Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este

There are car events, and then there is the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. BMW Group's annual gathering on the shores of Lake Como has been setting the standard for concours culture in Europe since the 1990s — not through scale, but through conviction. The lawns of Villa d'Este, the hotel's Belle Époque architecture, the light off the water. The setting does half the work, but the cars have to earn their place on the grass.

The 2026 edition runs 15 to 17 May and brings two BMW anniversaries with it. Fifty years of the E24 6 Series — Paul Bracq's wedge-shaped gran turismo, still one of the most resolved things BMW ever drew. Forty years of the M3, represented across all six generations in the grounds of Villa Erba, touring car racers included. The E30 remains the fixed point everything else is measured against.

Next door at Villa Erba, Broad Arrow Auctions holds its second European sale. Around 30 lots, curated tightly. The headliners tell you what kind of room this is: a 1929 Bugatti Type 43 Roadster with coachwork by Belgian builder Eugène Matthys, estimated at up to €3.5 million, and a 1990 Ferrari F40 in original condition — the last car Enzo personally signed off on — guided at up to €2.5 million. Also offered: a BMW M3 GTS E92, number 032 of 250, without reserve.

The drive in rewards effort. The SS340 along the western shore of Como is the obvious approach from the south; from Switzerland, the road through Chiasso and down to Cernobbio takes less than an hour from the border. Arrive with time to walk the grounds before the judging begins.