VILLA D'ESTE 2016
Thursday 19 May 2016
The start of a trip with a classic car is always emotional, especially when your destination is the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, the best in the world, and the car is a freshly-restored Bristol 403
It's a sort of tradition....we drive to or from the Concorso and our Bristol gets drenched by a violent thunderstorm. Usually it happens on our way back from Cernobbio, this time it began in Modena.... (above)
....and continued all the way to Milano (video). The passenger's wiper stopped working after a short while
Anna looks happy to be finally in VdE. It's easy to see that the Thursday rain drenched everything, but this is not unusual around Cernobbio
Thursday afternoon: the 403, wet but proud, parked in her 'natural' spot
7 p.m....Martini time
The Martini cocktail, in a sophisticated place like Villa d'Este, is nothing short of an institution. The new bartender, Francesco, has all the right connections and knows many excellent specialists too, like Federico at 'Il Pellicano'. At my request he put a bottle of Tanqueray 'Ten' in the freezer in the morning; he was already using the right glass and great care in mixing, so the final result is excellent
Friday 20 May 2016
A pleasant view of Villa d'Este from above; you get here climbing along a 3 kms hike on a wonderful trail passing just over it. When the sun shines, it's Heaven
Simon Kidston, undisputed King of the Concorso, drove in with this splendid first series LP400. How on Earth he and Rosie managed to fit in, I can't imagine
Friday 20 May
The Bristol engine of an Ace Aceca
Not my cup of tea: the oldest surviving Pegaso
The Saturday Parade
Passing in front of the Jury, some amazing cars...this is the 3rd original Walter Wolf Countach, chassis number 112.0202. It is the original 'blue' car that was THE icon of Lamborghini since 1977
Two pics of 112.0202 parked casually in the streets of Monte Carlo during the 1977 Grand Prix
The beautiful 'half-preserved' Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ of Corrado Lo Presto. It deservedly won the FIVA/UNESCO prize, the first time that a prize like this was ever awarded during a classic-cars show
Elegant ladies always wear nice hats in Villa d'Este
7 p.m. again: we golfers call this moment 'the 19th hole'
Saturday everybody had a very heavy day, what with judging, discussions, greeting friends etc. I finished late and I really couldn't make it to the dinner in Villa Visconti; I was therefore staying at the bar sipping a Martini when Simon and Rosie Kidston dropped in, then Corrado and Elena Lo Presto came and then Charles March and his lovely daughter Alexandra joined us. We opted for a quiet table on the terrazza, and this turned out to be a great idea. From left to right: Rosie, Corrado, Alexandra, Simon, Elena, Anna and Charles. The empty seat is mine, of course
Sunday 22 May
Breakfast on the lake, when the sun shines, is an exquisite pleasure. The perfect organization of this extremely classy hotel, one of the best and more classy of the whole world, is a tribute to its MD, Dr Danilo Zucchetti. It's also a great merit of the Fontana family if this hotel has maintained the exceptional style that has made it famous around the world
Great friends, Judges and gentlemen: a tasty Champagne toast with Patrick Le Quément and Lorenzo Ramaciotti. The Pommery champagne was excellent
Ilaria, Fernanda and Anna stylishly discussing something over some more champagne while Edoardo listens
Some images of the Sunday afternoon parade in Villa Erba. More than 2.000 spectators on the grandstands gave Simon Kidston an unprecedented standing ovation
Checking oil etc Sunday afternoon, before starting the journey back to Bologna (on Monday). The 403's hood opens on either side, which I think is a stroke of genius; of course it'a very expensive solution, as befits to every Bristol products from Beaufighters to 403s
Black tie is mandatory for the Sunday evening Gala dinner
Porsche, Bristol, BMW i8....a study in contrasts
The Concorso ended Sunday evening with spectacular fireworks and all was good
Monday 23 May
A rainy, gloomy morning with some light hail and torrential downpour was expected on Monday. I love this picture that shows that even a Bristol 403, a not particularly tall car, has all its glasshouse exceeding the roof line of an original LP400....
A fairly long tailback in Milano didn't cause any special problem in the engine of the 403. Oil and water temperatures and oil pressure remained good enough. The total mileage was 350 miles
SUMMARY
The Bologna-Villa d'este -Bologna trip was 350 miles= 563 kilometers. This was the first serious trip of the restored 403; also the components that were a little reluctant to work (voltmeter, petrol gauge) are slowly awakening from their long sleep and are doing their job. It's way too early to say how much does the 403 need in terms of petrol or oil, but it goes well and this is enough for now.....
