Now in its second year, the Concorso d’Eleganza Varignana 1705 closes out the European concours season and finally gives Italy’s Motor Valley its own high-end car show after decades of providing the eye candy for events elsewhere. The event was held at the hilltop resort of Palazzo di Varignana near Bologna, a short drive from Ferrari in Maranello and Lamborghini in Sant’Agata. This year’s event attracted an expanded field of 35 cars, compared to 23 last year.
The competition included examples from world-class collections that have won some of the top prizes in historic motorsport, including Best in Show at Villa d’Este. This year too there was an increasingly international list of participants, with, in addition to the beautiful Italian collections, also cars from Germany and Japan. The judges included British architect, author and esthete Stephen Bayley, Peter Read of the Royal Automobile Club, and Adolfo Orsi, automotive historian and scion of the noble family that founded Maserati in nearby Modena.
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The event’s popularity among collectors has a lot to do with its location. Founded in 2013 by fintech entrepreneur Carlo Gheradi, the Varignana estate now includes approximately 1,235 hectares of vineyards and olive groves, a 150-room hotel, six private villas, four restaurants and a spa. But despite its scale, the resort is artfully and subtly integrated into the landscape. And for owners used to displaying their cars at events with a shortage of overnight accommodations and long lines to get in, the Concorso d’Eleganza Varignana 1705 is a revelation. Anyone can stay at the property and the cars are on display a minute’s walk from breakfast. After the scorching temperatures during some summer events this year, the balmy early autumn climate in Emilia Romagna was welcome, as was the wine, olive oil and even saffron produced on the estate and served during a series of gourmet lunches and dinners during the events. three days.
Public day tickets cost from just €35 (about $39) to keep the event accessible, and the resort offers living packages for enthusiasts who want to attend but don’t have a car on display. To guarantee the right atmosphere, visitor numbers are kept low. Therefore, we recommend booking early for next year as the popularity of the event is likely to increase. Until then, here are our favorites from this year’s field, including the Best-in-Show winner.
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Fiat 508 CS Berlinetta Mille Miglia from 1936
This car is proof – as if it were needed – that Italy can make small cars with the same sprezzatura as its eight- and twelve-cylinder supercars. Fiat’s 508 model – colloquially known as the ‘Ballila’ – was one of the first small, affordable Italian cars and is therefore historically important as a precursor to the tens of millions of Fiat 500s, Pandas and other small, characterful Italian runabouts that followed. .
This competition version is designed for racing in events in colder northern Italian climates, such as the Mille Miglia from which it takes its name. The closed body is one of the earliest examples of wind tunnel-developed aerodynamics, so the teardrop shape is both achingly beautiful and gives it even greater historical significance. Of the approximately one hundred copies made, only a handful remain.
Car Avio 815 from 1940
It may not bear the name, but this is the first Ferrari: one of two cars Enzo built in 1940 for Alberto Ascari and Lotario Rangoni to race in that year’s Mille Miglia. The terms of Enzo Ferrari’s departure as Alfa Romeo’s racing manager prevented him from building cars under his own name for a while. Instead, the Tipo 815 was badged AAC, for Auto Avio Construzione, the company he founded to make aircraft parts for the wartime Italian government. Two were made, and one was tragically crushed by the junkyard it ended up in.
This has been the long-term property of 91-year-old Mario Righini and can be viewed by appointment with the rest of his collection of 350 cars at the Castello di Panzano near Modena. Righini was in the passenger seat when the car was presented with the special Motor Valley Trophy. Determined to keep this national treasure in Italy, he has turned down eye-watering sums from Ferrari collectors around the world desperate to acquire the very first one.
Isotta Fraschini 8C Monterosa Touring from 1947
The 8C Monterosa was an attempt by Isotta Fraschini, a prestigious and idiosyncratic Italian brand, to reinvent itself for the post-war era. Unfortunately, the car never progressed beyond the prototype phase. The refined design includes a rear-mounted, alloy V-8 with hemi heads designed by engine guru Aurelio Lampredi and hydraulic jacks in each wheel well. Only five chassis were made, two of which were built by coachbuilder Touring.
Only this Touring two-door and a version built by Boneschi have been preserved. Both are owned by architect Corrado Lopresto, a former Villa d’Este winner famous for his collection of rare and important Italian cars, and for his meticulous and sensitive restorations. Lopresto drove the car himself during the event, accompanied by his daughter and granddaughter.
Alfa Romeo 2500 SS Villa D’Este from 1950
The Concorso d’Eleganza Varignana 1705 welcomed this glorious great Alfa Romeo coupe, despite bearing the name of its rival competition, held every spring on the shores of Lake Como. But how can you say no to something so elegant yet so muscular? The enormous tires fill the wrought-covered arches, promising an impressive ability to cross the continent, just as Europe opened up to such travel after the war.
Only about thirty were made: this one was delivered new to an Italian count in Florence, who sold it to a second count for the perfect noble provenance. This Alfa was purchased in 1998 by the current owner, Fabrizio Livon, and was personally restored by him, together with his brother, over the following six years. The vehicle traveled to Japan and won the 2018 Kyoto Concours d’Elegance. Here too it won its class.
Porsche 904 from 1964
Despite being held in Italy’s Motor Valley, this car competition had an impressive, if outnumbered, selection of German and British marques. We immediately noticed this early four-cylinder Porsche 904 racer. It seems the judges agreed and awarded it best in class. In doing so, it overcame both a somewhat understandable home team bias and the slight disadvantage that race cars face in a concours d’elegance unless placed in their own category.
These events are generally about stylish road cars, but this is one of the most beautiful racers ever written, and it’s designed to be street legal and compete in road races like the Targa Florio. The example’s long and storied competitive history also helped, and Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal is a former keeper.
Lamborghini Miura prototype from 1966
This important Miura is easily the most striking car at the concours and has rarely been seen in public. Acquired twenty years ago by Lamborghini collector Dr. George Gebhard. It was only when repair work revealed several layers of paint that he realized it was an early prototype, believed to have been lost in a collision with a truck.
The different colors were applied as the car was shown at successive car shows. Other details, such as the absence of a Lamborghini badge on the rear, and Gebhard’s own meticulous research, ultimately revealed the true history and importance of his car in 2021. Gebhard decided to celebrate with an ‘art car’ finish showcasing the layers of paint have been selectively polished away, leaving a unique psychedelic effect that is appropriate for the 1960s.
Lamborghini Islero from 1968
This Islero, owned by Lamborghini itself and included in the Polo Storico historical collection, appeared at the event in the ‘out of competition’ category, which included a handful of cars made after the 1973 limit, or cars owned by the factory. t compete with those privately owned. We were very happy to see them on display.
Launched in 1968 as the Espada’s more conservative brother, the Islero features styling that combines an airy and geometric greenhouse with a bullet-like lower body with striking, high-mounted chrome rear fenders. Subtle, super rare, stunning and visually perfect in brown, this was the car for wealthy industrialists in a hurry, and Ferruccio Lamborghini and his brother both drove examples of the model.
Best of Show: 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB
The Ferrari 275 GTB may not be the rarest of the breed, but it is without a doubt one of the best. So it was no surprise that this car not only won its class, The Best of Motor Valley, but also the overall Best in Show award at the 2024 Concorso d’Eleganza Varignana 1705. Delivered for the first time to a customer in Milan in 1966, and owned by Giuseppe Matildi since 1989, this example has been carefully restored twice, most recently by the team of marque experts at Bonini.
The judges praised the ‘concours quality perfection’ of the company’s work, the technical significance of the car as part of a small series built to test the new ‘torque tube’ chassis, which the later 275 GTB/4 and Daytona would support, and of course its strength and elegance.
