Villa d’Este Concours d’Elegance 2016

Dostoevskji once said that “beauty will save the world”. In this short sentence we can understand why beauty should be celebrated: it’s knowledge, culture, peace and ultimately the best possible thing that humanity can work for. We all need to work hard to fulfill the need of creating something that is worth the time we spend making it and enjoying it.
The Universe of vintage motoring is filled with magnificent examples of cars that fully embody the artistic inspiration of their designers. Concurs d’Elegance are the events where visitors and enthusiasts alike get the chance to enjoy the wonders of automotive creative freedom.
Beauty always needs to be celebrated as the saviour of humanity: Fedor Dostoevskij’s famous quote could be found in every concur around the world. The happiness and amaziement that you get in seeing extraordinary things, the surprise and interest you feel knowing the story of the people who worked and drove these cars has no equal.
Villa d’Este is never a boring event, and it’s one of the most incredible showcases of pure and timeless Automotive artistry. Since BMW Classic organizes the Concur, it celebrated its 100 years history with a series of stunning Hommage concepts cars which paid tribute to some of the Marque’s most iconic vehicles. At Villa Erba there were the tributes to the 328, 1977 320 Group 5, the M1, the Mini, and the 2002 Turbo, all stating the identity of BMW throughout its first century.
The 2016 edition saw 9 classes with 106 cars in total, ranging from the pre wars luxury cars of various brands, exclusive Rolls Royces and to rally cars. Each year, there is also a class reserved for modern concept cars: this year, visitors could admire the new Aston Martin Zagato Concept, the Bugatti Vision Grand Turismo, the Pininfarina H2 and the stunning new Renault Alpine Vision. I could join che chorus of enthusiasts by begging all these manufacturers (except Bugatti, which already did) to turn all of them into serious production cars.
The highlights of the cars participating were a Squire 1 1/2 litre, which showed the wonders of the Wilson pre-selector gearbox transmission, A Lancia Astura 3rd Series Aerodinamica by Castagna, Bentley T Speciale Pininfarina, finished restoring 2 days before the Concur, The first Alfa Romeo Giuliezza SZ Conda Tronca #170, the first ever 911 to race officially a 1966 model driven by Herman Linge in the Rally Monte Carlo and the famous BMC Mini Cooper S that raced with the open bonnet at the hands of Timo Makinen.