To the left, a Porsche 917 K (1970); to the right, a Ford GT40 (1968).
Porsche's 75 Years & A Tenor's Choice of "Supreme Engine Sounds" – The Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2023 Was Held.
Celebrating the Engine's Song
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FEATURES
July 11, 2023
This year's Villa d’Este introduced the "Trofeo Il Canto del Motore" for the participating car with the most beautiful engine sound. The selection was entrusted to internationally acclaimed opera singer Jonas Kaufmann.
Born in Munich in 1969, the hometown of event sponsor BMW, he is a tenor known for his uniquely rich and powerful voice.
Whether as the painter Cavaradossi in "Tosca" or as Siegmund descending from the heavens in "Die Walküre," he has expressed the psychological depths of his characters with his distinctively resonant voice. In 2022, he released his first best-of album, "The Tenor," on Sony Classical.
The car he selected was a 1970 "917 K," also participating in the Porsche 75th Anniversary class, equipped with a 4900cc, 580hp turbocharged engine with a 180-degree V12 configuration.
Currently owned by Count Christophe d'Ansembourg of Belgium, the roar that erupted when the acceleration pedal was pressed, as if to defy the continuous rain, was met with thunderous applause from the gallery, akin to an encore.
EXPERIMENTING WITH THE POST-WAR EUROPEAN GT Mention of Honor : Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Berlinetta Riva “La Serenissima” (1950)
While I wrote about Futurist artists at the beginning, engines and exhaust sounds have often moved the hearts of musicians.
Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989), one of the leading conductors of the 20th century, was one such individual. Known for his love of automobiles as well as piloting his private jet, he penned the following letter to Enzo Ferrari:
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"When I hear your 12-cylinder sound, it unleashes a harmony that no maestro can play."
One wonders what sounds will captivate a maestro by the shores of Lake Como next time. The enjoyment of this automotive garden party by the lake has just increased by one more element.
Lancia Florida Coupé Pinin Farina (1955: foreground)