Classic cars that once belonged to Hollywood greats were among dozens of vintage vehicles recently on display on the shores of Italy’s Lake Como.
Founded in 1929, the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este was dropped after world war two before being revived in 1995, and is now one of the world’s major events for vintage cars.
Oliver Wittibschlager owns the 1952 Jaguar XK120 that once belonged to Clark Gable.
“The car was delivered to him to the film set in Cornwall by Jaguar itself. After he got the car and after he finished filming in Cornwall, he made a journey all around Europe with this car, and he stayed here for 18 months and during this time he drove this car all the time,” he said.
Italian film star Marcello Mastroianni’s 1966 Ferrari still has its original number plate. Current owner Carlo Confidati was keen to keep it as close to its original look as possible: “We tried to leave it in exactly the same condition as it was back then, and it hasn’t changed much. It has very few kilometres on it. Mastroianni was a car enthusiast and often changed vehicles. Many of them were dark in colour because he found that elegant.”
Also a Ferrari fan, Steve McQueen owned a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4. Originally painted in hazelnut brown, it underwent a color change to suit his taste.
“McQueen hated it and instructed his favoured paint shop at the time to propose a new colour. ‘Chianti red’ was the colour that was proposed, which McQueen agreed to. The car was then completely repainted in the colour that you see it in today,” explained Michael Pearce, representative of its current owner.
To the motto ‘Back to the Future – The Journey Continues’, this 87th edition of the Concorso brought together some fifty historic cars spanning eight decades of vehicle history.
In addition to the usual show, the event also featured rally machines for the first time, to the delight of vintage car enthusiasts from around the world.
