Inspiration Friday: World’s Most Exclusive Event 2023

Inspiration Friday: World's Most Exclusive Event 2023

Inspiration Friday: World's Most Exclusive Event 2023

Biker’s love May. It’s the unofficial start of the Northern Hemisphere riding year! It’s also the start of many 2023 motorcycle shows, events, rallies and BBQ‘s. A bucket-list-must is the 2023 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este Event, the world’s most exclusive and traditional heritage event for historic automobiles and motorcycles will be held once more on the shores of Lake Como, Italy. The most beautiful classic vehicles will be presented at Cernobbio in Northern Italy from 19 to 21 May 2023. With an elegance of the event, the unforgettable atmosphere, and the small, exclusive field of participants. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll be one of those inspired exclusive few.

Welcome to week #242 (or 4.64 years worth!) of bringing our 400 million readers a weekly unique read on what’s happening in the motorcycling world to get you inspired.

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Inspiration Friday World's Most Exclusive Event 2023

Over many years, this classic weekend has enjoyed a unique position among beauty contests for classic automobiles and motorcycles.

The Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este is perhaps the most significant of all events celebrating the mystique of Historic Cars. It is undoubtedly the most traditional event and was held for the first time in the heyday of aristocratic cars in 1929. Since its revival in the 1990s the Concorso has improved year by year in every one of the benchmarks for these wonderful vehicles. The Concorso is epitomised by the beauty of the setting, the impeccable hospitality, efficient organisation, the programme at the Villa d’Este, an enthusiastic audience, the public awareness in the international press and TV, and above all the elegance, originality and the state of preservation of the valuable automobiles participating in the event.

Visitors to the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este imbibe an air of authentic aristocracy infinitely superior to the commercial flair of other events.

The focus on design, originality, perfect preservation and the spirit of nobility bring together the most important and beautiful cars from all over the world year by year in Cernobbio – reflecting the true historical value of the automobile. The Villa d’Este is one of the world’s leading hotels and the grounds on the shores of Lake Como offer guests and visitors the opportunity to admire some 50 Historic Cars built between the 1920s and today. The cars are organised in different categories and an exclusive panel of experts led by president Lorenzo Ramaciotti judges the cars to select the Best of Show prize, the BMW Group Trophy.

This trophy is reserved for an extraordinary automobile which expresses beauty, passion and uniqueness. The public at Villa d’Este forms a key element in the drama of the Concorso as they reward participants with applause and cast their votes. The Coppa d’Oro Villa d’Este is the most traditional prize of the Concorso and the award is decided by a public vote at the Villa d’Este.

A prize awarded to the contemporary Concept Car was introduced in 2002 and this prize has been a regular feature of the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este since then. The trophy creates a link between the glorious past and the exciting future of the automobile. The spectacular success of the Consorso has been largely empowered by the partnership of the BMW Group as the organiser of this event since 2005. This competition also goes back to roots of the Concorso when designers and automobile companies presented their latest automobiles to the public. Also todays selected Concept Cars & Prototypes are showcased here. Some of them make their world debut during their days at Lake Como and the winner of the award is elected by public vote at the Villa Erba on Sunday.

This event is made an unforgettable experience by the cars, the participants, the gardens and buildings of Villa d’Este, the entrancing surroundings of Lake Como and the enthusiastic and knowledgeable aficionados in the audience.

 

Inspiration Friday World's Most Exclusive Event 2023

PROGRAMME

*Villa d´Este hotel guests only

FRIDAY 19TH MAY 2023

* 10.00 – 18.00

Check-in at Villa d’Este and Technical Check-in for Historic Cars

* 15.30

Impulse Talk, Sala Colonne, Villa d’Este

* 16.30

Entrants’ Briefing, Sala Regina, Villa d’Este

* From 18.45

BMW Group Cocktail & Inaugural Dinner, Villa d’Este

* Followed by

Flying Dessert and BMW World Premiere, Mosaic Garden, Villa d’Este

* Followed by

BMW Party, Pool Area, Villa d’Este

SATURDAY 20TH MAY 2023

09.30 – 14.00

Closed Room BMW, Villa d’Este (Villa Belinzaghi)

From 09.30

Exhibition of the cars, grounds of the Villa d’Este

Inspection of the cars by the Jury

Public Referendum for the “Coppa d’Oro Villa d’Este” for Historic Cars and the “Concorso d’Eleganza Design Award” for Concept Cars & Prototypes (voting via the event app)

During the day

Exhibit of the new fully-electric Rolls-Royce Spectre in the Mosaic Garden, Villa d’Este

11.30 – 14.00

Lunch Break, Villa d’Este

From 14.00

Inspiration Friday World's Most Exclusive Event 2023

 

Parade on the terrace of the Villa d’Este in front of the Jury and the public

Award ceremonies: “Coppa d’Oro Villa d’Este” and special awards for Historic Cars

* From 18.00

Shuttle Service (boat and car) from Villa d’Este to Villa Erba

Programme Villa Erba:

10.00 – 15.00

AMICI & AUTOMOBILI – WHEELS & WEISSWÜRSCHT, Villa Erba

* From 18.30

RM Sotheby’s Auction, Rotunda in the Congress Center, Villa Erba

* From 19.30

Dinner created and performed by three star Chef Enrico Bartolini, Villa Visconti (grounds of Villa Erba)

* Followed by

Entertainment & Party, Villa Visconti (grounds of Villa Erba)

Return shuttles to Villa d’Este (cars only)

SUNDAY 21ST MAY 2023All guests

07.30 – 08.45

Transfer of all Historic Cars and Concept Cars to Villa Erba

* 07.30 – 18.00

Shuttle Service by car between Villa d’Este and Villa Erba

* 09.00 – 18.00

Shuttle Service by boat between Villa d’Este and Villa Erba

09.30 – 18.00

Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este Public Day – Il Festival, grounds of Villa Erba

09.30 – 18.00

Entertainment Porgramme with Kids Area (Crafting Workshop and Baby Racer Parcours), Race Dome (SIM Racing, Racer Parcours and live DJane), 100 year Le Mans Exhibition, BMW Group Isle (newest models of BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad), Ian Cook live painting performance, BMW Lifestyle Shop and 3T E-Bikes Shop, Food truck area and Photo Booth with classic vehicle, etc.

From 09.30

Exhibition of the cars, grounds of the Villa Erba
Inspection of the cars by the Jury
Public Referendum for the “Concorso d’Eleganza Design Award” for Concept Cars & Prototypes (voting via the event app), Young People’s Referendum for Trofeo BMW Group Ragazzi (voting in the Kids Area)

From 09.30

RM Sotheby’s Display, Rotunda in the Congress Center, Villa Erba

11.00

MINI Moment: Parade of classic MINI models opening the Road to the International MINI Meeting 2023 in Florence

11.15

Artistic Performance by Yoann Bourgeois

11.30 – 14.00

Lunch Break, Villa Visconti (grounds of Villa Erba)

From 14.00

Parade in front of the Jury and the public

Award ceremonies: class winners and “Prix d’Honneur” for Historic Cars, the “Concorso d’Eleganza Design Award” for Concept Cars & Prototypes, Trofeo BMW Group Ragazzi

* From 19.00

Cocktail and Gala Dinner, Villa d’Este

* Followed by

Award ceremony “BMW Group Trophy – Best of Show” (first and second Prize)

* Followed by

Arrivederci Party, at Night Club, Villa d’Este

 

Inspiration Friday World's Most Exclusive Event 2023

 

CONCORSO D’ELEGANZA VILLA D’ESTE 2023

Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este comprises eight vehicle categories +++ Public Days in the grounds of Villa Erba have a festival feel +++ BMW Group celebrates premiere of an elegantly sporty one-off +++ Various facets to BMW Group presence +++ Amici & Automobili – Wheels & Weisswürscht brings a Bavarian flavour to the occasion +++ BMW Group Classic oversees sensitive evolution of prestigious concours event

BMW Group Classic will host the legendary Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in cooperation with the Grand Hotel Villa d’Este. This year’s event will include the eight vehicle classes below:

Class A

A CENTURY OF THE 24 HOURS OF LE MANS: HEROES OF THE MOST FAMOUS RACE IN THE WORLD

Class B

THE FAST AND THE FORMAL: PRE-WAR HIGH SPEED LUXURY

Class C

GRANDE VITESSE: PRE-WAR WEEKEND RACERS

Class D

INCREDIBLE INDIA: THE DAZZLING MOTORING INDULGENCES OF THE MIGHTY MAHARAJAS

Class E

PORSCHE AT 75: DELVING INTO THE STUTTGART LEGEND’S ICONIC AND ECCENTRIC BACK CATALOGUE

Class F

GRANTURISMO: EXPERIMENTING WITH THE POST-WAR EUROPEAN GT

Class G

THAT ‘MADE IN ITALY’ LOOK: STYLES WHICH CONQUERED NEW WORLDS

Class H

HERE COMES THE SUN: ’TOPLESS’ DONE DIFFERENTLY!

 

Inspiration Friday World's Most Exclusive Event 2023

Awards will also be presented in a special category for spectacular concept cars from various manufacturers.

The Concorso d’Eleganza parade at the Villa d’Este will take place in customary style on the Saturday of the event. The Best of Show will be crowned by the Jury, with the vehicle in question being presented with the Trofeo BMW Group on Sunday evening. Beyond the top prize, the participants and competing vehicles at the Concorso will each battle it out for victory in their individual categories, for the Coppa d’Oro prize awarded by Public Referendum and for an array of other distinctions such as the Trofeo del Presidente, which will be presented by Helmut Käs, Head of BMW Group Classic and President of the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.

Speaking of awards, the BMW Group Classic brand ambassador and star tenor Jonas Kaufmann has been handed a special task: he will present the Trofeo Il Canto del Motore for the best engine sound, as chosen by the Jury. BMW Group Classic brand ambassador and racing driver Bruno Spengler will also be at the event.

On Sunday 21 May, the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este Public Day – Il festival in the grounds of the nearby Villa Erba will once again give the wider public the opportunity to experience the parade of all the cars in the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. But that’s not all: this will be a day of attractions extending beyond the cars themselves, with a richly varied programme of music and entertainment laid on for the whole family. The vehicles entered in the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este will be on display here before the parade and can be admired at close quarters.

The BMW Group will also be presenting spectacular new vehicles with leading-edge technology on the Sunday, from a very special BMW M car and MINI Cooper SE Convertible (power consumption combined: 17.2 kWh/100 km according to WLTP; combined CO2 emissions: 0 g/km) to an electric scooter from BMW Motorrad. A new all-electric M Performance model of the BMW 7 Series will also be shown in an exclusive “two-tone” livery.

Plus, in a highlight addition to the programme, the BMW Group will be celebrating the premiere of an elegantly sporty, one-off homage to motoring for two.

BMW M GmbH will be bringing a very special automotive guest to Lake Como: the new edition of the legendary BMW 3.0 CSL (Fuel consumption combined: 11.0 l/100 km; CO2 emissions combined: 249 g/km according to WLTP; details according to NEDC: –) This show-stopping car will be on display both at Villa d’Este on Saturday and at Villa Erba on Sunday, flanked by its illustrious ancestor, the BMW 3.0 CSL from 1973.

Visitors to this year’s event will also be able to admire the Rolls-Royce Spectre (WLTP combined: power consumption: 21.5* kWh/100 km; electric range: 520* kilometers; combined CO2 emissions: 0 g/km.* Preliminary data — vehicle still in homologation), the marque’s first fully electric model, in the magnificent mosaic garden at Villa d’Este. The Spectre marks the transition of Rolls-Royce into an all-electric age, and the company has confirmed that its entire product range will be electric-only by the end of 2030.

The Amici & Automobili – Wheels & Weisswürscht event familiar to many from its Munich roots will bring a taste of Bavaria to the Concorso on Saturday 20 May – likewise in the grounds of Villa Erba. Vehicles of all types will be celebrated here and models from all brands brought over by car clubs and communities from around the world will be given a warm welcome.

Inspiration Friday World's Most Exclusive Event 2023

Before the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este itself gets underway, the now traditional Prelude Tour will take centre stage. This year, it will include a stop-off at the Monza race circuit. The cars will arrive at Cernobbio’s harbour late in the afternoon on 18 May and be on display for the public.

These myriad attractions and the multi-faceted nature of the event reinforce the commitment of BMW Group Classic – as the event organiser – to evolve the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este with sensitivity and without detracting excessively from its historic character. This is in keeping with its goal of making the event more accessible to the wider public through the integration of various thematic focal points and of celebrating cars as a cultural asset.

Villa d’Este, Lake Como, and the outstanding surroundings provide the perfect frame in which the most extraordinary automobiles of their era glitter like precious gems. The aura of a unique classic event, the value of the masterpieces exhibited, and the perfection of this iconic hotel form a sublime symbiosis that, in May every year, combines tradition with the contemporary era. It is precisely this that has ensured the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este’s special flair since 1929.

The winner of the Trofeo BMW Group – Best of Show will be the recipient of a special timepiece from A. Lange & Söhne: the unique 1815 CHRONOGRAPH in 18-carat white gold with solid pink gold dial and hand-engraved Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este crest on the hinged cuvette. Through its partnership with the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, which began in 2012, the German watchmaker focuses on the historic links between motor sport and timekeeping. The partnership is also shaped by a shared commitment to tradition, handcraftsmanship and mechanical innovation.

RM Sotheby’s is the official auction partner of BMW Group Classic this year. Among the items going under the hammer in the grounds of Villa Erba on Saturday 20 May are several BMW M models from a private collector.

The organisers would once again like to thank long-standing partners A. Lange & Söhne, Vranken Pommery and wwwe GmbH.

 

Inspiration Friday World's Most Exclusive Event 2023

BMW Motorrad presents the BMW M 1000 RR as the anniversary model M RR 50 Years M. Exclusive special model bearing the most powerful letter in the world.

To mark the 50th anniversary of BMW M GmbH, founded in 1972 as BMW Motorsport GmbH, BMW Motorrad presents the M 1000 RR 50 Years M anniversary model in Sao Paulo Yellow finish and with the historic 50 Years BMW M emblem. With its striking M colours, this anniversary model lives up to the M philosophy and the racing spirit from almost 100 years of motorcycle construction by BMW Motorrad and 50 years of BMW M vehicles.

The M RR 50 Years M is therefore fitted with the M Competition Package as standard. In addition to the extensive M milled parts package and the exclusive M carbon package, both a lighter swingarm in silver anodised aluminium, the unlock code for the M GPS laptrigger as well as the M Endurance chain, pillion package and pillion seat cover are part of the standard equipment.

 

Inspiration Friday World's Most Exclusive Event 2023

FAQ

WHAT WILL BE THE ADMISSION PROCESS FOR MY HISTORIC CAR OR CONCEPT CAR?
If you would like to participate with your own historic vehicle or Concept Car. As soon as we have received your completed registration form together with all necessary documents (e.g. FIVA Identity Card, photos and a detailed history of the vehicle), the Selecting Committee will decide on your participation. If your vehicle is selected, you will receive a confirmation letter and a booking form. If you vehicle is not selected, you will be informed as well, of course.

HOW CAN I PURCHASE TICKETS?
Villa d’Este
Tickets for the event in the grounds of Villa d´Este are strictly limited and can only be purchased on the website at the discretion of the Organisation Team.
Please note that your ticket is only confirmed once you have received a written confirmation.

Do I need to purchase tickets for my children?
Entry Tickets do not need to be purchased for children under the age of 7 years.
Children between 7 and 11 years of age are entitled to a concession ticket price (50%).
Children older than 11 years need to purchase a regular Entry Ticket for the event.
All children must be accompanied by an adult.

Can my ticket be refunded or transferred to another person?
The cancellation policy is provided in the Terms and Conditions and you should be aware of the policy.
You can transfer your personalised ticket (Friends of the Concorso packages, Entry Tickets Villa d’Este) to another person. Please inform the Organisation Team about the name change in order to avoid any inconvenience at the entrance. The name of each ticket holder must be provided when these tickets are purchased.

IS THERE A CATALOGUE WITH THE VEHICLES TAKING PART?
You can purchase the yearbooks for Historic Cars and Concept Cars & Prototypes at the gift shop of the Villa d’Este.

HOW DO I GET TO CERNOBBIO?
The most convenient airport for arrival by plane is Milan Malpensa Airport just a 45-minute drive away from Cernobbio. If you want to travel by train, your destination will be Como S. Giovanni station. Direct trains connect Como with Milan and Switzerland. You have the option of using a BMW shuttle service for a pick-up and departure transfer to/from Cernobbio. If you are coming by car, you should take the Lago di Como exit from the A9 Como – Chiasso motorway.

MAY I BRING MY PET(S) TO THE EVENT?
Please note that animals are not allowed in the grounds of Villa d’Este on Villa Erba. If you are staying at the Villa d’Este, small dogs are only allowed in your room. We kindly ask you to leave your dog in the room during the exhibition and parade of the cars on the Saturday and the Sunday. Naturally, official assistance dogs are welcome at the event.

ARE FOOD AND DRINKS AVAILABLE IN THE GROUNDS OF VILLA ERBA?
Yes, food and beverages are available at concession stands in the grounds of Villa Erba.

Can I cast a vote to choose the winners?
Yes, several awards are conferred by public referendum.

What is the dress code?
On Saturday and Sunday during the day, the compulsory dress code is elegant or smart casual.

Are there any restrictions that I should be aware of?
Please note that the following items are strictly prohibited during the event:

  • bulky items
  • sharp items
  • tins
  • animals of any kind
  • any form of explosive and hazardous tools

Inspiration Friday World's Most Exclusive Event 2023

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