26-05-2025
9 Perfect Tens from the 2025 Concorso d'Eleganze Villa d'Este
There are no shortage of Concours events worldwide, with more popping up every year. But while each event aspires to create an air of prestige and heritage, few hold a candle to the Concorso d'Eleganze Villa d'Este.
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This grand gathering at a grand hotel on the shore of Italy's famous Lake Como dates back to 1929. Each year, just a handful of ultra-exotic autos are selected for inclusion. Fewer than 60 cars made an appearance in 2025, ranging from pre-war Grand Prix machines to modern Le Mans competitors. If that weren't enough, a few 2026 models made their global debut, too. Each car was amazing in its own way, but here are nine cars that really caught our eye at Villa d'Este -- plus one from a neighboring event that we couldn't resist including.
1996 McLaren F1 GTR
A McLaren F1 is hard to ignore in any context. They stand out even among this pool of astonishing machines. It was a road-going McLaren F1 that won last year's Coppa d'Oro award. This year, it was a track-ready machine that turned heads. This 1996 McLaren F1 GTR is one of just 26. It campaigned in various GT races across Europe before being decommissioned and, interestingly, adopted by Mercedes-Benz to use as a test platform for the company's own GTR, the CLK. Later, its 12-cylinder BMW heart returned, and this F1 got a fresh coat of the papaya paint you see here.
1995 Ferrari F40 GTE
The F1 GTR wasn't the only '90s icon of GT racing on display. Right next door was this epic F40 GTE, a race-tuned version of one of the greatest Ferraris ever. Though the F40 was introduced in the late '80s, it wasn't until the '90s that race-tuned versions started to appear, culminating in the GTE. The F40 already rolls on a racy tube-frame chassis wrapped in carbon fiber bodywork, but the GTE manages to shed a further 300 pounds and boasts 720 hp from the 3.6-liter, twin-turbo V-8 with carbon brakes to match. Only six GTEs were created.
1957 BMW 507
There were several BMW 507s on display at this year's event, including a luscious yellow model serving as opening-night decor on the Villa d'Este grounds, plus another that went to auction with a €1,900,000 asking price. The 507 that really caught our eye, though, was this gorgeous Feather White over red model that looked stunning sitting on the lawn. The massive block-lettered tachometer and speedometer are a real highlight on the inside, while the chrome on the outside adds a little flare to the otherwise pale proceedings. This car proved a crowd favorite, taking home this year's attendee-voted Coppa d'Oro.
1967 Bizzarrini Europa 1900 GT
If you're picking up some Ferrari vibes from this tangerine '60 grand tourer, that's because there's a shared lineage here. Giotto Bizzarrini was a former Ferrari engineer, having a hand in the epic 250 GTO before starting his own company. There's more than a little Opel GT in here, too, with that car providing much of the mechanicals under this sculpted body. Fewer than 20 Europa 1900 GTs were produced, but none can match this one's provenance; it was Bizzarrini's own.
1967 OSI Silver Fox
That Bizzarrini is rare, but this car is unique. It's called the Silver Fox, a one-of-one prototype developed in the late 1960s by Italian coachbuilder OSI. The twin-hull design, reminiscent of a P-38 Lightning or a catamaran, was designed to minimize the car's forward aerodynamic profile, while also adding lateral stability. In concept, that's not unlike the Nissan DeltaWing. The two halves of the chassis are connected by three wing-like structures, two of which can be adjusted to modify the car's downforce. It's one of those cars that just gets more wild looking the closer you look at it. Crouch down from behind, peek through the rear plexiglass, and you can see the Fox's gauge cluster in the center of a dashboard that spans from one cockpit to the next. A 1.0-liter Renault engine was chosen for its dimensions rather than its power, so the Silver Fox was never going to be a speed demon, but sadly, OSI went bust before this first example had even finished testing.
1980 Lamborghini Countach Safety Car
Stepping away from the Concorso d'Eleganze for just a minute to include a highlight from the Fuori Concorso, a newer event with an interesting medley of racing machines taking place just down the road. Everyone in town was talking about this epic Countach, which served as the pace car during the Monaco Grand Prix in the early '80s. Coincidentally, the 2025 running of that same event was taking place just a few hundred miles down south on the Mediterranean coast.
1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III
Another car not officially taking part in the Concours but one that captured the eye of everyone wandering the grounds at Villa d'Este was this 1937 Phantom III. Most James Bond fans can clock the significance of this car from a mile away, but the AU1 plate is a strong clue for the rest. It's the machine in which the nefarious Goldfinger, driven by his henchman Oddjob. It was on display to highlight Rolls-Royce's modern reinterpretation built on the current Phantom, painted the same shade of pale yellow but, sadly, minus those generous white sidewalls.
2026 BMW Concept Speedtop
BMW unveiled three new models at this year's Concours, the Motorrad Concept RR superbike, the 2026 BMW M2 CS, and the Concept Speedtop. Like last year's Skytop, the Speedtop is an in-house, coach-built machine created from the bones of an 8 Series. That includes that machine's long shape and generous power from a twin-turbo V-8. But no 8 Series offers this degree of style, nor that shooting brake silhouette. Bespoke luggage slots in where the token rear seats are typically found on the 8 Series, while a brogued band of leather runs the circumference of the two-tone interior. Though a concept, BMW promises to build 70 of the things.
1956 Aston Martin DB3S
One of the most iconic and successful British racers of all time, the DB3S was one of the first machines to bring Aston Martin to the fore of the world's biggest racing competitions, a position it still enjoys. This is chassis number 9 of just 11 factory cars, the Sterling Moss-piloted machine that finished second in the 1956 24 Hours of Le Mans. It doesn't get much more iconic than the glimmering British Racing Green with the giant, hand-painted 8 on the hood.
1934 Alfa Romeo Tipo B
Before the Ferrari we know of today, there was Scuderia Ferrari, Enzo's team running using Alfa Romeo machines. This is really where the legacy begins. The Tipo B dominated Grand Prix racing for years, quickly establishing the prancing horse as a force to be reckoned with. This car, a multiple grand prix winner, is powered by a twin-supercharged eight-cylinder tucked inside of a nose that seems to go on for miles. As evidenced by the numerous stickers from the Goodwood Festival of Speed and other events, this car is still racing today, and it was the rightful winner of the 2025 Concorso d'Eleganze Villa d'Este Best of Show.
