Held on the shores of Lake Como in northern Italy, a world-renowned luxury resort destination, the "Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este," commonly known as the "Villa d’Este Concours," took place again in 2022. Akio Oya, a journalist based in Italy, reports on the world's oldest existing automotive concours.

Motorboats glided across the lake, and seaplanes frequently took off, soaring high into the sky. From the Grand Hotel, offering a panoramic view of this spectacle, cars brimming with untold stories awaited me, bathed in the dappled sunlight of early summer.

The "Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este," a premier European classic car concours, was held on May 21-22, 2022, on the shores of Lake Como in northern Italy. As with the scaled-down event in October 2021, the public exhibition of participating cars at the adjacent "Villa Erba" was canceled again this year. Attendance was limited to car owners and their guests.

While the number of classes remained the same at seven, the number of cars increased from 47 to 51.

In the area where cars for Class B, "Kompressor! Mercedes-Benz with Superchargers," were gathered, I encountered a 1936 "540K Spezial Roadster." With its exceptionally elegant factory-built body, which reportedly took five months to produce per vehicle at the time, and its rarity—only about 30 (sources vary) were built—it is a coveted machine among pre-war Mercedes collectors.

In stark contrast to its elegance, I once heard from an expert that the steering of a Mercedes from this era was extremely heavy and difficult to maneuver.

Furthermore, the Spezial Roadster exceeds five meters in length and features an exceptionally long hood. However, its current owner, Richard Workman, who resides in the United States, told me, "The driving stability from around 30 mph (approximately 48 km/h) is exceptionally comfortable." Although this car did not win its class, it was awarded an honorable mention.

Class C, "150 Years of Villa d’Este," showcased cars imagined to have been driven by the hotel's guests of yesteryear.

The first owner of the 1956 "Chrysler Coupe," which won its class, was the late Giovanni Agnelli, the third-generation scion of the Fiat family. He commissioned a custom body from "Boano" in Turin. Even upon viewing it, the car exhibits a superb harmony between the splendor of American automotive design and the elegance of Carrozzeria Italiana. It even features a glass roof, a rarity for its time. However, it seems Agnelli himself felt hesitant to drive a car from another manufacturer. He passed it on to his brother Umberto, who was based in Paris. Incidentally, Fiat acquired Chrysler in 2014, after the passing of the Agnelli brothers. It is intriguing to consider how they might have enjoyed driving this car openly had they lived.