2012 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este report and gallery ...

[Wouter Melissen]

Celebrating its 140th season as a luxury hotel this year, Villa d'Este hosted the annual 'Concorso d'Eleganza' on Saturday. First held in 1929, it is one of the oldest events of its type and accordingly it is steeped in tradition. Among them is the private nature of the show and a relatively low number of entries; 51 in this edition. Each year sees new classes emphasising various themes and trends. Among theses classes in 2012 were one for 'Art of Streamlining', 'The Ferrari 250 Dynasty' and the 'Heroes of Le Mans'. This resulted in a very varied entry that ranged from early Rolls-Royces to a Lamborghini Countach and a Gulf-liveried Porsche 917K. These same cars, completed by a collection of motorcycles, bubble cars and Motorsport BMWs, were lined up the following day at the nearby Villa Erba for the event's public day. As tradition dictates the main trophy, the 'Coppa d'Oro', is picked by public referendum at Villa d'Este. To be more in line with similar events, there is also a best of show picked by the specialist Jury and the public at Villa Erba can also pick a winner. As happened only once before, each of the three groups came to the same conclusion and we would be the last to say they were wrong.
Our photographers spent the better part of three days on the shores of Lake Como to capture the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este in its entirety. Their mouth-watering 200-shot gallery serves to illustrate a class-by-class report featuring most of the event's highlights. For good measure, we have also added a 50-shot gallery from Villa Erba.
As always, you can expect more detailed features on the individual cars that starred at Villa d'Este in the coming days and weeks.

Enjoy the links:

2012 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este - Report and Slideshow