Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este: All the Spotlight Steals
Manufacturers often use the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este as an opportunity to display their classic, heritage, and upcoming models.
In fact, it has continued to carve out a permanent place in the automotive calendar throughout the years, and for this year's instalment, the event hosted stars from the past, which you'd want in your garage.
We take a look at some of the incredible reveals at the show.
BMW Concept Touring Coupe
The first model to capture our hearts is the Concept Touring Coupe which is aimed at reviving the spirit of the iconic BMW Z3 Coupe of the olden days. Stunning as it looks, it should also be a brute courtesy of the current Z4 M40i's 3.0-litre inline-six engine with 285 kW and 500 Nm channelled to the rear axle via a ZF 8-speed automatic gearbox.
While BMW is still determining if it'll build the CTC (and we don't see why not), some have shown interest at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. Only time and interest in the Touring will tell.
Kode61 Birdcage
Created and designed by accomplished designer Ken Okuyama, the Kode61 Birdcage stunned the public at this year's event as a modern take on the 1960 Maserati Tipo 61 racer. Look past its peculiar name, and you have a vehicle that blends retro and contemporary styling elements consisting of a shart point, slimmer headlights, and a front grille with an asymmetrical layout.
There is no mention of its powertrain and performance specifics, but hearing its howl in one of the videos captured at the launch suggests something potent could be nestling under its hood, and it's not electric. Expect a few of these to be made for deserving markets, but SA isn't one of them.
Hyundai N Vision 74 Concept
It's true, Hyundai plans to ditch the internal combustion engine as soon as 2035 for one of its biggest markets, Europe and the NVision 74 Concept hints at what we could expect from the manufacturer.
It was created to pay homage to the brand's design heritage, which has always been inspired by the 1974 Pony Coupe Concept on full display at the event. Pushing over 500 kW of power and 900 Nm to the rear axle courtesy of a 62.4 kWh battery pack that feeds power to a pair of electric motors, it's the hottest concept car of the decade that's feasible for production.
FAW's Hongqi S9
Chinese automakers aren't big at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, but FAW stunned the public at the event when it presented its Hongqi S9. It features impressive supercar proportions courtesy of a sleek, low-slung silhouette, butterfly doors, plus a hybridised V8 engine with 1,043 kW.
Spawning an exotic charm, the Hongqi S9 doesn't only look fast. In fact, it dashes from 0-100 km/h in a Rimac Nevera-challenging 1.9 seconds en route to a top speed of 400 km/h. For a clear perspective, the Nevera completes the same task in 1.8 seconds, and though the Chinese product is marginally slower, it's still a marvel of EV engineering.
FAW plans to make only 99 units of the S9, each priced at $1.45 million, roughly R27,841,450. Yikes.
Bugatti Mistral Roadster
The Bugatti Mistral has been created to mark the end of the road for the 8.0-litre W16 engine that has been powering Bugattis since 2005. Also revealed at the special event, much creativity has gone into making the Mistral a unique product; think of roof-mounted engine air scoops, yellow accents and bespoke interior bits and pieces.
As the last Bugatti to pack a combustion engine before electrification takes its course, it houses the same 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16 from the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+, good for a staggering 1,176 kW, and the marque says it hopes to become the fastest roadster in the world once more. Hey, Rimac Nevera...
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