For the third time in Como, the FuoriConcorso event was held on May 20th and 21st in Cernobbio, a pilgrimage site for all classic car enthusiasts. A different, more contemporary and relaxed take on the traditional concours d’elegance format, FuoriConcorso took place at three venues, Villa del Grumello, Villa Sucota, and Villa Olmo, all merely a few miles away from the Villa d’Este and Villa Erba.
The event was divided into two exhibitions, the Fuori Aero held at Villa del Grumello and Villa Sucota and the Fuori Open Museum, a public exhibition held at the Villa Olmo. As its name suggests, this year’s exhibition celebrated aerodynamics and beauty in all forms, while the Fuori Open Museum saw Porsche displaying prized artifacts from its own vaults.
Organized by Larusmiani and Classic Driver magazine, the Fuori Aero exhibition brought together a carefully curated selection of contemporary classic cars of various kinds and eras, yet all built with one goal: to cut through air.
Villa Sucota hosted the historic section of the Fuori Aero, with the car welcoming the guests being the 1920 Diatto 20S Torpedo from the Lopresto collection, sadly kept under covers to keep the rain away. Moving up the driveway, BMW 328 Kammcoupe and Mercedes-Benz 540K Streamliner represented Germany’s early aerodynamic efforts, whereas the bubble-top Jaguar XK120, and the Bentley Type R Continental showed how the British automotive industry used aerodynamics for land speed records and opulent grand touring.
Coming straight from the Centro Storico Fiat, 1954 Fiat Turbina and 1960 Abarth Monoposto covered the Italian style of slippery silhouettes together with an Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ that celebrated 60th anniversary of Autodelta. With its razor sharp styling, the 1970 Pontiac Firebird One concept car illustrated the American approach to aero and the Japanese industry was represented via a Honda NSX Type R.
Standing side by side, two products built by the same company, Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport and Volkswagen LT1 XL, demonstrated how aerodynamics can be used to achieve two utterly opposite goals.
Racing cars were a part of the exhibition, as well. Scattered around the Villa Sucota’s courtyard were examples of theNissan R390, Porsche 956, Maserati MC12, Lancia LC2, Lola T92/10 and Mosler MT900 showed how aerodynamics work when winning is the only thing that matters.
Villa del Grumello was fully focused on contemporary hypercars coming from upcoming and established independent manufacturers alike, as well as some household names with decades of pursuing speed under their belt, like the Dallara which exhibited its Stradale road car. A trio of modern aero wonders, Koenigsegg Jesko, Pagani Zonda R Evo Barchetta and McLaren Speedtail displayed the power of craftsmanship and personalization, while a sleek matte black Aspark Owl joined the Pininfarina Battista to represent the zero emission hypercars. Overlooking the lot, a bespoke Ferrari FXX-K Evo proudly represented Italy’s best known performance marque.
In addition to cars, Fuori Concorso hosted a number of exhibitions, namely the Larusmiani pop-up boutique, a racing simulator and last but not least, a photo exhibition by Camilo Rios, better known as RIOCAM.
Moreover, on Saturday, Villa del Grumello hosted a panel discussion where Horacio Pagani, Christian Von Koenigsegg, Pininfarina Automobili CEO Paolo Dellachà, Ralf Häßler of Porsche and Dallara’s Dialma Zinelli discussed the challenges of creating automobiles for road and track use.
On Sunday, the exhibition got an expansion in a number of 512 BB Ferraris, marking the release of Berlinetta Boxer, the legend, a book dedicated to the first mid-engined roadgoing Ferrari which celebrates its 50th birthday this year. Another discussion followed, with heads and prominent figures from historic departments talking about museums, anniversaries and classic car preservation.
Finally, the Fuori Concorso Open Museum event at Villa Olmo celebrated 75 years of Porsche by hosting a visual representation of Porsche’s heritage, present and future through a selection of iconic automobiles representing the brand’s important milestones and programs. The millionth 911 Carrera, Gruppe B concept, a line-up of Speedsters and Porsche Sonderwunsch cars were just some of the highlights from this year’s event. Sadly though, the rain kept a large number of cars covered throughout Saturday, specifically race cars including the 550 Spyder, the Vaillant-liveried 917/30 and the Formula E car.
For those seeking a quick break from the downpour, Porsche offered an indoor crash course on its history in an expandable trailer filled with museum-worthy pieces of the company’s history. As the final piece of the puzzle, this part of the exhibition portrayed Porsche as a cultural icon, an innovator and a technological tour de force.
With the 2023 rendition wrapped successfully, Fuori Concorso continues making waves in the automotive world, reshaping the classic car culture as we know it. That being said, we can’t wait to see what the next year at Lake Como will bring us.
