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The COVID-19 pandemic has made us all a lot more picky about the events we choose to attend and the people we socialise with.

If you’re anything like me, you keep a handful of good friends close and everyone else at a healthy distance.

A similar sentiment is shared by those in the highest echelons of society, who are being “judicious” about who they socialise with, making sure that “meaning and reason” is present at the things they attend.

So if social power is doing and being with the best of the best, an elite vintage car rally on the fabled shores of Lake Como might just be the most strapping way to demonstrate this.

Introducing the Concorso d’Eleganza at Villa D’Este, a “historic Belle Epoque wedding cake of a hotel” on the banks of Lake Como, reports The Telegraph:

[Villa D’Este is] known for its astonishing views, romanticism and high net worth local clientele, with Italianate villas belonging to George Clooney and Richard Branson.

But, over a particular weekend that usually takes place in May, it’s the thrum of your car engine that marks you out as a real high roller, not the shine on your Riva [boat].

Every year since 1929, billionaires from all over the world have made their way to “Italian Hollywood” to show off their stunning rare vintage cars and dashing outfits to match.

This year it is even more anticipated given that it was delayed in 2020 due to the pandemic.

As much as the event is about high society socialising, it is also famed for being serious about motoring, so really the cars are the star attractions.

Featuring in this year’s line-up were a canary-yellow authentically-reproduced Lamborghini LP 500 Countach, a two-tone cerulean blue 1930 Lancia Astura Torpedo, and this year’s overall winner, a 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Coupe:

Of course, the winning car gets a huge celebration:

As for who the attendees were? Well, I don’t know them, but:

There’s a reason that the first in line to amble gently through the crowds were power couple, the Marc Newson and Charlotte Stockdale, the designer and his stylist wife driving a stately Hispano Suiza H6 Dual Cowl, their daughter sipping a Coke alongside them.

…Other star names sweeping by the awaiting crowds – who all secure seats on the terrace of Villa D’Este early, the frightfully posh equivalent of dashing to secure the sun loungers round the pool – including Margherita Missoni with her racing driver boyfriend Eugenio Amos, while the judges included model Yasmin Le Bon and Goodwood’s Lord March.

Fashion is also a big feature of the event, with everyone aiming to match their motors with a ‘smart casual’ dress code that seeps into something quite Gatsby-esque:

[Think] cream, caramel or fawn-toned linen suits for men, soft shoes for ease of taking off aboard the awaiting boats and, amongst the car owners, a discreet stylistic pairing between your car and your outfit.

Not in a brash, Ferrari-branded way, but in the coffee tones that accompany Clark Gable’s old runaround, a sumptuous Lagonda LG45 Rapide, or the sports jackets and flat caps on the owners of a nifty cherry-red Osca MT4 Siluro.

The prestige of winning the Concorso is more than enough, but the perks are also suitably lavish:

A one-off timepiece from German timepiece titan A Lange & Sohne, the brand creating a special version of its 1815 Chronograph with a buttery-rose dial and a hand-engraved cuvette within the watch’s caseback.

There are quite a few distinguished worlds colliding here, proving that the Concorso D’Eleganza is truly one for the elites.

[source:telegraph]