The 2023 edition of Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este confirmed itself as the leading concours in Europe, with the highest level of cars in a stunning location on the shores of Lake Como. Alfa Romeo has always been one of the most represented marque, with three Alfas awarded Best in Show (by the jury) in the last ten years and four awarded with the Coppa d'Oro ("golden cup" by the public).
Nevertheless, 2023 saw only one Alfa in the field, and not even a real Alfa, if we want to be pedantic, but a unique and really interesting car anyway.
The Cattaneo-Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 by Riva is a one-off built on a tubular chassis in 1950, as part of a project created by Guido Cattaneo aiming at producing a special version of the 6C 2500 with a more modern and sportier layout. Only two cars are known to have been built, the Riva and another bodied by Colli (now lost). They were fitted with a dry sump Marino engine.
This Cattaneo-Alfa was presented on August 1950 at the Venice concours d'elegance, where it received the Grand Prix of Elegance. The Riva body was called "Serenissima" (old name of the Republic of Venice) and was a design by Giovanni Lurani. 73 years later, it was awarded by the jury of Villa d'Este with the Mention of Honor in class E. The car, which bears chassis number 1005, was entered by his owner Stephen Bruno from the US.
Despite one single Alfa in the concours, the event saw the presence of another beautiful 6C 2500, the "Villa d'Este" owned by the hotel itself. Chassis 915916 was restored in the 90s and acquired by Grand Hotel Villa d'Este in 2011.
Lastly, in the RM Sotheby's auction at Villa Erba on Saturday 20th, the 1900C Cabriolet by Pinin Farina chassis 01192 was sold for 146.625 euros.
Photos by Michele P. Casiraghi