specialist dealers in collectable cars

Lake Como obliged with spring sunshine for the 2026 Concorso d’Eleganza, and the field — fifty-four cars from thirteen countries across eight classes — was as considered as the setting. The theme, “Future needs Heritage”, proved more than a marketing line. It read across the lawn at the Villa d’Este on Saturday and again at Villa Erba on Sunday, from the carrozzeria-bodied Twenties to the supercar coming-of-age class that closed the running order.

The jury awarded Best of Show to the 1937 BMW 328 “Bügelfalte” — the streamlined roadster bodied in-house at Munich rather than by Touring, and the only such example built. It is a fitting result in the 328’s ninetieth year, and a car whose Mille Miglia history (sixth overall in 1940) lends substance to the silhouette. The Coppa d’Oro, the audience vote, went to the 1963 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster — one of the last cars off the line, alloy-block, with hardtop, and preserved rather than restored. That two unrestored cars carried the weekend’s two headline trophies is itself a useful signal of where collector sentiment now sits.

Beyond the lawns there was rather more to take in than usual. BMW used the terrace to formally introduce Alpina in its new guise as an independent marque within the group, presenting the Vision Alpina concept — a long V8 grand tourer styled by Max Missoni and Alex Innes. The M3 turned forty and was duly celebrated at Villa Erba, with Cecotto, Pirro and Ravaglia on hand. At Villa del Grumello, Fuoriconcorso’s KraftMeister gathering pushed the German theme further, into Eighties and Nineties autobahn machinery, while Villa Olmo hosted a worthwhile exhibition of Helmut Newton’s automotive photography.

A full weekend, and one whose programme — for all its breadth — answered the title brief.