The BMW 507 of Dirk de Groen from the USA won the Coppo d’Oro at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este today (Sat 24 May). The judges’ prize is awarded at the end of the event, which moves to neighbouring Villa Erba on the Sunday for the public day, so it is the visitors that decide the big winner on the first day. And the 507 was especially appropriate at the BMW event, which was using a vivid yellow example as its poster car for the 2025 concours.
• Stunning Alfa Romeo P3 wins Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este
De Groen’s spectacular example of the Graf von Goertz designed V8 beauty is a late series one from 1957 and just one of 45 built before the switch to one style for all territories. It came in Feather White with a hardtop, Rudge wheels plus a Becker Brescia radio.

The event at the chic hotel on the shores of Lake Como was blessed with perfect weather and stacked with incredibly turned out and historically important cars, a very healthy number coming from the USA.
One stand-out and expected to be leading the running for best in show was the 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 MM of Ralph Lauren and, while the fashion magnate could not attend, it was presented by his son Andrew.
The Alfa, chassis 412030 and beautifully restored by Paul Russell, ran in the 1938 Mille Miglia with a special Touring Superleggera body and Carlo Pintacuda behind the wheel. He finally finished second, behind team-mate Biondetti in another 2900, and post-war the car went on to have another famous owner when a young California racer called Phil Hill – later to be the USA’s first F1 world champion – traded in his Jaguar XK120 for it.

There were several superbly preserved cars including the ex-Guy Griffiths/Penny Woodley Jaguar E-type Lightweight, which took the award for the best-preserved interior for current UK owner Richard Cook. Also in the preservation class was a rarely seen Bizzarrinin Europa brought from Germany by Malte Fromm. This shrunken version of the GT actually sourced its mechanicals from mainstream Opels and although only packing a four-cylinder 1.9-litre engine is a far rarer sight than its V8 big brother. Perhaps no surprise considering that few than 20 were built between 1966 and 1969.

Another super-rarity was Monteverdi Hai GTS. Although the numbers of Monteverdis built is much-debated, most can agree that the factory completed two cars in period, one of which, the SS was sold and the other remained with then company and then in its museum until its closure in 2016. It was acquired by current owner Alexander Wiesner in 2019 and has covered fewer than 500km from new.

By far the most outrageous car at the event was the 1967 OSI Silver Fox prototype. This incredible twin-boom catamaran creation, in which the driver sits on the right hand side, was created for racer Pierro Taruffi, nicknamed the Silver Fox.
For more information, see villadeste.com
