Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2007: dream cars from every era.

Munich/Geneva. This year sees the BMW Group acting as patron of the
traditional Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este for the ninth time.
Initial highlights of this year's edition of the premier event on Lake
Como were already announced during the press conference at the 77th
Geneva Motor Show. Brilliant heritage - bright future Holger Lapp,
Chairman of the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este and Director of BMW
Group Mobile Tradition, announced at the press conference that the
Concorso success story would continue this year: "Thanks to the
quality of the cars taking part, we can seamlessly carry on from the
high standards of the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este of past
years." Dott. Jean-Marc Droulers, President of Villa d'Este SpA,
also expressed his pleasure in the partnership with the BMW Group:
"Now, as before, we are delighted with the great appeal of this
event, which was first held on the initiative of the Grand Hotel Villa
d'Este in 1929. Quite simply, there is no more beautiful place in the
world to enjoy the Italian lifestyle combined with automotive
culture." Highlights among the classics There are a number of
spectacular classic cars lining up again this year. Around 50 dream
cars from 11 countries will be vying for the prestigious Coppa d'Oro
Villa d'Este (Best of Show by Referendum at Villa d'Este), Trofeo BMW
Group (Best of Show by the Jury) and Trofeo BMW Italia (By Public
Referendum at Villa Erba). The special Trofeo Albrecht Graf Goertz will
also be awarded in memory of the designer who died last year. In
Geneva Urs Paul Ramseier, the Selecting Adviser responsible for choosing
the cars that take part in the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, gave a
few preliminary glimpses of the select field of participants. Ferrari
375 MM, 1954 This is the 12th out of a total production run of 15 375
Mille Miglia Ferraris. Originally built in March 1954 as the Pinin
Farina Spider, it was destined for Luigi Chinetti in the USA. However,
the Ferrari factory then sold the car to Italian film producer Roberto
Rossellini in Rome. In 1955 he commissioned Sergio Scaglietti in Modena
with giving it a particularly attractive coupé body. Ten years
later, Rossellini sold the car to a Sicilian from Palermo. At this
point the metallic grey body was repainted in military green. In 1970
the one-off model made its way from Palermo to Paris. Its current owner
acquired it in 1995 and had it completely restored. The car was then
successfully exhibited at many events and went on to win the "Best
of Show" award at the Ferrari Club of America National Concours in
Toronto, as well as the Luigi Chinetti Memorial Trophy. Heading home -
the Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Flying Star As they had done for the
Isotta-Fraschini 8B and the Fiat Type 522C, Carrozzeria Touring of
Milan also designed a special body for the Alfa-Romeo 6C 1750 GS, which
was to go down in motoring history as the "Flying Star". With
this model Mrs Josette Pozzo won the Coppa d'Oro di Villa d'Este at the
1931 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. After a gap of 76 years, the
Alfa Romeo Flying Star returns to the historic site of its greatest
success. An Italian in German clothing - the Bugatti 57 C, 1939 The
Concorso d'Eleganza will show the Bugatti 57 C in its original condition
for the first time in Europe. The chassis was one of the last to be sold
before the Second World War and it was the last Bugatti to be delivered
to Germany before the outbreak of war. Its owner handed the chassis
over to Voll & Ruhrbeck, one of the most modern coachbuilders of
the time, with the commission to design a highly aerodynamic roadster.
Later the Bugatti 57 C belonged to the famous Norwegian ice queen and
multiple Olympic medallist Sonja Henie. In 1969 the Voll & Ruhrbeck
body was removed from the chassis. It wasn't until 2002 that the owner
was able to unite the original chassis and original body again and have
the entire vehicle completely restored. The "Black Prince" -
the Mercedes-Benz SSK, 1930 Motor sport enthusiast and successful car
racer Count Carlo Felice Trossi produced a design sketch at the end of
the 1920s showing his idea of an aerodynamically styled car. Willi
White, a little known coachbuilder at the time, implemented these
sketches to create the so-called "Black Prince". The Trossi
SSK is one of the very rare Mercedes Benz SSK models to feature special
bodywork. After extensive restoration this Mercedes-Benz SSK has already
raked in countless prizes and will be mark its debut at the Concorso
d'Eleganza this year. The car belongs to the Ralph Lauren Collection.
An icon, a homage Two vehicles in this year's Concorso d'Eleganza are
particularly eloquent symbols of the philosophy behind the event - the
fusion of aesthetic automotive styling past and future. They are the
BMW 328 Mille Miglia Touring Coupé and the BMW Concept
Coupé Mille Miglia 2006. The former is the legendary racing car
of the late 1930s, while the other is a homage to this legend and the
men who devoted their passion and engineering skills to steering this
car to victory on the race tracks of Europe. Following its premiere
last year before the international media, the BMW Concept Coupé
goes on show before the public for the first time at Lake Como.
"With the Concept Coupé we are delighted to be able to
exhibit one of the most interesting vehicles of our time at the
Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este," said Holger Lapp at the Geneva
Show press conference. Rolls-Royce presents its Phantom Drophead
Coupé As in previous years, Rolls-Royce will again be attending
the Concorso with a rather special model in tow. An unusual
experimental car, the 100EX also stopped by at Villa d'Este during its
2004 world tour. Since then the design and development teams have
turned the concept into a production model. In 2007 Rolls-Royce will
present the Phantom Drophead Coupé at Villa d'Este in the wake
of its European premiere at the Geneva Motor Show. The two-door,
four-seater convertible is a less formal rendition of the classic
Rolls-Royce design. Technically it combines a lightweight yet extremely
rigid aluminium space frame with the slender, elegant body of a
drophead coupé. Two dream days on Lake Como: Concorso d'Eleganza
Villa d'Este 2007 Over the weekend of 21 - 22 April 2007 the glorious
grounds of the Grand Hotel Villa d'Este and Villa Erba in Cernobbio on
Lake Como will once again be transformed into a unique setting for the
most beautiful automobiles of the past and the most flamboyant concept
cars of the present. First staged at this same location in 1929, the
Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este today ranks as the world's most
tradition-steeped event of its kind. After the first part of the
event for invited guests on Saturday, the gates of the neighbouring
grounds of Villa Erba open on Sunday to all car fans, who will again
have the chance to experience these four-wheeled dreams at close hand.
Besides the cars already presented on the previous day, there will be
numerous other prestigious classics on display in special shows.
Admission to Villa Erba in Cernobbio on Lake Como costs 10 euros
(single), 20 euros (family ticket) or 8 euros (concessions). Visitors
will find further information at www.concorsodeleganzavilladeste.it