We experience Villa d’Este’s parade of four-wheeled masterpieces and their keepers

It’s nearly 100 years since the first Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este was held on the shores of Italy’s Lake Como. Initially a showcase for the latest and greatest in coachbuilt automotive design, the Concorso’s first run ended after 20 years in 1949. Revived in 1995 as a destination event for the elite end of the classic car market, the Concorso has gone from strength to strength, partly due to the close involvement of the BMW Group, which provides essential patronage and media support and uses the event as a springboard for some of its most innovation design ideas.

We’ve been attending the Concorso in one way or another for many years (past stories include reports on 2009, 2011, featuring the wonderful photographs of Henrik Jauert, 2014, when BMW revealed the sublime little Mini Superleggera Vision, 2015, and 2018. But like any good social event, it doesn’t really matter what’s being exhibited or who’s in charge – the destination is the draw and Como in May is one of the loveliest spots in Europe.

The combination of lakeside ambience and unfettered access to glorious automobiles certainly make this a paradise for regular car spotters. But for exhibitors and their retinues, it’s very much a velvet rope experience, with classic cars providing a golden ticket to a bygone world of old money, tradition and hierarchy. All this is much in evidence as I stroll around the grounds of the Villa. While journos make knowing jokes about gearshift patterns and supercar moguls, or brag about recent achievements ('I knew a couple of the crew, so I went from superbike to super stock to world endurance.'), the exhibitors greet each like the old friends they surely are, reeling off well-worn anecdotes about who owns this and who sold that.

A substantial proportion of attendees are elderly (‘For me, it’s all about the research,’ says an old American man wistfully standing in front of a meticulously restored and monumental 1920s sedan), with just a few younger, flashier collectors mingling through the crowds. Everyone is reeling from the twin assault of Aperol and champagne (Pommery), cigar smoke wafts around like vapes and – on this first evening reception – it’s all about old friends reconnecting and reminiscing.

The global media contingent isn’t staying at the Villa d’Este itself – that luxury has been reserved for competitors. Instead, we’re along the shore in the Hilton Lake Como, far from shabby and a useful way of getting to know the geography of the area. Whatever made the region great for classic car rallies in the pre-war years no longer applies.

Concorso weekend lures thousands and as the BMW Classics coach crawls along the edge of the lake it seems to brush the crowds and only just makes it through Como’s narrow streets. Hosting an automotive in this limited space feels like madness. It’s a place where the most effective form of mobility (and also the ultimate driving machine) is a Riva powerboat but no matter - the lakeside goes car crazy for a few days and congestion is the result. Regardless of what you’re driving, you’re doing it very slowly.

Day one: the launch event at Villa d’Este

Image 1 of 10

The first evening very much belongs to BMW, who host cocktails, dinner (media kept very separately from participants) and three important launches. In addition to a new BMW M2 CS model, a concept motorbike, the company also unveiled the BMW Concept Speedtop, an elegant grand tourer that’ll eventually become a limited-edition coachbuilt model, using the platform from the BMW 8-Series. ‘It looks like a Purosangue,’ someone behind me mutters in Italian, although the difference is that while this bespoke BMW will probably require Ferrari money, it certainly won’t have the Ferrari brand cachet.

BMW enjoys undeniable cultural kudos in hosting the event, which briefly becomes one of Europe’s most concentrated spots of wealth. Just 59 cars were exhibited here, compared to well over 200 at the Pebble Beach Concours, making it a truly select event, as well as one that’s easy on the feet. The company’s own heritage game is strong, yet not as strong as say, Porsche or Mercedes, both of whom have a far greater racing and luxury heritage.

Nevertheless, BMW’s marketing department must have breathed a sigh of relief when an immaculate white 1957 BMW 507 belonging to American collector Dirk de Groen (President at BMW Classic Car Club of America, no less) won the prestigious Coppo d’Oro, based on the accumulated votes of Saturday’s visitors. As a saxophone and bongo player start to stalk the post-dinner, post-launch crowd, it’s time to find a shuttle back to the Hilton.

Day two: First day at the Villa d’Este

Day two starts early. With tickets strictly limited on the Saturday, it never feels especially crowded and the atmosphere is even more clubbable now that all the entrants are lined up in their class categories. 2025 groupings included ‘Frozen in time: preservation ‘time capsules’ from 1900 to 1973 which have survived in unrestored state,’ ‘Vanishing Act: gone but proudly not forgotten’ and ‘Glorious Excess: the evolution of the ‘money no object’ motor car, 1920-1940’.

A vintage seaplane makes a couple of passes before landing farther down the lake, its engine briefly competing with the clatter of noisy old combustion engines sparking into life, coaxed by arcane procedures, part muscle memory, part vanishing industrial heritage. No-one keeps their engine on for long, thankfully, but the forbidden umami of carbon monoxide, engine oil, old leather and unburnt fuel pollutes the usually clean lakeside air.

‘Villa d’Este is an appointment we never want to miss,’ says BMW’s Adrian van Hooydonk, and the European love of ceremony, theatre and ostentatious presentation is very much in evidence. Panama hats and linen suits are accessorised with pocket squares and leather-cased cameras. Trousers are occasionally riotously coloured and although there’s only one example of Goodwood-revival style period cosplay, complete with matching canine, everyone is best dressed and on best behaviour. The press makes itself known via selfie sticks, long lenses and stabilised camera rigs, but for the most part, influencers do not appear to have been invited.

Instead, it’s a realm of unimaginable, almost imperial wealth. Dealers and auctioneers proclaim that buyers are getting younger, just like the classics they covet, and there were a few fresher faces in amongst the owners. However, it was more common to see youngsters as part of multi-generational groups, here to exhibit a car that might have been in family ownership for generations.

The biggest disconnect is between those who use their cars and those who squirrel them away as investments. Naturally, only the former venture to events like this, where cars get to be driven regardless of age or value. A back of the envelope calculation reveals that the ten awarded cars at the 2024 Concorso had a total worth well in excess of €100m, and 2025 was probably no different. Most cars are part of a larger collection, undertakings that requires staff, maintenance and copious space. Even the most generous available insurance package wouldn’t cover the value of many of these cars and it’s notable that such collections often reside at undisclosed locations.

BMW has swapped out its poster car – a bright yellow 507 – for a display celebrating 100 years of the Rolls-Royce Phantom, courtesy of the one-off Phantom Goldfinger alongside the 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Sedanca de Ville used in the 1964 James Bond film. There’s only one EV on site, Lotus’s Theory One, entered into the five-strong ‘Concept Cars & Prototypes’ category. Its designer – and temporary custodian for the weekend – Ben Payne looks a little bit like he’s won the lottery, staying in Como and getting to introduce the British company’s hypothetical electrical hypercar to a moneyed European audience that has never clapped eyes on it, let alone heard of it.

As I walk back to the Hilton, past largely stationary traffic, I pass a couple of satellite events, including a display by the restomod specialists Kimera and their Lancia-inspired EVO38 and a couple of others, as well as the FuoriConcorso, a spin-off event started in 2019 and held in the steeply sloped gardens of the nearby Villa Grumello and Villa Sucota. The local traffic also appears to have had a bit of a glow-up, with every car park and traffic jam replete with supercars and classics.

Day three: auctions, exhibitions and trophies at the Villa Erba

The next day, the entire fleet of entrants decamps for the Villa Erba, a few hundred metres along the lake front. Once again, the cars line up noisily on the lawns in front of the nineteenth century villa, providing fresh backdrops and juxtapositions for the army of influencers and camera-wielding enthusiasts. Today is a public day, with around four times the expected visitors than at the relatively exclusive Villa d’Este the day before. In addition to the 59 cars in competition, you’ll also find more space given over to BMW, as well as a delectable spread of classics old and new being auctioned off by specialist auctioneers Broad Arrow, another partner organisation.

Image 1 of 6

This year’s auction struggled slightly to match the wealth of cars in the competition. Broad Arrow held a BMW-only sale on the Saturday night, but reserved its big for Sunday, with the exhibition rotunda stuffed full of everything from pedal cars to supercars, with racing machines, one-offs and well patinated barn finds, one of which – a dainty Fiat Abarth OT 1300 race car - even has a fine collection of feline paw prints on its dusty windshield.

That Abarth went for €345k against an estimate of €400k and many other cars seemingly underperformed. ‘Such a good buy,’ the auctioneer remarked (through gritted teeth) as a 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS Touring went for €400k against an estimate of €425k. A 1948 Ferrari 166 Spyder Corsa went for €6.7m, well below the top estimate of €7.5m, while a rare 1938 Talbot-Lago T150 C Lago Spéciale Teardrop Coupé went for €3.2m, some €1.2m under estimate. Little wonder its beaming new owner skipped over to the immaculate black car, with its Art Deco body by Figoni et Falaschi, and proceeded proceeds to have a family photograph taken in front of it.

At dinner the night before I had learned a little bit about the ins and outs of global car auctions, where consignees are effectively secret agents with ninja level social skills, a virtual Rolodex of potential consignors and encyclopaedic knowledge of the significant collections around the world. The largest of these tend to be common knowledge, with everyone after the same few unicorns that rarely come to market. Should they desire, top collectors can live like casino high rollers, shuttled from auction to auction with accommodation thrown in in the hope they'll show their face in the sales room and put in a bid.

It was also time to announce the winners of the judging panel, an august group of industry specialists and aficionados (previous judges have included Jony Ive and Norman Foster). The overall winner was the 1934 Alfa Romeo Tipo B (P3), one of the earliest and most influential of the single-seat F1 racing cars. A concours win is a big deal for a car’s value and reputation, with a trophy to add to the history folder. Another key sponsor, A. Lange und Söhne, provided the winner with a unique white gold 1815 Chronograph.

Villa d’Este retains a unique place in the global calendar of car culture, despite its exclusivity and rarefied air. Given the stratospheric values of the competitors, the event serves as a kind of living museum, a place where these rare machines can be seen and heard in the wild. However, for a lucky visitor who’s also a casual enthusiast, the people watching is just as fascinating as the cars themselves.

Concorsodeleganzavilladeste.com, BMWGroup-classic.com, BroadArrowAuctions.com