The Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2014 was held the weekend of 23-25 May at the Grand Hotel Villa d’Este and neighboring Villa Erba on Lake Como in Cernobbio, Italy. Warm temperatures greeted the thousands of visitors that traveled to the shores of Lake Como for this exquisite and tradition-steeped display of historical and prototype automobiles.
First held at the same location in 1929, the Villa d’Este Concours d’Elegance has been held each May since 1999 on the grounds of the Grand Hotel Villa d’Este and the adjacent parkland of Villa Erba under the patronage of the BMW Group. Set against the incomparable backdrop of Northern Italy’s Lake Como, the 2014 edition of the Villa d’Este Concorso brought together 50 cars and 35 motorcycles from widely varying eras in automotive history.
The Trofeo BMW Group, awarded “Best of Show” by the judges at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2014 went to the 1956 Maserati 450S owned by Albert Spiess, while the historic Coppa d’Oro Villa d’Este – Best of Show by Public Referendum at Villa d’Este was awarded to the 1931 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Spider Aprile of Corrado Lopresto. In the Concorso d’Eleganza Design Award for Concept cars and Prototypes, the public voted for the Maserati Alfieri, and the highlight of the fourth Concorso di Motociclette was the presentation of the Trofeo BMW Group for motorcycles to the vintage 1929 Opel Motoclub Supersport.
Among the other highlights of the 85th edition of the event were the special exhibitions for the 110th anniversary of Rolls-Royce and the centenary of Maserati. Selected as class winners by the jury were the 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Boat Tail and the Maserati V4 Sport, a Zagato-designed spider from 1929. Another competition class at the Concours d’Elegance Villa d’Este 2014 was dedicated to the umbrella theme for this year’s event, the glitz and glamour of the Roaring Twenties, while further classes included Gone With The Wind; Villa d’Este Style; From St. Tropez to Portofino; Le Fuoriserie; Gentlemen Drivers and Da Corsa.
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Similar to the 2012 and 2013 events, photographer Dirk de Jager also documented the 2014 Villa d’Este Concours d’Elegance, offering the following gallery showing the entrants set against the wonderful backdrop of Lake Como. We split up Dirk’s pictures into two galleries. The first gallery starting below features our favorite images, all displayed in the full-width view of Sports Car Digest, while the second gallery can be found on the last page of the article and gives a comprehensive view of all the photographs.
Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2014 – Featured Photo Gallery
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Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2014 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Two
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Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2014 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Three
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Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2014 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Four
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Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2014 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Five
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Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2014 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Six
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Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2014 – Main Photo Gallery (click image for larger picture and description)
Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2014 – Overall Award Winners
Trofeo BMW Group, Best of Show by the Jury
Maserati, 450 S, Roadster, Fantuzzi, 1956 – Albert Spiess – CH
Coppa d’Oro Villa d’Este, Best of Show by Public Referendum at Villa d’Este for Historic Cars
Alfa Romeo, 6C 1750 GS, Spider, Zagato / Aprile, 1931, Corrado Lopresto – IT
Trofeo BMW Group Italia, By Public Referendum at Villa Erba for Historic Cars
Alfa Romeo, 6C 1750 GS, Spider, Zagato / Aprile, 1931, Corrado Lopresto – IT
Trofeo BMW Group Ragazzi, By Young People’s Referendum (until the age of 16) at Villa Erba for Historic Cars
Alfa Romeo, 6C 1750 GS, Spider, Zagato / Aprile, 1931, Corrado Lopresto – IT
Design Award for Concept Cars & Prototypes, By Public Referendum at Villa Erba
Maserati, “Alfieri”, Coupe 8 Cyl. 4700, 2014, Harald Wester – IT
Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2014 – Class Winners and Mention of Honor, Historic Cars
Class A: Rolls-Royce
Class Winner, Rolls-Royce, Phantom II, Boat Tail, Gurney Nutting, 1934, Anthony Bamford – UK
Mention of Honour, Rolls-Royce, Silver Cloud I, Enclosed Estate, Harold Radford, 1959, Marcello Fratini – IT
Class B: The Great Gatsby
Class Winner, Hispano Suiza, H6 B, Sedanca Landaulette, Chapron, 1922, Alexander Schaufler – AT
Mention of Honour, Duesenberg, A Straight 8, Roadster, Millspaugh & Irish, 1923, Peter Heydon – US
Class C: Gone With The Wind
Class Winner, Alfa Romeo, 6C 1750 GS, Spider, Zagato / Aprile, 1931, Corrado Lopresto – IT
Mention of Honour, BMW, 328 Coupe, Streamline, Wendler, 1937, Bernhard Knöchlein – DE
Class D: Villa d’Este Style
Class Winner, Ferrari, 250 Europa, Berlinetta, Pinin Farina,1953, Jan de Reu – BE
Mention of Honour, Alfa Romeo, 6C 2500 SS, Berlinetta Aerlux, Touring, 1949, Heiko Seekamp – DE
Class E: From St. Tropez to Portofino
Class Winner, Ferrari, 250 GT LWB California, Spider, Scaglietti, 1959, Sarah Allen – UK
Mention of Honour, Mercedes-Benz, 300 SL, Roadster, Mercedes-Benz, 1958, Christian Kramer – DE
Class F: Le Fuoriserie
Class Winner, Fiat Abarth, 2000 Scorpione, Coupe, Pininfarina, 1969, Shiro Kosaka – JP
Mention of Honour, Ferrari, 250 GT SWB, Berlinetta Bertone, 1959, William Heinecke – TH
Class G: Maserati
Class Winner, Maserati, V4 Sport, Spider, Zagato, 1929, Lawrence Auriana – US
Mention of Honour, Maserati, A6GCS, Berlinetta, Pinin Farina,1953, Matteo Panini – IT
Class H: Gentlemen Drivers
Class Winner, Ferrari, 250 GT Tour de France, Berlinetta, Scaglietti, 1957, Destriero Collection – MC
Mention of Honor, Mercedes-Benz, 300 SL, Alloy – Coupe, Gullwing, 1955, Bernardo Hartogs – BR
Class I: Da Corsa
Class Winner, Maserati, 450 S, Roadster, Fantuzzi, 1956, Albert Spiess – CH
Mention of Honour, Jaguar, D-Type, Open 2-Seater, Jaguar, 1954, Peter Neumark – UK
Trofeo FIVA, To the best preserved pre-war car
Rolls-Royce, Silver Ghost, Roi des Belges, Barker, 1908, Mark de Ferranti – UK
Trofeo ASI, To the best preserved post-war car
Hudson, Italia Prototype H01, Coupe, Touring, 1953, Jan Dyck – BE
Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2014 – Special Prizes by the Jury
Trofeo BMW Group Classic, For the most sensitive restoration by the Jury
Lancia, Astura Type 233, Cabriolet, Pinin Farina, 1936, Orin Smith – US
Trofeo Rolls-Royce, To the most elegant Rolls-Royce by the Jury
Rolls-Royce, Silver Cloud III, Drophead Coupe, Mulliner, 1963, Paolo Bianchi – IT
Trofeo Vranken Pommery, To the best iconic car by the Jury
Shelby American, 427 Competition Cobra, Roadster, AC Cars Ldt., 1965, Gary Bartlett – US
Trofeo Foglizzo, The best interior design by the Jury
Mercedes-Benz, 300 SL Alloy, Coupe Gullwing, 1955, Bernardo Hartogs – BR
Trofeo Roeckl, For the best overall appearance of car, driver and passenger by the Jury
Hispano Suiza, H6 B, Sedanca Landaulette, Chapron, 1922, Alexander Schaufler – AT
Trofeo Auto and Design, To the most exciting design by the Jury
Maserati, A6GCS, Berlinetta, Pinin Farina, 1953, Matteo Panini – IT
Trofeo Automobile Club di Como, To the car driven from farthest away
Mercedes-Benz, 300 SL, Roadster, Mercedes-Benz, 1958, Christian Kramer – DE
The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
[Source: Concorso Villa d’Este; photos: Dirk de Jager]
Stunning pictures! I don’t see any current car except the AM Vantage or the 911 marrying functionality and style without falling into caricature. Even my 24-year old son was impressed by the beauty of a rare 275 GTB passing by on the street, a car he had never seen before. Elegance has no age but meanwhile bad taste has got the bigger wallet.
The number plate LOV 1, on the AC Cobra, is famous and will be known to all racing enthusiasts, at least the older ones, as in the 60s it was on the Lotus Elite, raced by Graham
Warner and owned by his Chequered Flag garage and team. So how after all these years, did it end up on this Cobra?
no mention of the Zagato 5-95 commissioned by Albert Spiess which was unveiled here ?