The Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2018 has been a significant annual event in Italy for 91 years. For a large part of that 91 years, it has been the home of automotive passion in the most passionate automotive country, particularly so since public events such as the Mille Miglia (a 1000 mile race on public roads) were abandoned due to the dangers. Automobiles are about many things, but passion is a factor in every facet that counts in Italy, and elegance and beauty are key factors in every equation.
This year we decided to cover the country's annual automotive beauty contest differently, and rather than trying to cover all of the 50 or so entrants, we decided to concentrate just on the winners and the people who displayed them.
Trofeo BMW Group (Best of Show)
1958 Ferrari 335 Sport Spider by Scaglietti
The Trofeo BMW Group is the outright Best of Show award decided by the jury and a recently restored Ferrari 335 Sport Spider by Scaglietti and owned by Andreas Mohringer took the grand prize ahead of a spectacular field of automotive treasures.
This particular car is indeed one of the most important cars in history, being the youngest of just four made by Ferrari with three extant. Descendant from the Ferrari 315S, and built to counter the outrageously powerful Maserati 450S of the 1950s, the car's four liter V12 engine produces 390 horsepower (290 kW) for a top speed of 300 km/h (190 mph).
In the 1957 Mille Miglia, the 335S had an indelible impact on motorsport when the legendary Marquis Alfonso de Portago (read his incredible life story in this article) had a tire blow at speed, killing the dashing, unspeakably wealthy, devil-may-care young Marquis and 14 spectators and ending racing on public roads in Italy forever, the Mille Miglia included.
One of the fastest cars on the planet in its day, a 335S recorded the first Le Mans lap of over 200 km/h (124 mph) – bear in mind that's an average speed over the then 8.38-mile course – and helped Ferrari take the 1957 Manufacturers' World Sports Car Championship.
More recently, one of the three remaining 335S Spiders sold at Retromobile in 2016 for €32,075,200 (US$35,712,945) when rival footballers Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo engaged in a bidding war that ended just short of it becoming the most expensive car (sold at auction) in history. Measured in British pounds and Euro, the 335S is the most expensive car ever sold at auction, but our listings (be they cars, motorcycles or scientific manuscripts), are compiled in USD at the currency exchange rate of the day, and only a Ferrari 250 GTO has sold for more at auction by our reckoning.
"It is always difficult to select the Best of Show from the winners in eight award classes because the difference between a Formula 1 automobile and a vehicle from 1913 is very great," mused Jury President Lorenzo Ramaciotti.
"In this case, the rare nature and the outstanding engineering were the deciding factors. The Ferrari 335 Sport was the most powerful sports car from this marque, and for a long time also the fastest. Then there was the fact that the recently completed restoration had been carried out to the very highest standards."
The custodian of cars such as this, are as interesting as the cars themselves. Pharmaceuticals entrepreneur Andreas Mohringer paid $21.5 million sight unseen for this car, which had been stored for decades, then he commissioned having it returned to original condition without restoring it, beginning by evicting a family of mice from the intake manifolds. It has subsequently won a host of prestigious awards including the Best in Show at The Quail in 2016, in its unrestored state.
McKeel Hagerty, founder of the world's largest classic car insurance company, recently referred to the Ferrari 335S Spider Scaglietti that sold for US$35.7 million as a "Mona Lisa Car."
The patience and artistry of the recommissioning process must have been immensely costly, as it requires a multi-skilled automotive historian akin to Dianne Dwyer Modestini, who was tasked with restoring Leonardo da Vinci's long lost Salvator Mundi after it had been painted over. It sold for £45 in 1958, but when Modestini had worked her magic, it sold for $450,312,500 in November, 2017.
After reclaiming his Mona Lisa car from the mice and showing it around the world, Mohringer then restored it to perfection, though that may not adequately describe the result.
Then, during the black tie affair following the event, with the prize winning cars out front ... it rained, with the spider uncovered. Never have two men in tuxedos moved so fast.
That's the car being inspected after the storm ... let's hope there wasn't too much damage.
Coppa D'oro Villa D'este
1968 Alfa Romeo 33/2 Stradale Coupé
Voted "Best of Show" by the public at Villa d'Este, this Alfa Romeo 33/2 Stradale is one of just 18 Alfa Romeo 33/2 Stradale (roadgoing) cars produced, and just 13 were bodied in this Franco Scaglione aluminum creation with dihedral doors, the first car to use the ingenious unconventional design that is now regularly seen on hypercars such as McLaren and Koenigsegg.
The Stradale was developed directly from the highly successful Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 sports racing prototype. The engine of the Stradale is a 230 hp (172 kW) 2.0-liter V8 from Alfa Romeo's race development partner Autodelta, coupled with an aluminum body on a tubular aluminum chassis for a kerb weight of just 700 kg and a top speed of 160 mph.
Given the outrageous specifications of the de facto racing chassis and engine, the other cars were despatched to the likes of Pininfarina, Bertone and Giugiaro (ItalDesign) to create concept show cars which also starred at major motor shows in Turin, Geneva, Paris and Brussels in period.
Even then, very few of the 13 aluminum-bodied Stradales were the same, with some wearing dual headlights and large cooling vents behind the front and rear wheels and other minor differences.
The car was built by Carrozzeria Marazzi and debuted at the 1967 Turin Motor Show. Like many other priceless cars seen on the international show circuit, the Stradale is from the collection of Albert Spiess of Switzerland.
If you've heard that name before, it's because Spiess has appeared across the world in two different facets of public life. He won best of show at Villa d'Este once before for his 1956 Maserati 450 S, and his vast collection includes a range of Italian national treasures including the one-off Lamborghini 5-95 concept he commissioned Zagato to build based on a Gallardo LP570-4. The Lamborghini museum contains several of his cars, but he is best known as the head of his eponymous company which produces epicurian delights such as Bündnerfleisch, a branded product as synonymous with Switzerland as watches, chocolate and cheese.
Trofeo BMW Group Italia
1968 Alfa Romeo 33/2 Stradale Coupé by Scaglione
The Trofeo BMW Group Italia is chosen by public vote at Villa Erba and this Alfa Romeo 33/2 Stradale was a fairly predictable winner given its beauty, heritage, rarity, and atom-perfect presentation. One final gem with regard to this car is that in 1968 it was the most expensive road car available to the public with a price tag of $17,000 at a time when the average cost of a house was $14,950, the average income was $7,850, the average car cost $2,822, and gas was $0.34 a gallon.
Trofeo BMW Group Ragazzi
1970 Lancia Stratos Zero by Bertone
The Trofeo BMW Group Ragazzi is chosen by attendees up to the age of 16 of Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2018 at the adjacent Villa Erba part of the show, and the arresting visual presence of the 1970 Lancia Stratos Zero Concept has more than weathered the passing of time since it was penned by Marcello Gandini for the 1970 Turin Auto Show. Though this car used a 1584cc Lancia Fulvia V4 engine engine, the basic Stratos Zero shape evolved into the successful Stratos HF rally car debuted in Turin the following year featuring a mid-mounted 190 hp (140 kW) 1,987cc (121.3 cu in) Ferrari V6 from the Ferrari Dino.
The Stratos Zero is a spectacular car, having become known globally via the publicity it generated internationally at Turin, then again in 1988 via the Michael Jackson movie Moonwalker, but when owner Phillip Sarofim steered the car into the prize-winning ceremony, and the unconventional front-opening door was raised, sitting beside him was his latest girlfriend, Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne. Remarkably, the paparazzi had tracked the pair to nearby Villa Balbianello, but clearly didn't make the connection as to why they chose Lake Como. There are more pics of the Stratos Zero (and Phillip and Avril) in the image gallery.
Concorso d'Eleganza Design Award for
Concept Cars & Prototypes
2018 Ferrari SP38 Coupé
If you've never heard of the SP38 Ferrari, that's because it isn't a production model, and it is brand – a one-off based on the Ferrari 488 GTB, but completely restyled by Ferrari's Flavio Manzoni to the point where you can't even see the resemblance. As Loz Blain wrote last week when the official Maranello press release and studio images arrived: "Top-flight Ferraris are not cheap things, and special editions even less cheap. So we shudder to think what one-off creations like this SP38 would cost. It's a custom work by the Ferrari Design Center for a specific mystery client 'with a deep passion for racing' and apparently quite a bit of taste."
Given that Ferrari 488 GTB pricing starts at US$256,550, the mystery buyer obviously likes both anonimity and exclusivity, though there's every likelihood that the gentleman concerned is a resident of Switzerland as the car was shown at the Concorso d'Elegenza under the banner of Swiss Automotive Atelier, Loris Kessel Auto SA, and driven during the Concorso by Loris' son, Ronnie.
The twin-turbo, twin-intercooled 488 GTB may have formed the basis of the SP38, but there's more than a liberal helping of F40 in the styling.
Class A | The Titans: Dirt, Dust And Danger
Class Winner: 1934 Bugatti Type 59 Grand Prix
One of just six Bugatti Type 59 Grand Prix racers ever built, the T59 was the last pre-war Grand Prix car from Molsheim, and faced some fierce competition in this class of the beauty contest which contained a 1909 Isotta Fraschini Tipo FENC, a 1925 Bugatti Type 35, a 1930 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Spider Zagato, a 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 MonzaZagato, 1934 Triumph Dolomite 8 Roadster Corsica and a 1936 Lagonda LG45 Rapide bodied by Fox & Nicholl. As with many of the museum exhibits at Villas d'Este and d'Erba, the owners are as interesting as the cars.
The T59 is owned by Marc Newson (pictured in the car), often described as the most influential designer of his generation. Newson's small car collection includes an Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Ferrari and a Cisitalia, most of them much older then he is, but they all get lots of miles and Newson is a regular starter in the Mille Miglia.
After groundbreaking work across numerous genres (aviation, furniture, jewelry, clothing and much more), Newson has been working with Apple's design team for the last four years alongside Jony (now Sir Jonathan) Ive.
One wonders whether there might be a particular appeal about the T59 for tastemeisters. Ralph Lauren owns one of the other five.
Mention of Honor: 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza by Zagato
Owner: Jack Roderick, Great Britain
This is a museum quality specimen of one of the most desirable automobiles in the world and without doubt the single model series most responsible for the glorious brand values of the Alfa Romeo name. The Alfa Romeo straight eight 8C spawned a range of Alfa Romeo road, race and sports cars which were still winning races two decades after they were built.
So closely held are the few original 8C 2300 Alfas that they rarely reach auction, with an almost identical car to this having sold for $6,710,000 at the official Gooding & Co Pebble Beach auction in 2010, then again in 2016 for $11,990,000. That sure beats bank interest!
A slightly later 1935 Alfa Romeo Tipo C 8C fetched £5,937,500 (US$9,425,188) at Bonhams' Goodwood Revival auction in 2013 and the ultimate sportscar incarnation of the 8C series, a 1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spider by Touring, is the most expensive pre-WW2 car ever sold at auction, and one of the 10 most valuable cars ever sold at auction. The impossibly beautiful Alfa Romeo 8C sports car sold for $19,800,000 at RM-Sotheby's Monterey auction in 2016.
Class B | From Manhattan To Mayfair:
The Golden Age Of Motoring Opulence
Class Winner: 1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom Brougham de Ville
Owner: 1929 Frédéric Leroux, France
Proof that you don't require a King's Ransom to play with the big boys at Villa d'Este is this 89-year-old Phantom Brougham de Ville by Brewster & Company. One of only 10 bodied by Brewster, the Phantom I is the epitome of opulence with gold-plated exterior trim, the original exterior cane work and sumptuous everything.
The Phantom I Brewster Riviera cost $19,965 new, weighed 5,450 pounds, and was powered by a 7.7 liter SOHC six-cylinder engine which according to the the British motoring press was "essentially silent at 80 mph." This was a time when Rolls-Royce cars were sold with a three year warranty, and owners were implored by the factory to return their car to the factory every 50,000 miles for "dismantling and examination."
It wasn't the first time this car had been to Villa d'Este, having sold at RM-Sotheby's biannual Villa d'Este (now Villa d'Erba) auction held in conjunction with the event. You'll never guess how much it sold for! Answer.
Mention of Honor: 1930 Cadillac V-16 Roadster by Fleetwood
Owner: Frederick Lax, United States
The Cadillac Sixteen is an automotive masterpiece that found itself in the wrong place at the wrong time. The 452 cu in (7.4 L) V16 was first shown at the New York Auto Show on January 4, 1930, just weeks after Black Tuesday, the day Wall Street collapsed (October 29, 1929) marking what we now know as the decade-long Great Depression.
Despite rave reviews from the press and great admiration and awareness by the public, it was the most expensive car in the Cadillac range, which was the premier brand in the General Motors stable. It remained as the company's marquis offering for a decade, finally ceasing production in the face of the mounting war effort in 1940, with 4076 built. Half of those units were built in the first half of 1930 but production slowed as the depression wore on, and just 50 units a year were produced towards the end of the decade. Cadillac later acknowledged that it had lost money on every single V-16 it sold, due to the massive resources it had put behind the car.
Only Bugatti had ever built a V16 prior to Cadillac, and almost all of the 4076 chassis were sold with bespoke bodywork created by General Motors' own coachbuilders, Fleetwood and Fisher. More than 70 different styles of bodywork were created for the car by the two automotive couturiers, but selling an extremely expensive and exclusive custom order car in a depression is task so difficult that even the almighty General Motors struggled to sustain it.
Those fortunate enough to own one of the remaining Cadillac V16s truly do have one of the great cars of the twentieth century.
Class C | Shaped By The Wind: Grandes Routières Of The Art Deco Era
Class Winner: 1936 Lancia Astura Serie III Cabriolet
by Pinin Farina
Owner: Anthony MacLean, Switzerland
Lancia pioneered monocoque construction in their 1922 Lambda, but when the Astura was created, it was given a cross-braced box-section chassis to allow greater design latitude by the carrozzeria it was inevitably destined for. Gorgeous in every respect, this car was sculpted by Battista "Pinin" Farina when his company was just six years old and a quarter century before the President of Italy formally authorized the change of Farina's last name to Pininfarina and the brand took the shape we know.
It's probably reasonable to expect that this massive Lancia might not be all that nimble and sporting given it only has a three liter motor. Not so! In 1934, an Astura finished tenth in the Mille Miglia and the same car won (with another third) in the six-day, 3,534-mile Giro d'Italia, averaging 53.6 mph.
RM-Sothebys sold a very similar car to this for $2,145,000 at Amelia Island last year, proclaiming in the auction description: "The Astura is the pinnacle of pre-war Lancias, placing it at the summit of pre-war Italian automotive engineering and design. Its combination of luxury and engineering refinement made it an ideal platform for coachbuilders, particularly in its more sporting Corto, or short-wheelbase version."
Mention of Honor: 1937 Bugatti Type 57 Atalante Coupé
Owner: Albert Wetz, Luxembourg
The Type 57 was first shown at the Paris Automobile Salon in 1934, marking the point at which Jean Bugatti emerged as Bugatti's leader and creative force. Having been largely responsible for the company's Type 41 Royale (twice the most expensive car in the world), Ettore Bugatti's son combined his talents as both engineer and designer to create the Type 57, sculptinging four bodies (Ventoux, Stelvio, Atalante and Atlantic) in the process, the latter now also among the world's most expensive automobiles. The T57's 3,257cc eight cylinder engine propelled the Grand Tourer with flowing coachwork at prodigious speed.
In a road test of the car in May, 1939, Motor Sport magazine wrote: "The car sped along at 80 mph with the comfort and quietness one associates with the Type 57 ... we were quite willing to believe that Jean Bugatti had achieved the 435 kilometres to Paris in just under 1½ hours in the Type 57 ... at an average of 77 mph"
Had Jean Bugatti not died testing the Le Mans-winning Type 57 tank-bodied racer on public roads in 1939, Bugatti might still be in family ownership.
Class D | New World, New Ideas:
The Story of the GT
Winner: 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta
by Pinin Farina
Owner: David MacNeil, United States
Developed by Giotto Bizzarrini, Carlo Chiti and Mauro Forghieri, the same team that developed the subsequent and legendary 250 GTO, the Ferrari 250 GT's combination of low weight, high power, well-sorted suspension and four-wheel disc brakes made it the fastest, most accomplished 3.0-liter GT racing car that money could buy. Driven by such greats as Stirling Moss and Phil Hill from 1960 to 1961, SWBs won the RAC Tourist Trophy, the Tour de France Automobile and the Paris 1,000 km. Another was third overall at the 1961 Le Mans 24 Hours, behind two Ferrari prototypes.
Only 167 were built, and the Ferrari 250 GT SWB is one of the very few cars to have sold for more than $10 million – in October, 2015, a 1960 Ferrari 250 GT short-wheelbase (SWB) Berlinetta just like this one (albeit a red one) sold for £7,392,000 (US$11,439,774 on the day), which is the high watermark for the model. A 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Competizione model with fabulous racing provenance sold even higher at Gooding & Company's official Pebble Beach auction in 2016, fetching $13,500,000.
Cars don't sell for more than $10 million unless they tick all the boxes.
Mention of Honor: 1951 Ferrari 212 Export Cabriolet by Vignale
Only 27 Ferrari 212 Exports were built, and this car is one of only four cabriolets bodied by Vignale. It's really quite remarkable to think that a 2.5 liter V12 weighing just 800 kg could be two thirds of a century old, and the collector market never lets one hit the auction block without fetching seven figures with the high watermark being a Ferrari 212 Export Touring Barchetta that sold for €6,720,000 ($7,398,640) at a RM-Sotheby's official Villa d'Este auction in 2015. The owner of the vehicle, real estate magnate Peter Kalikow won't be too disappointed in not taking the class win. He has previously taken best of show at Villa d'Este in 2006 with his Ferrari 410 SA Coupé Pinin Farina and his extensive collection includes both short and long wheelbase 250 GT California Spiders, a 400 Superamerica Aerodinamico and the famous "one off" Ferrari 612 Kappa he commissioned Pininfarina to build for him.
Class E | Speed Meets Style:
The Flowering of the Sports and Racing Car
Winner: 1958 Ferrari 335 Sport Spider by Scaglietti
Already covered above as the best in show, this was perhaps the most competitive and expensive class on the show car, including a 1952 Jaguar C-Type, a 1955 Ferrari 750 Monza Spider, a 1955 Aston Martin DB3S, a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, a 1964 Porsche Carrera GTS Coupé and a 1969 Abarth 2000 Sport.
Mention of Honor: 1964 Porsche Carrera GTS Coupé
Porsche quit Formula One at the end of 1962 to go sports car racing and the two liter mid-engined aerodynamic 904 was the car it built, enhancing the company's already spectacular reputation for performance and reliability with a list of extraordinary racing results. It won its class at every major sports car race in the world, never stopped, and in one instance a customer picking his $7245 car up from the factory, drove it to the 1964 Reims 12 Hour race and won the class.
Only 106 road cars were built to satisfy homologation requirements, though the orders far exceeded the available cars, and not surprisingly, you'll pay well over $1,000,000 for one these days. The prognosis is good for fans of the car though, because you can buy a replica for less than $100,000 from either Martin and Walker in the United Kingdom or Chuck Beck in United States. This superb example is owned by Dr. Klaus-Otto Räker of Germany.
Class F | 80 Years Of Automotive Archaeology
Winner: 1913 SCAT 25/35 HP Landaulet
Milanese architect turned entrepreneur Corrado Lopresto has seemingly been showing cars at the world's most important concours events forever. His collection is regarded as one of the best in the world, and his cars have won 260 such awards, taken best in class 84 times, and best in show 56 times. Just as the fashion magazines can't wait to see what female actors will wear to the Oscars, petrolheads can't wait to see Corrado's latest automotive masterpiece whenever there's a concours of note.
SCAT (Società Ceirano Automobili Torino) was founded in 1906 by Giovanni Battista Ceirano, one of the four Ceirano brothers who helped found the proud Italian automobile industry, becoming ultimately responsible for the creation of eight different automotive marques, including selling their Welleyes production plant and patents to Giovanni Agnelli, which provided the technical basis for FIAT.
Hence when Lopresto's name cropped up as the owner of an entrant in Class F at this year's concours, a class entitled 80 Years of Automotive Archeology, everyone knew it was going to be something very special. It was.
This class is for cars that have had nothing more than the most sympathetic maintenance restoration – they are as they were when they were new, right down to the original paint.
Predictably, Lopresto added a few finishing touches, with period luggage on the roof of the 105 year old car. This was real time warp material, particularly in the equally historic grounds of the venue.
Mention of Honor: 1971 Lamborghini Miura P400SV by Bertone
Entrant:Andrej Friedman (CH)
Automotive Archaeology? This 1971 Miura looked like it had done quite a few miles at warp speed, yet is still in such remarkable condition that it nudged out a star-studded field of unmolested automotive museum exhibits for second place in the class, finishing ahead of a 1954 FIAT 8V, a 1958 FIAT 500 Spiaggia, and a 1967 Iso Grifo GL 350.
The Miura was conceived by Lamborghini's engineering team, which designed the car in its spare time against the wishes of company founder Ferruccio Lamborghini, who preferred powerful yet sedate grand touring cars over the race car-derived machines produced by local rival Ferrari. What followed changed the shape of supercars.
Class G | Hollywood On The Lake:
Stars Of The Silver Screen
Winner: 1970 Lancia Stratos Zero Coupé by Bertone
Owner: Phillip Sarofim, United States
This class, entitled Hollywood On The Lake: Stars Of The Silver Screen was the premier class and the theme of the 2018 Concorso d'Elegenza and several of the cars we list in our most expensive movie cars listing were in attendance, plus a raft of other cars and bikes from movies were on display in the rotunda. They are all pictured in the image gallery.
The spectacular Stratos Zero Concept became globally recognizable when the star-de-jour, Michael Jackson, produced the 1988 American anthology musical art film Moonwalker. In the film, Jackson morphs into this car which then flies past the bad guys and out of harm's way. Despite the Lancia Stratos Zero Coupé's stunning looks and pristine condition, it was far from favorite for the gong, as the field contained some instantly recognizable cars and motorcycles from memorable movies.
Mention of Honor: 1964 Aston Martin DB5
American banker and car collector Harry Yaeggy paid £2,912,000 ($4,595,998) in 2010 for the gadget-festooned Aston Martin DB5 used by James Bond in the movies Goldfinger (1964) and Thunderball (1965), a car that still sits in the top 10 of our list of the most valuable movie cars.
The rules for the show were quite different to our listings rules. Our list requires that a car featured in a movie, whereas this category also allowed cars that were owned by movie stars.
This meant that the Ghia-bodied 1953 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe Ghia commissioned by Prince Ali Salman Aga Khan as a gift for his wife, actress Rita Hayworth, was included in the class. Entrant: Petersen Automotive Museum
Similarly, the 1965 Ferrari 500 Superfast Pininfarina owned by Peter Sellers was also in this class, though to our knowledge, it didn't appear in a movie either. Entrant: Bénédicte & Véronique Laureys of Belgium
Also in this class was a 1958 BMW 507 Roadster once owned by Elvis Presley, which appeared in the film Hula-Hopp, Conny (1959). Entrant:Christian Traber (CH)
The final entrant in the class was the 1939 Delage D8-120 Cabriolet by Chapron that appeared in An American in Paris (1951) alongside Gene Kelly. Entrant: Peter Mullin (US)
Class H | When Sex Was Safe And Racing Was Dangerous: Formula One!
Winner: 1985 McLaren MP4/2B Monoposto
When Gerhard Berger competed in 1985 at the beginning of his career, he drove an Arrows-BMW, scoring just three points with a best result of fifth place. That season, the car he chased from distance was this 1985 McLaren driven by Niki Lauda and Alain Prost. Prost won the title and this MP4/2B (we don't know which one it was) crossed the line first seven times, for six wins and a disqualification after the race for being under the minimum weight. Berger obviously liked what he saw because he was the entrant of the car in Class H, aptly titled: When Sex Was Safe And Racing Was Dangerous: Formula One!
Berger drove at the highest level for 14 years, for Benetton (twice), Ferrari (twice) and he partnered Ayrton Senna at McLaren for three years, out-qualifying the legend no less than eight times. He also became closer to Senna than any other driver in the paddock, with the pair playing legendary pranks on each other across their three years in the same garage. Berger also subsequently mentored Bruno Senna as a nod to his fallen comrade.
The well-liked Berger finished a long career in F1 with 10 wins, 12 poles, and 21 fastest laps, but a championship escaped him. He twice finished third in the championship, fourth twice, plus three fifths, two sixths, two sevenths and an eighth.
Mention of Honor: 1954 Maserati 250F Monoposto by Fantuzzi
Owner: Guillermo Fierro-Eléta, Spain
Winning on debut in the hands of Juan Manuel Fangio in the 1954 Argentine Grand Prix, the 26 Maserati 250F Monopostos built won races across the world, two Formula One drivers championships before the constructors championship was inaugurated, and was the weapon of choice of many famous privateers including a young Stirling Moss who parlayed a promising 1954 season in the 250F into a works drive in the Mercedes-Benz W196 alongside Fangio in 1955. The second championship win came after Mercedes-Benz quit the sport after achieving its goals.
Trofeo FIVA
1936 Lancia Astura Series III Cabriolet by Pinin Farina
Owner: Anthony MacLean, Switzerland
This gorgeous Lancia Astura won the Trofeo FIVA for the best preserved pre-war car in addition to Class C: Shaped By The Wind: Grandes Routières Of The Art Deco Era.
Trofeo ASI
1968 Alfa Romeo 33/2 Stradale Coupé by Scaglione
For the best preserved post-war car, the Alfa Romeo 33/2 Stradale Coupé of Swiss collector Albert Spiess took the honour. It might look fully restored, but it is simply superbly conserved in the state it originally left the Alfa Romeo Autodelta workshops.
Trofeo Automobile Club Como
1928 Bentley 4 1⁄2 Litre Dual Cowl Torpedo by Jarvis & Sons
Most cars on display at Villa d'Este arrive by trailer and quite often by aircraft prior to the trailer. Each year, the Automobile Club Como awards a trophy to the car driven from farthest away, and there have been some extensive journeys undertaken to claim this prize. The trip this year was shorter than usual, having been driven by Mauritius van Son from nearby Switzerland. This is, no doubt, a sign of the times, as most of the cars at Villa d'Este are near priceless. Check out the photo gallery and check out the "dual cowl" – a second windscreen for the rear seat occupants.
FIVA Best Preserved Vehicle Award Partner Of UNESCO
1913 SCAT 25/35 HP Landaulet
The second award of the show for Corrado Lopresto's SCAT Landaulet, which also won Class F | 80 Years Of Automotive Archaeology.
Trofeo BMW Group Classic
1930 Cadillac V16 Roadster by Fleetwood
Owner: Frederick Lax, United States
This was the second award of the Concorso for the Cadillac Sixteen, being awarded for the most sensitive restoration by the Jury.
Trofeo Rolls-Royce
1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom Brougham de Ville
Owner: Frédérick Leroux, France
Having already prevailed in Class B, defined as From Manhattan To Mayfair: The Golden Age Of Motoring Opulence, it was understandable that this Phantom I Brougham de Ville, with gold-plated exterior trim, would be selected by the jury as the most elegant Rolls-Royce of the Concorso.
Trofeo Vranken Pommery
1962 Ferrari 250 GTO by Scaglietti
Owner: Ann & Chris Cox, United States
The Trofeo Vranken Pommery is awarded by the jury at this event each year to "the best iconic car" and they don't come any more iconic than the fabled Ferrari 250 GTO, the most desirable sports car in history. It is also the most expensive car ever to sell at auction, and although unconfirmed (because gentlemen don't discuss such matters), a GTO is also believed to be the most expensive car to sell privately, anywhere, at any time. This particular example has it all, including having finished second twice in the Targa Florio in 1963 and 1964. The car still wears the Swedish national colours and the racing number of its owner and driver in the 1964 Targa Floria, Ulf Norinder. The distinctive livery is now synonymous with Chris Cox and wife Ann of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Most $50 million cars live a sedate life in climate controlled garages and the only time the engine gets started is to move it from the trailer to the concours lawn. This one gets driven all over the world. When it had a mishap during a GTO owners tour a few years back, it was restored to perfection by Ferrari Classiche.
Trofeo Julius Baer
1949 Bentley Mk VI Coupé by H.J. Mulliner
Owner: Fred Kriz – Monaco
The British coachbuilder H. J. Mulliner & Co originally began building horse-drawn carriages for the wealthy in the 1760s, graduating to horseless carriages in 1897. Not surprisingly, the automobiles created by the company have always been superb. This Bentley Mk VI Coupé by H.J. Mulliner won the Trofeo Julius Baer for the car at Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este that best showcased exceptional craftsmanship from its time.
Trofeo Auto & Design
1971 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV Coupé by Bertone
Owner: Andrej Friedmann, Switzerland
This award by the jury for the most exciting design was completely understandable. When Marcello Gandini's Lamborghini Miura P400 was first shown at the 1966 Geneva show, it created quite a stir with its flowing lines and the first rear mid-engined two-seat layout that is now commonplace in supercar territory.
"...the 435 kilometres to Paris in just under 1½ hours in the Type 57 ... at an average of 77 mph"
If this is really an accurate quote of what the magazine said, it could use a (sic)