Cernobbio, 22nd - 24th of May, 2015
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Class I – two seats against the stopwatch – classic sports
racers
The last of the classic car classes was dedicated to race cars of
different eras and concepts. Oldest and most exciting car in the
class was the Maserati Tipo 60/61 Birdcage nicknamed by is
filigree tube frame. The prototype of the Tipo 60 (2451) was later
converted to Tipo 61 specification and features an aerodynamic
rear as raced by the Camoradi Team in the American racing
colours at Le Mans. Several years ago this car returned to the La
Mans classic and was chasing the Le Mans winning Aston Martin
DBR1 all night around the track. After its last change in
ownership the car will be less seen in vintage racing but at
demonstration runs and at the concours. Its next appearances
will be in Vernasca up the hill and at Bensberg for the German
Concours. Certainly one could debate whether race cars like the
Birdcage have their place at a concours but considering the Best
of Show of last year’s Maserati 450S it follows a strong tradition
in Como. The car was awarded best in class and one of the public
favourites beside the 166 MM.
Completely different from the Birdcage in its appearance was the
second placed McLaren M1-A. Whereas the Maserati tried to
succeed due to its refined chassis the McLaren was entered in
the CanAm series where the cars had huge engine power. The
McLaren was powered by a big bore American V8 and once
featured in an Elvis Presley movie. As the car was presented by
Austrian Restorer Egon ZweimĂĽller the story was easy to tell due
to his haircut similar to Elvis. ZweimĂĽller also took advantage of
the huge power output of the McLaren and proved that one could
paint black stripes even on a red carpet with a feisty start at the
Sunday’s winners’ parade in front of the jury.
Two years after the prototype was shown at the Villa d´Este this
year one of the “production” Ferrari 206 S was shown. The small
two-litre engined Drogo Spider is very much a smaller version of
the famous 330 P3. With just 20 units built the small racer was
ideal suited for hill climbs and twisty road at the Targa Florio.
Unfortunately the car on show (016) refused to start on Saturday
missing the winners’ parade but screamed again on Sunday
applauded by the grand stands.
The class was round off by the Lancia Stratos in Alitalia livery as
used in the Rally championship.
The concept car classes
Aside the classic cars BMW reinvented the concept car classes
to represent the original intention of the concours, to showcase
the latest development in design. This was also the reason for the
change in the event date from the earlier April weekend that
collided with the Chinese Motor Show in Shanghai. Now on a free
weekend several manufacturers showed their latest creations
including the all new Bentley EXP10, the Aston Martin DBX the
Magna Mila Plus. Zagato and Touring on the other hand are
coming back to the days when they produce very small series
and one-off for wealthy clients rather than mass production design
as most manufacturers feature an in-house design department
today. Touring presented the Ferrari based Berlinetta Lusso
whereas the Maserati Mosto by Zagato made its first public
appearance at the Villa d´Este. More exotic was the Scuderia
Cameron Glickenhaus SCG003C, a purpose built race car for the
long distance classic at the NĂĽrburgring, the 24h.
Finally it was the Bentley taking the public vote, surprisingly a
British car at an Italian concours.
So the 2015 edition was another great year for the history books.
Fortunate with the weather the concours at the best possible
location showcased several sensational cars spanning 5
decades. Three Pegaso, the wonderful Ferrari 166 MM and the
quartet of pre-war Mercedes-Benz alone was worth the travel.
Finally the Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Zagato Spider was a deserved
winner, maybe not as glamorous as some of the other cars but it
combined the racing heritage, the top marque of its era and the
right coachwork.
The concours also tends to become more modern with the
supercars from the 1970s also attracting a younger public. Some
purists might criticize this but if those in the 1960 would have
thought the same way the line-up would be still restricted to the
pre-war coach built era. And as the Concorso d´Eleganza always
was a little bit ahead of its time compared to the American shows
(were a coach built Ferrari just won last year compared to Como
many years before) it will be interested to see whether others will
follow
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Report & images ... Peter & Wolfgang Singhof
www.ClassicCarPhotography.de
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