The Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2013 was held the weekend of 24-26 May at the Grand Hotel Villa d’Este and neighboring Villa Erba on Lake Como in Cernobbio, Italy. A crowd of more than 6,000 patrons 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 2013 edition of the Villa d’Este Concorso brought together 50 cars and 35 motorcycles from widely varying eras in automotive history. In addition, six concept vehicles and prototypes went on show, each representing their own distinctive perspective on automotive design. Away from the competition, the event also provided the setting for the world premiere of the BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupe and the BMW Concept Ninety.
The Trofeo BMW Group, awarded “Best of Show” by the judges at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2013 went to the 1938 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic, while the historic Coppa d’Oro Villa d’Este – Best of Show by Public Referendum at Villa d’Este was also awarded to the Bugatti owned by Ralph Lauren. Known as the ‘Atlantic’, the Bugatti Type 57SC on display is one of four examples of this automobile built between 1937 and 1938 at the legendary factory in the Alsace. The ‘masterpiece’ of Jean Bugatti, son of company founder Ettore Bugatti, the winning Atlantic is chassis number four in the production run.
In the Concorso d’Eleganza Design Award for Concept cars and Prototypes, the public voted for the 2013 Alfa Romeo Disco Volante by Touring. The car pays homage to the Alfa Romeo 1900 C52 “Disco Volante”, a coupe with unique characteristics that sees its 60th anniversary this year. The backbone of the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante by Touring is the chassis of the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, powered by a 450 HP, 4.7-litre V8 that propels the Alfa to a top speed of 290 km/h.
“The competition entrants and the special exhibitions at this year’s event have taken it to a quite extraordinary level,” commented Dr. Ralf Rodepeter, Director of the BMW Museum and member of the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2013 Selecting Committee. “We’re therefore delighted that more than 6,000 visitors came along to experience the event on the Sunday alone.”
Classes at the 2013 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este included Prancing Horse vs. Trident (Ferrari and Maserati), California Dreamin’, Racing Improves the Breed, an Aston Martin class in honor of their 100th anniversary and a Lamborghini class to celebrate the 50th birthday of the marque, among others.
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Senior Photographer Tim Scott documented the 2013 Villa d’Este Concours d’Elegance, offering up a seductive series of images from the shores of Lake Como. We split up Tim’s 275 pictures into two galleries. The first gallery features our top 80 images, all displayed in the full-width view of our website, while the second gallery (and event results) are found on the last page of the article and gives a comprehensive view of all the photographs. To see more from Tim, visit fluidimages.co.uk.
Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2013 – Top Photo Gallery
1961 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato and 1948 Aston Martin Two litre Sports Spa Replica
1965 Ferrari Dino 166P / 206P
1956 Talbot-Lago T14 LS Coupe by Letourneur and Marchand
1950 Maserati A6G 2000 Cabriolet by Frua
1951 Ferrari 212 Export Barchetta
1980 BMW M1
1933 MG Magnette K3 is one of the three team cars that won the team prize in the 1933 Mille Miglia.
1965 Lamborghini 350 GTS Spider by Touring
1972 Lamborghini Muira SV by Bertone
1966 Lamborghini 400 GT Shooting Brake by Touring
Fantastic photos! Thank you!
Wow. Lambo 400GT Shooting Brake. Dont see that every day.
Beautiful photos, Tim Scott. I envy you your job — it’s like being paid to eat ice cream!
A very fine pictorial job and adequate text in what were obviously less than favourable conditions.
The print mags cannot equal this spread of pictorial coverage.
Went to this event a couple of years back & Pebble Beach a couple of times in the 1990s, looks like the Italians have it locked out for classy classics you do not see elsewhere.
BRILIANT SHOW,briliant cars, fantastic photography,
SCD triumphs…again! Sensational photography and posting. A little bit of rain just reminds us that these are real cars being driven in a real world, even it is not quite the world of most of us, from afar.
Did your reporter not realise that the most famous car at the event was the yellow Aston Martin DBS that Roger Moore and Tony Curtis used in every episode of the TV series “The Persuaders!”? This TV series was a massive hit all over the world (though less so in the USA). Your report doesn’t event mention this, whereas some other major motoring websites ONLY headline Ralph Lauren’s Bugatti and The ‘Persuaders’ DBS!! Come on guys get your act together!
Our apologies for missing the interesting history of your DBS, but we often run into these issues at major events like the Villa d’Este. Simply put, all fifty or so cars deserve a major mention, yet we simply cannot dig into the details on all of them.
Thanks for your reply – perfectly understandable. Not my car by the way (I wish!) – just a fan. Would have loved to have been able to go to the event and see it just once in the metal!