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1932 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Spider wins top prize at Villa d'Este

Every year, a selection of the most beautiful automobiles ever made travel to the shores of Lake Como in Italy, for the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. Only one of them can be named the belle of the ball, however, and this year, top honors went to a classic 1930s-era Alfa Romeo. The 1932 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Spider owned by American collector David Sydorick won the Best in Show award. The deep red roadster is entered the circle of finalists after winning the B class for "Pre-war sports cars which defied the Great Depression." The classic Alfa features coachwork by Zagato. The coachbuilder notes that another one of its creations – a 1956 Maserati A6G/54 also owned by an American collector – won the post-war class. The modern Maserati-powered Mostro, which Zagato revealed at the concours and delivered to its first customer, did not win the Concepts and Prototypes class. (But we've included an updated image gallery below just the same). That award went to the Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6. The people's choice Coppa d'Oro was awarded to the 1950 Ferrari 166 MM Barchetta by Touring, while a 1973 Munch-4 TTS-E won the motorcycle category. Related Video: Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2015: Winners dazzle at the time-honoured Classic Weekend on Lake Como Munich/Cernobbio. An impressive parade of all the cars and motorcycles entered in competition and the announcement of this year's prize winners provided a dazzling Classic Weekend on the banks of Lake Como with a fitting climax late on Sunday afternoon in front of thousands of spectators. The Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este had once again underlined its stand-out status on the exclusive event calendar for historic cars and motorcycles. All eyes were trained on the line-up of precious classic machines and striking concept cars over the two days of the Concorso. Under a pleasantly warm sun, the event's "Seventies Style – the Jet Set is back" banner spanned a host of special exhibitions and highlight features, creating a fitting stage for a weekend that will live long in the memory. As ever, the best was left until last. The jury of experts provided the event with its crowning moment as the Trofeo BMW Group for "Best of Show" was awarded to an Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Spider from 1932. The Coppa d'Oro Villa d'Este prize decided by public referendum was won by a Ferrari 166M Barchetta from 1950.

2020 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Review & Buying Guide | Small but significant changes

The 2020 Alfa Romeo Stelvio is a luxury SUV aimed at folks who want something different – not necessarily to be flashy, but just to stand out in a crowd of grey Audis and black BMWs. Besides its badge and decidedly un-German styling, the Stelvio drives like no other luxury SUV. It has quick steering with great feel and excellent road holding that provide the sort of involved driving experience you probably don't expect from a high-riding crossover – and that goes triple for the outrageous, 505-horsepower Quadrifoglio that is without question the most desirable and competitive Stelvio. However, to this point, choosing the Stelvio also meant putting up with some overtly cheap interior pieces, an arcane infotainment system, few accident avoidance technologies and a poor reliability reputation. As you'll read below, all but the reliability issue have been addressed for 2020 – and only time will tell if the reliability's been improved. These changes are welcome and make the Stelvio much easier to make a case for getting something different. What's new with Stelvio for 2020? The interior's cheap and wobbly switchgear, which so obviously stood out in the 2019 Stelvio, gets a welcome upgrade for 2020. The electronic shifter is a little more solid in action, it's now covered in stitched perforated leather and surrounded by a metallic housing festooned with a little Italian flag. The electronic parking brake has been relocated to the left of it. The center console has also been redesigned to accommodate a wireless charging pad. Knobs for the "dna" drive mode selector, volume/track and the infotainment control knob feel more solid, while the latter is ringed by a nice knurled metal finish. That knob, however, has become a redundant control interface as the 8.8-inch infotainment display is now touch-operated as well. It also has new graphics and a new interface with a configurable home screen. It's a definite improvement over what was there before. The Stelvio also gets more advanced accident avoidance tech, most of which are among the best-executed on the market. The base price has also gone down by about $1,000 for 2020 despite these upgrades. That's rare. What's the Stelvio's interior and in-car technology like? Despite its many worthwhile upgrades for 2020, the Stelvio's interior still doesn't possess the same luxurious look and feel you'll find in an Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche or Volvo.

2019 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio Review | Heck of a third impression

The 2019 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio does not make a good second impression. The first impression? A-OK, as you approach its distinctive Alfa face, admire its tight proportions and wonder why someone would paint it something other than Alfa Rosso. It's so definitely not German, which counts for a lot should you live in a neighborhood where everyone drives a black BMW or silver Audi. That this Stelvio costs $94,340 seems steep, but at least it has the looks to back it up. Then you pull the door handle and the action is eerily reminiscent of a Dodge Dart. The door opens and the sound and feel are just a bit hollow. You sit down inside and press a button, any button, or turn a knob. The plastic feels cheap and the action is flimsy. It's basically the exact opposite of what you get in an Audi or Porsche. Even their touch-sensitive controls emit a hearty click. Car journalists may go on about "soft-touch materials" in cars, but it’s the switchgear that one ultimately interacts most with. If the volume knob feels Fisher-Price, who cares that the dash and just about every other interior surface is covered in leather? To be fair, the Alfa's cabin is indeed covered as such, and since this is the Quadrifoglio, it gets green and white stitching with carbon fiber trim. It certainly doesn't look cheap, even if it definitely feels it and sounds like it given the duo of distinctive rattles that had already developed in a press car with a mere 3,400 miles on it. There's also the infotainment system, which is highlighted by an 8.8-inch screen that doesn't take good advantage of its sizeable real estate. There's a control knob with accompanying Menu and Option buttons. It's better than Lexus Remote Touch, but that's a bar previously used at a corgi agility competition. Rival systems are easier to use (not to mention FCA's own Uconnect touchscreen) and appear more state-of-the-art (because they are). It's very possible that a prospective luxury SUV shopper would stop right there, never even bothering to go on a test drive. If they'd just come from a Porsche, Audi or BMW store, it's particularly easy to see that happening. Of course, it's the test drive where the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio makes its third and best impression. It's as sizzling and wild as you might have heard. The delicacy and immediacy of the controls are immediately noticed.