Stefano Pasini


VILLA D'ESTE 2015


The 2015 Concorso d'Eleganza 'Villa d'Este' had a very interesting line-up of splendid automobiles, and there wasn't one single car that could thought be the unquestionable overall winner before the event...being part of the Jury once again was therefore even more fascinating, and is always a great honor
 
Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2015

Thursday 21 May 2015, our Bristol 409 parked in the Villa d'Este garage


Villa d'Este's bartenders mix a great Martini

Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2015

Paradise on the lake, at breakfast...



...and at lunch, Friday. Weather forecast warned us about severe rain and possible thunderstorms :-))))

Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2015

M3 Story

Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2015

Best instrument panel: Farman

Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2015

Other Farman details. The connection of Farman with the aeronautical industry is evident; for a Bristol enthusiast, it's a heart-warming philosophy

Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2015

Beautiful mascots: Cresta Run on a Bentley, Pierce-Arrow

Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2015

Splendid details: cantilevered spring on a Rolls-Royce, swiveling headlamps on a Pierce Arrow


A really imposing Mercedes- Benz


An elegant Delahaye being inspected by FIVA official and great friend Dominik Fischlin. You can rely on him for any 'official' judgement


Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2015

The indefatigable Marco Mottini checking facts and numbers as a FIVA officer. A tough job


Chrysler SS


Graham Robertson's splendid Miura SV. It deservedly won its Class

Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2015

The energetic Dr. Ulrich Knieps is since 1st March 2013 the head of BMW Group Classic (he already headed the company’s competence centre for BMW Group and brand history in addition to the central department for Product, Technology and Sports Communications) and is the responsible for this magnificent event. Here he is delivering the official opening speech of the 2015 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, and he does it in style

Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2015

Comparing notes about a wheeled masterpiece with Lorenzo Ramaciotti (l.), who is also the President of the Jury, and Patrick LeQuément (r.). A splendid team, it was great to be part of it


Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2015

The car that most of us Judges would like to take back home.....a magnificent Ferrari 250 SWB. Absolute beauty

Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2015

The lovely OM 665 SSMM of Silvia Nicolis, a superb motor car impeccably restored by Cognolato, now on display in the splendid Nicolis Museum

Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2015

Am I the only one to think that Pegasos are grossly overrated because of their rarity, whilst they have never gained any real success in terms of aesthetic prowess, sporting success or sales results? There were three of those Spanish vehicles at Villa d'Este this year, but only the extravagant 'dictatorial' Cupula won a prize (the kids' trophy on Sunday at Villa Erba) whilst the Saoutchik car car left everyone cold and even this Touring-bodied example failed to ignite any spark of enthusiasm.....


Gentlemen@Work

(picture courtesy of Andrea Gallignani)


The intriguing instrument panel of an unusual Alfa Romeo 6C2500

Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2015

A Villa d'Este Judge's view of the parading cars


Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2015

Villa d'Este during the Concorso just brings a smile at your face, and from this position you understand easily why this Maserati is, for everybody, the 'Birdcage'


Judging a superb 540K 'Spezial Roadster' is no easy matter


Graham Robertson clearly (and rightly) proud of being a Scotsman. He looked glamorous


Saturday evening, RM's auction. Ebullient Max Girardo showing his fascinating élan during the session; he's very probably the best professional around in the challenging field of auctioneering and every RM auction becomes a show, when he swings his mallet


With great designer and great overall guy Patrick LeQuément. You never stop learning something from him

Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2015 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2015

Pegaso Cupula. The kids enjoyed it immensely and awarded it with their special Sunday prize

The Mercedes 770 'Grosser' engine
Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2015 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2015

Sunday, judges working hard on their tan (left) then arguing in a post-atomic setting about the possible winner of the 'Best of Show' trophy out of a short list of three splendid cars



Villa Erba on Sunday, 'Elvis' Egon Zweimuller, with his streamlined haircut, ready to rip the red carpet off with the power of his V8....we all had a Russkit slot-car like this one, when we were young, so we all loved this McLaren


BMW and its famous 'Art Cars', a sign of the culture and intelligence of the Bavarian firm. This one was one of the first, Alexander Calder's 3.0 CSL (1975)

Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2015

Guido Avandero's racy Fiat 8V. The grandstand is packed full


After the end of the Sunday parade, from l. to r.: great friend dott. Roberto Olivi, PRO of BMW Italia, Edoardo, me, my godson Filippo Ciferri, dott. Sergio Solero, President and CEO of BMW Italia and his lovely wife


Elegance for a black-tie party. Corrado LoPresto surrounded by beauties, from l. to r. Silvia Nicolis, owner of the Museo Nicolis, Anna looking as chic as ever, Corrado and his lovely wife Elena Maggiore


The lake on a warm Sunday evening will unavoidably make you feel romantic

Corrado LoPresto gives his magnificent book 'Best of Show', about his cars and the many trophies he has won, to Jury Member dr Rathgen

"....and the winner is...."


David Sydorick's magnificent 1932 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 won the coveted 'Best of Show' award, the highest award issued every year by the Jury at Villa d'Este. The fireworks were amazing


The morning after: Monday 25 May 2015


OK, it looks like there's a lot of luggage to load, isn't it? The Pasini family is not exactly one that travels light....but our Bristol's boot is so huge that it swallowed quite easily 2 large bags, 2 huge garment bags for evening dress and suits and shirts, one large hat case, 2 Eberhard bags with sporting jackets, one Polo bag containing rain shoes and equipment, one Herno raincoat, one Husky jacket, a chamois jacket, 2 umbrellas.... everything fit without any problem, thanks to the spare wheel not occupying any space in the trunk: in every Bristol since the 404 the spare is housed in a vane behind the left front wheelarch.
The 'click-click' of a non-turning starter motor left me puzzled for a moment as I went to start the 409, but then the friendly support of Harm Lagaaij ('....when you drive a British car, you must always have a 'Plan B' ready....', mused the High Priest of Porsches from the heights of his Cayenne) and a phone call to Francesco Pulega tracked the misbehaviour to a bad contact in the battery safety switch. It was soon fixed


Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2015 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2015

Starting....


...and coming back, after only 346 miles


An interesting fact about the Villa d'Este Concorso is that we always manage to get drenched by a severe thunderstorm during our way to or from Cernobbio, and even this time was no exception. Luckily this year it wasn't so heavy so we didn't have any real trouble getting back home quite quickly, less than three hours from Cernobbio to Bologna
-----
Most of the pictures were taken by Alberto Novelli, the extraordinary official photographer of BMW for this year's Villa d'Este Other pictures were snapped by Anna, only a few were mine (the ugliest ones, of course.) Thanks to you all!



My Bristol Blogs