718 RSK
1988 Porsche 962 “Shell,” chassis 962-10 is described as the most refined and final works evolution of the 962. Engineered with the high boost engine producing around 880 bhp and timed at nearly 391 km/h. Driven by Derek Bell, Klaus Ludwig and Hans-Joachim Stuck, chassis 010 took pole at Le Mans (Hans Stuck driving) by a margin of 3 seconds. However a miscalculation occurred when Ludwig extended his stint and he ran out of fuel near the Porsche curves though he did manage to return to the pits. A strong recovery drive did however result in a second place finish on the leading lap.
Touring bodied BMW Mille Miglia Roadster, fifth in the hands of Willy Briem and Uli Richter at the 1940 Mille Miglia.
Nearly but not quite a BMW I8, but the ‘Vision Efficient Dynamics’ concept that begat the i8.
As a tribute to Jagermeister who had a presence at the show, a replica of Niki Lauda’s Nurburgring 24 Hours BMW CSL.
As part of the Jagermeister celebration, Porsche 956 chassis 106, ex-Bellof/Stuck.
DP Motorsport’s take on the flat nose 935, DP1 and DP3.
Porsche 908 LH (Langheck/Longtail)
Porsche 911 2.6 S/T ex-Larousse/Barth
A Group Four 911 SC
The road-going version of the short wheelbase Audi Quattro
The Audi Formula E electric single seater
Audi Sport Quattro S1 from the Olympus Rally
720 bhp Audi 90 Quattro IMSA GTO
2009 Audi R15 TDi diesel powered Le Mans car
Audi R18 e-tron Quattro Le Mans car, an example of which won Le Mans three times in a row between 2012 and 2014.
2004 Audi A4 DTM, ex-Mattias Ekstom
Forming part of the Restomod display is this 1000 bhp twin turbo Koenig Specials Testarossa.
The third Koenig Special on display, this time based on a Mercedes Benz 560 SEC.
1977 Fiat Bertone 850T Visitors bus, designed by Marcello Gandini whilst at Bertone, used as a VIP bus to transport visitors around the Fiat factory. One of fewer than six examples built and one of only two believed to have survived. Sold for 189,750 Euros.
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