One of the grandest events in the international car calendar, the Concorso d’Eleganza at the Villa d’Este in Tivoli celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2009. Essentially an automotive beauty contest, the Concorso dates from the grand era of coachbuilding, when the sturdy mechanical underpinnings of the great European manufacturers were graced by flowing bodywork hand-made by the many hundreds of small workshops devoted to creating truly unique motor cars.
As the art of coachbuilding was usurped by modern production methods - the intergrated body and chassis - and the evaporation of their core clientele in the years following the war, the original competition fizzled out in 1949. In 1995 it was revived for the modern era, ostensibly as a platform for the very upper end of the historic vehicle market, bringing together those responsible for keeping these most rarefied and iconic cars alive. A few years later, the BMW Group stepped in to offer patronage of the whole event, maintaining the classic car focus but also encouraging design debuts from around the world, from big names as well as small studios.
Photographer Henrik Jauert brings us his highlights of the 2009 Concorso, a year that saw a renewed focus on both beauty and innovation
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Transamerica Pyramid: a San Francisco icon, remasteredThe Transamerica Pyramid, a landmark in the San Francisco cityscape, has been redesigned to 21st-century standards by Foster + Partners
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Meticulously detailed London mews house unveiled by Ampuero YutronicMarket Mews, a London mews house, is a hymn to modern minimalism, executed with precision and skill to make the most of a tight site in the heart of the capital
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A minimalist teahouse makes a serene addition to a Tadao Ando-designed Kyoto hotelOgata at The Shinmonzen is a contemporary reinterpretation of a Japanese teahouse that sells traditional blends, confectionery, crafts and fragrances
