Europe’s finest classic cars and their lucky owners came together this past weekend on the shores of Lake Como in Italy for the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2013. Like every year, the lineup of historical cars and motorcycles was exceptional, a fact highlighted by the quality of this year’s winners.
The jury awarded the Trofeo BMW Group for “best of show” to the 1938 Bugatti 57SC Atlantic, a stunning example owned by Ralph Lauren. The car was also the public’s favorite, who gave it the Coppa d’Oro Villa d’Este prize. Bugatti only made four Atlantics, of which only two survive today. The winner is powered by a 3.3-liter twincam straight-8 engine producing somewhere between 200 and 210 horsepower. Top speed is said to be 130 mph (209 km/h).
In the class of Concept Cars and Prototypes, the winner was the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante by Touring Superleggera.
“The competition entrants and the special exhibitions at this year’s event have taken it to a quite extraordinary level,” said 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.”
50 cars and 35 motorcycles from various eras in automotive history entered this year’s Concorso, with six concept vehicles and prototypes competing in the class of Concept Cars and Prototypes. Outside the BMW Group-organized contest, the German carmaker displayed the BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupé and the BMW Concept Ninety motorcycle.
This year the Concorso di Motociclette, launched in 2011, was dedicated to the “90 years of BMW Motorrad” anniversary. A special exhibition at Villa Erba featured over 30 models from BMW’s history of bikes, including the BMW R 32 – the company’s first motorcycle – presented in 1923. The winner of the Trofeo BMW Group was the IMZ M-35K.
By Dan Mihalascu
PHOTO GALLERY
