Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2012 winners announced

The Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in Cernobbio, Italy has been celebrating the mystique of historic cars since 1929. The focus of the event that features cars from all over the world is on design, originality and perfect preservation.

Staged at the Lake Como waterfront, the most prestigious jury award (Trofeo BMW Group) and public award (Coppa d’Oro Villa d’Este and Trofeo BMW Group Italia) were bestowed on the 1933 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS 6th Series Coupe Figoni owned by David Cohen of Switzerland.

Following is the list of winners in each category:

Class A: Graceful Open Air
Winner: 1939 Mercedes Benz 540 K Spezial Roadster
Entrant: Berthold Albrecht, Germany
The 540 K was available in various body styles, the most exclusive of which was the two-seater Spezial Roadster (in pic) recognisable by its V-shaped split front window. It’s a more powerful version of the 500 K, which in turn was a replacement for the slow selling 380. It features a straight eight 5-litre engine which, with the supercharger engaged, produces around 178PS of power.

Class B: Interpretation of Elegance
Winner: 1937 Delahaye 145 Coupe Chapron
Entrant: Peter Mullin, USA       
The 145 coupe is the road-going version of the 145 racer. Disassembled and hidden at the advent of the World War II, at least four 145s have been restored. The one in the picture has bodywork by coachbuilder Chapron. A 248PS alloy V12 engine, aluminium body and tubular chassis features on the car with a top speed of about 262km/h.

Class C: The Art of Streamlining
Winner: 1933 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS 6th Series Coupe Figoni
Entrant: David Cohen, Switzerland
The 6C 1750 is one of the quintessential Alfa Romeos of its era. The Grand Sport was the most powerful among the 6C 1750s featuring a straight six 1.8-litre engine which produces 84PS of power. Pictured here is a 6C 1750 GS with Figoni bodywork; the 6C was only available as a rolling chassis.

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Class D: Little Jewels
Winner: 1957 Fiat Abarth 500 Coupe Zagato
Entrant: Shiro Kosaka, Japan
The Fiat Abarth 500 Coupe Zagato is a 2-door coupe with rear-wheel drive and a manual 4-speed gearbox. It was developed by Abarth and Zagato and the standard 5-litre engine was tuned to produce 21PS of power.

Class E: Start of the Rock ‘n’ Roll era
Winner: 1958 BMW 507 Roadster Baur
Entrant: Heiko Seekamp, Germany
Specifically manufactured for the American market, the 507 was a disaster for BMW being too expensive and only 252 units were sold in the three years it was produced. The car’s styling was an attraction for stars and Elvis Presley bought one. The car’s 3-litre V8 produced around 148PS of power.

Class F: The Ferrari 250 Dynasty
Winner: 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Zagato
Entrant: David Sydorick, USA
One of the most desirable cars that came out of the Ferrari-Zagato collaboration, only a few were made for select clients. Zagato used his lightweight aeronautic techniques, first adopted when founding his coach building company in 1919. The 250 GTZ was powered by a 3-litre V12 which produced 247PS of power.

Class G: La Dolce Vita
Winner: 1962 Ferrari 400 Superamerica Aerodynamic
Entrant: Peter S Kalikow, USA
The 400 Superamerica was meant for the richest people around the world, and a limited number of cars were built to order throughout the 1950s. It derived most of its components from the 250 GT, including the engine, chassis and transmission. The 4-litre V12 on the 400 Superamerica produced 336PS of power and 326Nm of torque.

Class H: Gentleman’s Sports Cars
Winner: 1947 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Cabriolet Ghia
Entrant: Roberto Donati, Italy
The Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 was one of the first post war models produced by the Italian manufacturer from 1947 to 1952. The finest coachbuilders in Italy built bodies for the 6C 2500 models, including Pinin Farina, Stabilimenti Farina, Touring, Ghia, Bertone, Michelotti, and Boneschi among others.  It was one of the most expensive series produced cars of its time because of the options it came with. The 2.5-litre straight six engine on the 6C 2500 produced 89PS of power.

Class I: Heroes of Le Mans
Winner: 1959 Aston Martin DBR1 Open Two Seater
Entrant: Adrian Beercroft, UK
This particular DBR1 was ooriginally built as a DBR3 in 1958; the chassis was converted to DBR1 specification for the 1959 season. In this guise it was only raced at Le Mans and Goodwood where it finished 2nd and 4th respectively. After Aston Martin's retirement from racing, it was used for a motion picture. For the 1962 Le Mans, it was loaned to the Essex Racing Stable, who entered it for 1959 winner Roy Salvadori and Tony Maggs, they retired from the race. In the following years, it was put on display at the Beaulieu museum. The DBR1 has a 3-litre 250PS straight six engine with the power being sent to the rear wheels.

This year’s jury was chaired by Lorenzo Ramaciotti, currently head of design at the Fiat Group and former Pinin Farina design chief. The jury was assisted by its secretary Carlo Otto Brambilla. The members of the jury included Charles Lord March, host of the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Goodwood Revival events, Patrick le Quément, former head of design at Renault, Harm Lagaay, former head of design at Ford, BMW and Porsche, Winston Goodfellow, journalist and automotive historian,

Hideo Kodama, automotive designer and illustrator, Stefano Pasini, freelance journalist and author of several automotive books, Nick Mason, founding member and drummer of rock band Pink Floyd, Ian Cameron, Design Director, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Martin Roth, Director of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.