Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2026, Lake Como's Finest Weekend

Since 1929, Lake Como has been doing this. Fifty of the world's most spectacular automobiles, a jury, a trophy, and a setting that makes every other concours feel like a parking lot. Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2026 runs May 15 to 17 at the Grand Hotel Villa d'Este in Cernobbio, organized by BMW Group Classic in cooperation with Villa d'Este.

Six competition classes. A Broad Arrow Auctions sale on Saturday and Sunday at Villa Erba. A Trofeo BMW Group Best of Show winner who takes home a one-of-a-kind A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Chronograph in 18-carat white gold with a hand-engraved coat of arms on the hinged back. Public Day on Sunday May 17 for everyone else.

The Six Competition Classes

The 2026 Sourcing & Selecting Committee has set six categories. Viva Villa d'Este: extravagantly styled 1950s coachwork, the era when excess was the brief. The Top Goes Down, The Price Goes Up: convertibles from the same decade, the ones where the price went up when the top went down. They Earned Their Names: Ferrari endurance legends, the cars Enzo built to win and they did. Every Scratch Tells a Story: unrestored survivors, every scratch telling its own story. From Carnaby Street to the Autostrada: grand tourers from the swinging sixties in motion. The Pace Race: supercars from the decade the category came of age. Around 50 automobiles across all six classes competing for the Trofeo BMW Group.

The Broad Arrow Auction

Broad Arrow Auctions returns to Villa Erba on Saturday May 16 and Sunday May 17 following last year's successful European premiere. Early highlights already confirmed: a Classiche-certified 1990 Ferrari F40, non-cat, non-adjust, estimated at €2,300,000 to €2,500,000. A 1929 Bugatti Type 43 Roadster with one-off coachwork by Eugène Matthys, estimated at €2,500,000 to €3,500,000. A lightweight 2003 Honda NSX-R estimated at €700,000 to €800,000. A rare 1999 NSX Type S in Monte Carlo Blue Pearl at €200,000 to €250,000. Consignors can reach Broad Arrow online. 

BMW Anniversaries on the Lake

BMW Group Classic is marking four anniversaries at Villa Erba this year. The BMW 328, the sports car icon of the 1930s, turns 90. The BMW M3 turns 40. The BMW 6 Series turns 50. The BMW 02 Series turns 60. All four celebrated on the grounds of Villa Erba alongside the public programming.

Public Day and the Festival

Sunday May 17 is Public Day — Il Festival at Villa Erba. The full parade of competing automobiles open to the general public, a full family program, and the fifth edition of Amici & Automobili — Wheels & Weisswürscht Lake Como, the Bavarian-inflected Cars & Coffee format that has established itself as the casual counterweight to the formality of the main concours. Cars from clubs and communities across Europe on the Villa Erba park grounds. The motto: casually celebrating cars.

The Villa d'Este Season

The Concorso lands in the first weeks of Villa d'Este's 154th season, which inaugurated March 16 under new Chef Andrea Guerini in the kitchen. The summer calendar runs long: Electric Yachting on May 9 to 10, One Lake One Car on June 6 celebrating the legendary Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Coupé Villa d'Este, Summer Feste on July 4, July 14, and August 15, and Vintage Yachting on September 12. The Concorso weekend is the opening act.

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