Villa d’Este: spotlight on BMW, Rolls-Royce and Maserati

Shed your skin, not your DNA. The event, sponsored by BMW Classic, has over time been able to adapt to new ways of understanding the beauty contest while remaining true to itself. The main event, as usual, will be there parade of participating vehicles Saturday May 25, although a small taste will already be available on Thursday afternoon when the historic cars will arrive at the port of Cernobbio and Introductory Tour. More space instead of the public and the cars that do not compete on the traditional Sunday in Villa Erba, as well as the parade and collateral activities of the Festival that will involve, among others, all the BMW Art Cars that participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and two. new concept propeller housing car. Eight groups of cars were judged, with the participation of around 50 carefully selected cars in the past months.

120 years of Rolls Royce. Time flies when you’re having fun, or at least that’s what they should think Goodwood, in West Sussex, at Rolls-Royce headquarters. In fact, 120 years separate Phantom, Spectre, Cullinan and others from the first meeting between Henry Royce and Charles Stewart Rolls. An engineer and businessman who contributed to defining the concept of luxury cars already at the beginning of the mass car movement. Villa d’Este pays homage to this history featuring many milestones and a dedicated class, which pays tribute to “The best car in the world for 120 years”.

Awards and recognition. In addition to the category dedicated to Rolls, this year Villa d’Este honors the dawn of the “performance era” and speed on the road, the evolution of aerodynamics and the epic of the gentleman driver, as well. Maserati in the year of his 110th birthday. The last two fields of competition are instead about cars that have somehow been forgotten, but are considered real-time machines, and supercars of the “video generation”: the name of this last part, borrowed from the popular video game “Need of Speed”, predicts a slight leap towards modern times.

L’ambito Best Show. In short, 50 cars that best represent an era and ways to get cars that are fundamentally different from each other. In addition to fighting for the class victory, the cars will compete for the BMW Group Trophy – Best of Show title which will be Awarded by a jury of experts for the most iconic car, while citizens will have the opportunity to vote for the Gold Cup. Other special awards include the President’s Award, the Il Canto del Motore Award, for the best engine sound (given by the famous tenor Jonas Kaufmann), and the Amici & Automobili award.

BMW always the protagonist, we celebrate the Z8. American artist Julie Mehretu will present the twentieth BMW Art Car, a creation that will be displayed along with other art cars during the competition. 2024 is also a symbol 125th anniversary of the birth of Bayerische Motoren Werke and the 25th birthday of the BMW Z8, two events that will be celebrated with special exhibitions. Participants will also be able to attend two world exhibitions of the propeller: a sports car with a nautical touch and a rock ‘n’ roll motorcycle.

Space for the public. Not only experts and famous international collectors. As usual there will also be possibilities for simple participants walk among the cars at Villa Erba: as well as confirming the Festival, that is, the traditional public exhibition on Sunday, Saturday the 25th Wheels & Weisswürscht will take place in the park for the third time, a dynamic and informal meeting that will also include the cars of the Concorso d’Eleganza. as an overview another 150 classics and some clubs. In short, a combination of tradition and the future that goes back to one denomination: the passion for four wheels, which takes on different nuances as the decades pass, and the timeless beauty of vintage cars and the technological innovation of concept cars.