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The 8 Best Cars at the 2024 Concorso d’Eleganza Varignana 1705

The 8 Best Cars at the 2024 Concorso d’Eleganza Varignana 1705

The 8 Best Cars at the 2024 Concorso d’Eleganza Varignana 1705

Now in its second year, the Concorso d’Eleganza Varignana 1705 brings the European concours season to a close, and finally gives Italy’s Motor Valley its own high-end car show after decades of providing the eye-candy for events elsewhere. Held at the hilltop Palazzo di Varignana resort near Bologna, a short drive from Ferrari in Maranello and Lamborghini in Sant’Agata, this year’s event attracted an expanded field of 35 cars, up from 23 last year.

The concours comprised examples from world-class collections which have won some of the top prizes in historic motoring, including Best in Show at Villa d’Este. This year also saw an increasingly international entry list, with cars from Germany and Japan in addition to the great Italian collections. The judges included British architect, author, and aesthete Stephen Bayley, Peter Read of the Royal Automobile Club, and Adolfo Orsi, motoring historian and scion of the noble family which founded Maserati in nearby Modena.

The event’s popularity with collectors has much to do with the venue. Established in 2013 by fintech entrepreneur Carlo Gheradi, the Varignana estate now encompasses about 1,235 acres of vineyards and olive groves, a 150-room hotel, six private villas, four restaurants, and a spa, among other amenities. But despite its scale, the resort is artfully and subtly integrated into the landscape. And for owners used to displaying their cars at events with a scarcity of places to stay, as well as long traffic queues to get in, the Concorso d’Eleganza Varignana 1705 is a revelation. Everyone can stay at the property, and the cars are displayed a minute’s walk from breakfast. After the scorching temperatures at some summer events this year, the balmy early autumn climate in Emilia Romagna was welcome, as was the wine, olive oil, and even saffron produced on the estate and served at a series of gourmet lunches and dinners over the event’s three days.

Public day tickets cost from just €35 (roughly $39) in order to keep the event accessible, and the resort offers residential packages for enthusiasts who wish to attend but who aren’t displaying a car. Visitor numbers are kept low to ensure the right atmosphere, so we’d advise booking early for next year as the popularity of the event is likely to grow. Until then, here are our favorites from this  year’s field, including the Best-in-Show winner.



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