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2013 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este dominated by Ralph Lauren's Bugatti [w/video]

On this past long weekend while Americans were celebrating Memorial Day, the very American Ralph Lauren was cleaning up tidily at this year's Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este in northern Italy on the western shore of Lake Como. It rained the first day on and off and this lowered a little the spirits of the event, but Sunday was a knockout Day Two and, at any rate, nothing put the kibosh on Lauren's 1938 Bugatti winning nearly everything there was to win.
Nothing put the kibosh on Lauren's 1938 Bugatti winning nearly everything there was to win.
Here's the hardware the clothing magnate's $40-million-value Bugatti 57SC Atlantic hauled in: Trofeo BMW Group (this is a BMW Group-sponsored event since 1999) for best in show according to the Jury; Coppa d'Oro Villa d'Este for best in show according to the invited public and press; Trofeo BMW Group Italia for best in show according to the open public on Day Two; Trofeo BMW Group Ragazzi for best in show according to the younguns; best-in-class winner of Class B a.k.a. "Purosangue"; Trofeo Auto & Design special prize for most exciting design according to the Jury.

Bugatti Divo teased again ahead of Monterey reveal

There are four days to go until Bugatti unveils the track-focused Divo this Friday at The Quail - A Motorsports Gathering during Monterey Car Week. Until then, we have this last teaser of the complete vehicle under a blue veil to try and draw out details. Bugatti once used the Vision Gran Turismo to tease aspects of the Chiron, and here it appears as though the French carmaker has returned to some elements of that concept while, at the same time, clearly evolving Chiron design language. The rear wing is clearly toned down from the Vision GT concept, but a fin runs from the back of the greenhouse to the wing. The wheel arches stand out under the sheet, much punchier than the arches on the Chiron, and the rear fender contains a sharp edge. A clear departure from both the Vision GT and the Chiron, though, is the side line. The relaxed arc around the roof to the back of the cabin and down to the sills, a feature we've known since the Veyron, has been redone. On the Divo it looks like the roof line takes a shallow dip to a point, then makes a hard reverse to form a shoulder line that intersects the front wheel arch. Above that, a milder shoulder line descends from the cowl to underline the greenhouse. "We've kept and further developed our Bugatti design DNA features, but on top of that have also taken the opportunity to exercise our freedom and create a completely new form language," said Frank Heyl, the exterior design chief. Bugatti obviously wanted us to notice all of this, because the Divo example under the silk doesn't have a side mirror. Built by the company's just-revived coachbuilding department and advancing the capabilities of the Chiron Sport, the Divo will bring "enormous downforce and G-forces." Other than the top stabilizer fin and large rear wing, the additional feature we've seen to support its track mission is a vertical fin ahead of the front wheels. Cosmetically, it looks like the taillights will be LED or OLED with highly contoured shapes. We'll have to wait until Friday for word on whether the 8.0-liter, quad-turbo W16 has undergone any changes. Bugatti will make just 40 Divos, each with a price starting at 5 million euros, about $5.8 million in U.S. dollars, and nearly double the price of the Chiron Sport. Those numbers might be moot if every Divo is already spoken for.

At St. Moritz, the Ferraris and Bugattis are small wonders

The Little Car Company is once again taking to glitzy St. Moritz in the Alps to show off an array of scaled-down automotive classics that will include a Bugatti Baby II, Ferrari Testa Rossa J (for junior) in both base and Pacco Gara models, and an Aston Martin DB5 Junior. The elegant, electrified miniatures, all available for test drives, will be assembled at the upcoming International Concours of Elegance at St. Moritz this Friday and Saturday to entertain the rich and famous, and others perhaps not so well positioned. The Little Car Company is a U.K.-based firm that has re-created everything from a pint-sized Bugatti Type 35 to a life-sized dune buggy based on a Tamiya R/C kit from the 1980s. Their cars run on electric power. Other models are put on static display, and one of those at St. Moritz is to be its newly launched Bentley Blower Jnr. "A step into new territory for the brand," the company says, the Blower Jnr is an 85 percent scale electric version of the British manufacturer's legendary original, and is The Little Car Company’s first road-legal automobile. Said CEO Ben Hedley, "This year will be the third time that we have participated in this wonderful event, so it is only right that we bring even more unique pieces for guests to get behind the wheel of, but also that we bring something new for guests to look at: the Bentley Blower Jnr." Operating for about five years, the Little Car Company hand-builds licensed products in entertaining partnerships with some elite manufacturers. Its cars are aimed mainly at collectors but can be driven. Among its recent offerings, the Testa Rossa was launched in 2021 as a 3/4-scale replica of the legendary "red head,” powered by a 12kW battery and able to reach a top speed of 47 mph, Little Car Company planned to build only 299 examples of the Testa Rossa. One of them was on display at Harrods in London just before Christmas, priced at just about $100,000. A terrific gift, but youÂ’ll need a bigger tree.   Featured Gallery The Little Car Company at St Moritz Design/Style Aston Martin Bentley Bugatti Ferrari Electric