October 14, 2024: On a sunny Saturday, October 12, the lush lawns of Villa La Massa, part of the Villa d’Este Group that dates back to the 13th century, reflect the elegance and magnificence of Florence. It would have been difficult for anyone to choose which of the 22 cars displayed should be awarded.
Villa La Massa Excellence was created in 2023 in collaboration with Canossa, a leading company in the organization of high-quality events and experiences. Reserved for top range sports cars produced from 1990 onwards, the public are attracted by the rare and contemporary cars.
During the final award ceremony, the Villa La Massa Coppa d’Oro, inspired by the Coppa d’Oro of Villa d’Este’s Concorso d’Eleganza, went to the 2023 Bugatti Centodieci, owned by Swiss Fritz Burkard who is reaping awards all over the world this year with his car collection. At the famous Pebble Beach competition last August, his 1934 Bugatti Type 59 Sports was named Best of Show.
The winning model was awarded during a gala dinner in the charming setting of Vito Mollica’s Atto at Palazzo Portinari Salviati in the heart of Florence. In addition to a 1600hp W16 engine, the model celebrates the rebirth of Bugatti, 1991. Named EB110 in memory of Ettore’s 110 years, the Centodieci won the Evolution Class over the BMW M3 Homage, also from 2023.
In the Innovation Class, the first prize went to the only electric car of the lot, much to the satisfaction of Luciano Colosio: the Pininfarina Battista, a name that recalls the founder of the famous Turin company, was brought about by the Pininfarina family to underline how Pinin, as he was known, worked from the 1930s, always looking to the future.
Since these precious cars are often underused, a category based on kilometers traveled was introduced to reward those who choose to drive these supercars. The winner with 77,600 km on the dashboard was Elia Dal Canton’s BMW Z8. With a similar logic, the prize for the car that travelled the furthest to reach the event by road was given to Camillo Mechaker-Vogele for his Mercedes Benz McLaren Roadster.
The award given to Silvia and Chiara Cavallaro was well deserved, not only for the beauty of their Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione with its immaculate black color with chrome trim, but also for the fact that they have kept this car since 2009.
Maurizio De Angelis was awarded twice for his almost unique Gemballa Mirage GT “Gold Edition”, an aesthetic and technical elaboration of the famous Porsche Carrera GT made by the German tuner Gemballa. It was a favorite of the public present, including the most difficult and unpredictable jury, the children and teenagers, as evidenced when it was announced the recipient of the Children’s Award.
The event ended on Sunday, October 13 when the Supercars left Villa La Massa for a spectacular tour of Mugello, travelling through the legendary Futa and Giogo passes.
Work is already underway on the third edition of Villa La Massa Excellence scheduled for October 2025 with interesting new features in keeping with current trends.
