In Praise of Savoir-Vivre and the City of Lugano.
From the pedestrian heart of the city of Lugano for the concours d’elegance to the unprecedented route through the fascinating landscapes of Ticino for the regularity rally.
The event, born in 2013 as a charity project of the Monteceneri Lions Club, has evolved over the years to become an event of international importance. To date, the initiative has made it possible to raise and distribute around 140,000 Swiss francs to charity.
In 2019, the regularity rally was joined by the elegance competition: the most beautiful vintage cars that have made the history of motoring, severely evaluated by a team of international judges, compete to win the Best of Show. The decision to hold the concours d’elegance in the heart of Lugano and on Saturday was entirely intended to support the commercial activities of the center of Lugano in a synergistic and concrete way.
The 2022 edition, with its novelties and coveted prizes, attracted an extraordinary flow of enthusiasts and lovers of “beautiful and well-made”, thus marking a turning point for the event. Lugano Elegance has now become an unmissable event capable of enlivening the center of Lugano with both a local and an international public profile, and Lions in Classic has received the nomination for the “Door Opener Award”. Confirming the importance for the area, the event has obtained the patronage of the Lugano Region, the City of Lugano, the Via Nassa Lugano Association and the Monteceneri Municipality.
As underlined by the mayor Michele Foletti, this type of event plays an important role for the city and the region from both an economic and cultural point of view.
“And Lugano Elegance promises to improve further this year, offering the public and participants an experience to remember in contact with about fifty wonderful historic cars that will not fail to put a jury made up of experts of international standing to the test. We are very honored that the “1000 Miglia Warm Up CH” will be back in Lugano on the same day, to enrich a parterre of high-level automotive history and culture”
says Massimo Albertini, President of the Lugano Elegance Organizing Committee.
“We are proud to bring our “1000 Miglia Warm Up CH” initiative back to Lugano, and we are pleased to do it again on the same day Lugano Elegance takes place, thus offering classic car enthusiasts a very special day. The city welcomed us with enthusiasm and we are grateful for its collaboration in this project which aims to preserve and transmit the automotive culture. Together, we celebrate the past and look to the future”
adds Paolo Pedersoli, CEO of Scuderia Classiche GmbH, organizer of the initiative.
In particular, the patronage of the City of Lugano and the Via Nassa Association was recently made official by exhibiting two wonderful historic cars in the patio of the Lugano Town Hall: a perfect partnership between exponents on the national and international scene of savoir-vivre. At the basis of this synergy is the concrete desire to enhance a road made up of culture and the search for beauty, focusing the spotlight on the natural stage that hosts this incredible event: Lugano – a city that is capable of looking to the future, always keeping an eye on to a past made up of taste, class and style.
A vision also shared by the partners and historical sponsors of the event, such as Banca REYL Intesa Sanpaolo, which this year, as a platinum sponsor, confirms its particular attention to Ticino and its desire to be ever closer to its customers and institutions locals.
As in past editions, Imago Art Gallery will be the protagonist of the opening of Lugano Elegance with a themed vernissage on Friday 5 May – together with moments specifically designed for the public of the competition on Saturday 6 May. The Lonville Watch Company, which has made Lugano its “home” for over a decade, is once again promoting the importance of having access to these wonderful “time capsules”, both for our current and future generations. It does so by confirming itself as the official time keeper of the event and offering the prize for the car that will be chosen as Best of Show: a special edition Lonville timepiece – a Rallymaster chronograph dedicated to the world of vintage cars and produced in a limited series of only 88 pieces. Speaking of prizes: The Motor Chain confirms its commitment with the award for the Best Documented Car of the competition and Marco Pagot, the famous designer of the characters Calimero and Draghetto Grisù from the homonymous cartoons, renews his commitment by designing the coveted prizes for the Best of Show.
As usual, Excellence Magazine will be the event’s media partner, giving maximum prominence to it through its communication platforms.
WHO ARE THE PROTAGONIST CARS OF THE 2023 EDITION, AND WHO WILL HAVE THE DIFFICULT TASK OF DECREING THE WINNING CARS?
A vision capable of always attracting new important collaborations. And it is in this regard that we are pleased to announce the name of the new main sponsor of Lugano Elegance & Lions in Classic, the WMM Group – Wullschleger Martinenghi Manzini.
The decision of the WMM Group to become the main sponsor and therefore to support the event in an important way stems from a strong sharing of the values and principles that characterize the event: great passion, strong ties with the Ticino social fabric, promotion of Lugano and the cantonal territory, charitable purposes, offer of a free event of the highest level.
Envisaged categories:
- Pre-war convertible
- Pre-war closed
- Post-war convertible
- Post-war closed
Special categories:
- 75 Years Porsche
- Swiss Coachbuilders
- American Power – American engine cars o Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing & Roadster
- Large engine Italian sports cars
Once again this year, owners of vintage cars who are not in the competition can still go to the competition with their own car and park it in the dedicated areas on the LAC square and in Piazza Luini.
The jury is made up of over 15 international experts present in the guilds of the most famous international competitions. The chief judge is Christian Kramer from Germany – among other things judge of Pebble Beach, member of the Selection Committee for Villa d’Este and director of technologies of the ICJAG© (founding member).
Participating vehicles are evaluated in accordance with the rules of the International Chief Judge Advisory Group ICJAG®, in which 20 different criteria of authenticity and functionality are compared with the delivery condition of the vehicle. The judging panel evaluates the vehicles in a two-stage process. In the first stage, the winners of the class are determined. In the second phase, the finalists for the overall victory of the event are selected among the class winners and among these the overall winner or winners, the Best of Shows of the competition, are selected.
The announcement of the winners and the award ceremony will take place during the fashion show starting at 2.30 pm, in the presence of the Mayor of the City of Lugano, Michele Foletti and representatives of the main sponsors.
THE MOTTO OF THIS EDITION Beautiful and well done!
Plan of the event:
LUGANO ELEGANCE 2023, concours d’elegance of the City of Lugano, 3rd edition*
Friday 5 May
17.00-20.00 Vernissage by invitation – Lugano, Imago Art Gallery, Via Nassa 46
Saturday 6 May, in the presence of the Mayor of the City of Lugano, Michele Foletti
09:30-14:00 Car exhibition in competition in Via Nassa and adjacent squares, themed exhibition at the Imago Art Gallery, vintage motorboat exhibition and various entertainment
09:30-12:00 Guided tours of the cars on display for sponsors and guests – by reservation
14:30-16:00 Parade and presentation of the cars on the lakefront, awarding of the winning cars
19:00-22:00 Charity dinner for sponsors and guests, music and surprises – upon registration
LIONS IN CLASSIC 2023, regularity rally, 9th edition*
Sunday 7 May
08:00 Registration, breakfast, briefing, Rivera, Splash & Spa Tamaro, Via Campagnola 1
09:00 Departure
09:30-12.00 Rally of regularity and games of skill – New surprise route, in the center of Ticino with border crossing towards Grisons
12:00 Arrival and car exhibition – Lostallo
12:30-15:00 Aperitif and lunch for sponsors and guests, awarding of the winning cars
(*note: indicative program subject to possible updates)
