Munich/Milan. New glitz for a traditional podium
ceremony heralding champions. At the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este
2019, the winners of the eight award classes for Historic Cars and the
winners of several special awards will be presented with trophies that
have been completely redesigned and produced in an additive
manufacturing process. The Trofeo BMW Group is traditionally presented
to acknowledge the prowess of the overall winner known as the “Best of
Show” for classic automobiles. This trophy, too, is radiant in a new
design this year, combining traditional aesthetic creativity with
modern styling. The new trophies are being presented at the press
conference for the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2019. This is
being held in the Teatro alla Scala in Milan at 11.30 (entry from
11.00) on Wednesday 15th May 2019.
The know-how of different departments within the BMW Group has been
bundled for development and production of the new honorary awards. The
design process was in the hands of specialists at Designworks, the
subsidiary company of the BMW Group with experience in a multitude of
sectors and product areas. They have created a stylish and yet
inimitable design that provides an impressive reflection of the
aesthetic value and exclusivity of the vehicles receiving the awards.
The crafting of the trophies was also carried out within the company
at the Additive Manufacturing Centre of the BMW Group. Using the
innovative 3D printing process, the conceptual drafts developed by the
designers were transformed into an expressive artistic creation
fashioned from a special aluminium alloy. Gilded interior surfaces,
precise polishing, high-gloss burnished contours and laser engraving
lend the precious trophies a unique and lustrous radiance.
Designworks is a subsidiary company of the BMW Group and it has
additional studios in Europe and Asia alongside its head office in the
US federal state of California. The design and creative consulting
company acts as an inspiring initiator for all the brands within the
BMW Group. Furthermore, Designworks carries out assignments for a
large array of prestigious customers from many different sectors, such
as IT and consumer electronics, aircraft, medical and environmental
technology, and the lifestyle and sports sector.
Cutting-edge production procedures of the future were deployed to
manufacture the new trophies. Using these innovative processes allowed
additional scope for the creative design process. The additive
production of metal objects known as 3D printing enables geometric
shapes and structures to be created that could only be achieved with a
large input of resources when conventional casting processes are used.
The new trophies for the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este were created
at the Additive Manufacturing Centre of the BMW Group in Munich. The
BMW Group ranks among the pioneers in the field of additive
manufacturing and makes use of the versatile procedures in development
processes and for production of series components.
In the course of the press conference, Ulrich Knieps, President of
the Concorso d’Eleganza and Head of BMW Group Classic, will join with
Danilo Zucchetti, Managing Director of Villa d’Este Hotels, and Sergio
Solero, President of BMW Group Italia, to outline further details of
the programme schedule. For the first time, they will also present all
the vehicles nominated for the beauty competition in advance of the event.
The timepiece created exclusively by the Official Watch Provider
A. Lange Söhne will also be revealed in Milan. This ticking work
of art will be presented to the owner of the “Best of Show” together
with the new Trofeo BMW Group at the final award ceremony. The media
representatives will also be provided with details of this year’s
Jury, the supporting programme in the parkland of Villa Erba and the
auction being held once again this year by RM Sotheby’s.
The exclusive beauty contest for historic vehicles will see the new
trophies being awarded for the first time. This pageant will be held
in the grounds of the Grand Hotel Villa d’Este and the parkland of
neighbouring Villa Erba situated on the shores of Lake Como in
Cernobbio, Northern Italy, from 24th to 26th May 2019.