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2022 Villa d'Este Concours d'Elegance Mega Gallery | The show in pictures

COMO, Italy — Held annually, the Villa d'Este Concours d'Elegance is, in many ways, Europe's version of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. It takes place in a beautiful location, and it brings together an impressive selection of rare and valuable cars. It's a real treat for the eyes, the ears, and, if you're into champagne, the palate. The 2022 edition of the show was no exception: About 50 cars were shipped to Lake Como from over a dozen countries, and it wasn't just the usual suspects. Sure, there were a lot of pre-war cars (including a couple of one-off models), but some of the icons that younger enthusiasts grew up with (like the Lamborghini Countach) were present as well. This year's event was split into eight categories: The Art Deco Era of Motor Car Design, The Supercharged Mercedes-Benz, How Grand Entrances Were Once Made, Eight Decades of Ferrari Represented in Eight Icons, "Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday," BMW's M Cars and Their Ancestors, Pioneers That Chased the Magic 300 KPH, And a design award for concept and prototypes. The jury gave the coveted "best of show" award to a 1937 Bugatti 57 S owned by Andrew Picker of Monaco, while the aforementioned classes were won by, respectively: The Bugatti 57 S, shown below, A 1936 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet, A 1956 Chrysler Boano Coupe Speciale, A 1966 Ferrari 356 P Berlinetta Speciale Tre Posti, A 1961 Porsche 356 B Carrera Abarth GTL, A 1972 BMW 3.0 CSL, A 1989 Porsche 959 Sport, And the Bugatti Bolide concept unveiled in 2020. Winning at Villa d'Este is a big deal: The cars are judged by a panel of highly experienced judges. No one gave me a scoring sheet, presumably out of fear that I'd award points to the late-model Fiat 600 lurking in the parking lot, but several cars that didn't win an award caught my eye. One is a 1934 Bugatti Type 59 Sports, a grand-prix racer that was once owned by King Leopold III of Belgium and that has never been restored — its patina is inimitable. Another is a 1961 BMW 700 RS. One of two built (the other is in the BMW collection), it's a tiny, ultra-light roadster related to the 700 and powered by a 697-cubic-centimeter air-cooled flat-twin tuned to develop 70 horsepower. It won several hill-climb events during the 1960s, and it's one of the rarest cars ever to wear a BMW roundel. Aston Martin's freshly-restored 1979 Bulldog concept was cool to see as well; check out the cassette player integrated into the headliner!

Aston Martin previews EV conversions with electric 1970 DB6 Volante

If you're a fan of classic British sports cars, and you're concerned about the environment, the future is looking pretty bright. Similar to what Jaguar is preparing for old E-Types, Aston Martin has just announced that it is developing "cassette"-type electric powertrains that it can drop into classic Aston models. By "cassette," the company means that the whole powertrain assembly can be easily bolted into an existing Aston Martin, and just as easily be replaced by the original internal combustion engine if desired. The first car to undergo the electric conversion is a 1970 Aston Martin DB6 Volante, and the prototype powertrain bolts up to the factory engine and transmission mounts. If it weren't for a photo showing it plugged into a charger, it would be impossible to tell that it had an electric motor under the skin. Even the interior looks unchanged. Aston Martin says that a small screen has been added that displays motor and battery management, but we can't find it in the photos. This is a stark contrast to the Jaguar E-Type Zero Concept that featured a modern interpretation of the original interior. Aston Martin didn't reveal any detailed specifications of the powertrain, though. So horsepower and range are complete mysteries at the moment. Aston did note that production examples of this powertrain will use components from the very limited-production Rapide E. That sedan used dual motors for 610 horsepower and 700 pound-feet of torque. Surely the conversion kit will only use one motor for packaging, and since the Rapide E's full power would be unnecessary and deviate far from the original performance and character of the classic car. Also, Aston claimed a range of over 200 miles for the Rapide E, but classic conversions may be less due to space restrictions. Something closer to the E-Type Zero's 170-mile range seems likely, and coupled with DC fast charging, should be more than enough for a car that likely won't be driven as often or as far as a more modern vehicle. Exact timing and availability still have yet to be announced. Aston only said that it plans to start on conversions sometime in 2019. Since Aston plans on delivering Rapide E models toward the end of 2019, the year is shaping up to be a big one for electric Astons. Related Video:

This Aston Martin V8 Vantage prototype sounds like it has AMG power

We've known for a while now that the next Aston Martin V8 Vantage would get power from a turbocharged Mercedes-AMG engine, but this is the first time we've had a chance to hear it. The video above, recorded by Autoevolution, shows a prototype of the 2018 Aston Martin Vantage cruising around roads near the Nurburgring. The sound is definitely similar to other V8-powered Mercs, and absolutely does not an Aston power plant. As for how good it sounds, the office is split. At least we're in agreement that it's good the car will probably be offered with a manual transmission. We can also pick out a few little details from the body. This new Vantage will get fender vents like those on the DB11 starting from just behind the front wheel arch. The DB11's high and wide rear haunches will carry over as well. This particular prototype has a very deep chin spoiler up front, which may indicate there will be more than one version. The headlights are concealed well, but considering the similarities to the DB11 in other areas, we'd expect similar swept-back headlights up front. Basically, the Vantage is shaping up to continue Aston's tradition of similarly shaped sports cars in different sizes, but that's hardly a bad thing when the resulting cars look so good. Related Video: News Source: Autoevolution / YouTube via Road & TrackImage Credit: Autoevolution / YouTube Spy Photos Aston Martin Coupe Future Vehicles Performance Videos viral video mercedes-amg aston martin v8 vantage