Seriously, is there a nicer place to hold a concours?
Gudrun Muschalla / BMW Group
Located on the shores of Lake Como in the foothills of the Italian Alps, Villa d’Este is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. Riva boats pass by and seaplanes buzz overhead while cappuccinos and champagne cocktails are served in the lush courtyards to fashionable cigarette-smoking guests.
Originally built in 1568 by architect Pellegrino Tibaldi for the Cardinal of Como, Villa d’Este opened as a luxury hotel in 1873, a place to take a break while you walk around the grounds. It is part of a European history book and part of a romantic landscape. Folks, it’s idyllic AF.
Villa d’Este is the perfect place for a chic auto show and has hosted the Concorso d’Eleganza since 1929. The next analog we have in the US is the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, arguably the pinnacle of American automotive events. But now that I’ve had the chance to visit both, I have to say Villa d’Este is the Villa d’Best. Here’s why.
A maximum of 50 cars are exhibited per year.
Gudrun Muschalla / BMW Group
Smaller is better
Villa d’Este doesn’t have the vast square meters of the concours lawn on Pebble Beach. And because of this, it limits the number of cars that can be present. Pebble has about 200. Villa d’Este? Not more than 50.
You’d think that would make it less interesting, and I’ll admit, after my first run through, I thought, “Huh, I guess that’s it.” It turns out that’s totally good. I could spend more time with each car, thinking about the details and listening to the owners tell their stories. I drove past cars and noticed things that I hadn’t noticed before. Oh, and most of all, the slower pace made it easier to take in the beautiful scenery. Also more breaks for coffee and champagne.
I’m pretty sure that as a kid I had posters of each of these cars on my bedroom walls.
Gudrun Muschalla / BMW Group
There is a wider choice of cars
With only 50 cars present – 47 in fact; There were three no-shows this year – the organizers of Villa d’Este take great care to avoid duplicates. And if there are similar entries, they are at least different enough to be interesting, like this year’s Mercedes-Benz 300SL Alloy Coupe from 1955 and the 300SL Roadster from 1963. Don’t get me wrong, I love that Pebble Beach whole Has classes for a specific automaker or car – where else are you going to see a whole bunch of Porsche 917s? But the finely tuned diversity of the Villa d’Este also makes it so special. Each entry is really unique.
In addition, Villa d’Este enables a more comprehensive representation of automotive history. This year I screwed up the whole class of 1990s hypercars – none of which you will find in Pebble Beach. For someone like me in my mid-30s, cars like the Bugatti EB110, Ferrari F50, Isdera Commendatore, McLaren F1, Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR and Porsche 911 GT1 are absolute icons. I had so many posters of it on my bedroom walls; Seeing them all in one place is just … well, let’s just say, I had a moment.
The car that won the Concorso d’Eleganza 2021 was a 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Tour de France, which in itself is significant as post-war cars rarely win major concours events like this one. It just shows that Villa d’Este is moving in a more progressive direction than Pebble Beach, making it more accessible to younger generations. These shows aren’t just for old money, after all.
Let the good times rest.
Gudrun Muschalla / BMW Group
Car companies have not made an auto show out of it
The Pebble Beach Concours takes place at the end of Monterey Car Week, an event so big and jam-packed with debuts and first rides that we pretty much treat it like a full-blown car show. And while the Concours itself is limited to old cars, there’s enough abundance from the rest of Monterey Car Week that it’s hard to ignore the huge corporate presence. Companies have full-surface, dealer-like displays on the driveway leading to the main box, and executives hold round tables and interviews for the media present. Hell, the entire Pebble Beach putting green turns into a cordoned off concept lawn where half of the cars on display are not concepts at all. #Brands.
That’s not to say that Villa d’Este is without automaker involvement; this year the Bugatti Centodieci and Hispano Suiza Carmen unique pieces were made along with Lamborghini’s extremely cool Countach LP500 replica, although I’ll go through this as it’s basically a reborn 1971 prototype. The BMW Group is also the main sponsor of the Concorso d’Eleganza, but even then the connections to new vehicles are limited. Outside the event space, BMW had a small exhibition of M5 and M8 Models and in one of the courtyards of the villa, Rolls-Royce presented the boat tail built as a body. BMW has also used Villa d’Este as a venue to debut new concept cars, although like the Lambo mentioned above, They usually have a vintage twist.
But even with that limited stake, Villa d’Este feels largely organic by comparison. In Pebble Beach, the jury field is lined with hospitality suites from the automobile manufacturers and the participants can take part in a raffle to win new Lexus or Mercedes-Benz crossovers. I know corporate sponsorship keeps events like this alive, but a pared-back approach like the Concorso d’Eleganza is a lot more fun for everyone.
I hope it stays that way forever.
Check out the Concorso d’Eleganza 2021 at the Villa d’Este. around
View all photos
Publisher’s Note: Travel expenses related to this story were covered by the manufacturer, which is common in the auto industry. The judgments and opinions of Roadshow staff are our own and we do not accept paid editorial content.
Sit in the driver’s seat to get the latest car news and reviews in your inbox twice a week.
The post The Concorso d’Eleganza in the Villa d’Este is my new favorite car show first appeared on monter-une-startup.
