The 1913 SCAT 25/35 HP owned by Corrado Lopresto won the FIVA Best Preserved Vehicle award at the 2018 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, held 25-27 May at the Grand Hotel Villa d’Este on Lake Como in Cernobbio, Italy.
At Villa d’Este, cars and motorbikes are grouped in classes with the winner and runner-up of each class selected by the jury. As one of the special prizes, FIVA (the Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens or international federation of historic vehicles) chose to present its Best Preserved Vehicle award to a car that truly demonstrates what preservation is all about.
While almost all contenders in the Concorso were in immaculate condition, the 1913 SCAT 25/35 HP owned by Corrado Lopresto shone out as exceptional. Senior Vice President of FIVA and a member of the jury, Dr Mario Theissen explained: “A car more than 100 years old, in remarkably original shape and fully running, this is a perfect statement of what FIVA stands for.”
Meanwhile, Henning Thomsen acted as the FIVA steward of the event and handled the scrutineering, supported by Dominik Fischlin.
In addition to class and special prizes, the event’s overall ‘Best of Show’ as voted by the jury was the 1958 Ferrari 335 Sport of Andreas Mohringer, while the Coppa d’Oro Villa d’Este — as voted for by the public on the Saturday of the event — went to the 1968 Alfa Romeo 33/2 Stradale of Albert Spiess.
As Dr Mario Theissen commented, the 2018 Concorso was arguably better than ever: “Legendary film cars such as the James Bond Aston Martin DB5 and automobiles owned by movie stars joined an impressive line-up of fascinating witnesses to our mobile heritage. Plus, for the first time, a separate class featuring Formula 1 cars from four decades added to the show, all presented with the engines running!”
Next year’s Concorso d’Eleganza will be held from 22 to 26 May 2019.
[Source: FIVA; photos: BMW Group Classic]
