Michael SatterfieldWords by Michael Satterfield, photos by Quentin Martinez
There are concours shows, and then there’s FuoriConcorso, an experience so steeped in style and significance that comparing it to other “concours” events feels inadequate. Held along the impossibly picturesque banks of Lake Como at Villa del Grumello and Villa Sucota, the 2025 edition, dubbed Velocissimo, brought together the upper echelon of Italian automotive artistry in a celebration that felt less like an event and more like a living museum of motion.
FuoriConcorso: Fast, But Make It Fashion
Founded by Guglielmo Miani, president of Larusmiani and a connoisseur of Italian craft, FuoriConcorso isn’t just about horsepower and history. It’s about the soul of speed. Velocissimo drew inspiration from Italian Futurism, where machines weren’t just tools, but also artistic statements. This year’s theme paid tribute to the romantic and revolutionary idea that technology, motion, and beauty are not just compatible, but inseparable.
And the cars? Think Lancia D24, Ferrari 250 GTO, Maserati MC12 GT1. Icons not just of motorsport, but of culture. The kind of machines that demand a double-take, even in a place where every road seems to echo with automotive royalty.
The Villas: Where Sculpture Meets Speed
At Villa del Grumello, the garden paths were lined with racing royalty. The Ferrari 499P Le Mans winner stood beside its ancestors, the rebellious Daytona Gr.4 and the egg-shaped 166MM “Uovo.” Not to be outdone, Maserati’s twin terrors, the MCXtrema and the GT2 Stradale, sat like apex predators mid-prowl, radiating menace and elegance in equal measure.
Walk over to Villa Sucota and you’d find the heartbeat of Alfa Romeo. This was Casa Alfa, complete with a 6C 1750 like the one Nuvolari drove to victory in the Mille Miglia, and the new 33 Stradale, a street-legal love letter to Alfa’s racing legacy, was already sold out in its limited 33-unit run.
Conversations That Mattered
The cars were the stars, but the dialogue elevated the experience. Panels ranged from “Collecting or Investing,” hosted by Classic Driver’s J.P. Rathgen, to a deep dive into Italy’s racing legacy moderated by motorsport journalist Claudia Peroni. Attendees didn’t just ogle polished fenders; they got the inside story from the people who lived the legacy, built the legends, and now protect their future.
If you came for exclusivity, FuoriConcorso didn’t disappoint. There were three world premieres, including a hush-hush unveiling from MV Agusta in a strictly no-photos, no-phones room. Think dim lighting, hushed voices, and a motorcycle draped in mystery, somewhere between luxury unveiling and modern ritual.
Photographer Dylan Don’s exhibition blended fashion and horsepower, placing classic cars in dreamlike scenes that wouldn’t be out of place in an issue of L’Uomo Vogue. If Enzo Ferrari had shot editorials, this is what they’d look like.
Not Just Italian, Not Just Cars
While Italy was front and center, other brands brought their best game. Mercedes showed off their Silver Arrows, Pagani dropped jaws with the Imola hypercar, and Koenigsegg made sure the Swedes were heard roaring across Como. Marc Philipp Gemballa rolled out the Marsien, an off-road-ready Porsche lovechild with Dakar dreams. Even Vanwall got in on the action, bridging the past with the future through electric innovation and café-racer cool.
Breitling, Porsche Design, and Deangelis Watches added horological flair, proving that timepieces and tachometers share more than just numbers. Meanwhile, Larusmiani, Miani’s own Milanese luxury brand, set up shop with bespoke tailoring and porcelain artists crafting on-site, because at FuoriConcorso, even your wardrobe deserves a pit lane.
The Soul of the Event
To call FuoriConcorso a “show” is to miss its essence. It’s a stage set with emotion, memory, and ambition. Every panel, every car, every curated display whispers the same truth: that speed is not just an engineering metric, it’s a form of beauty.
As Miani himself put it, “VELOCISSIMO is our way of celebrating all of that, bridging racing, memory, and the future.” And in a world increasingly obsessed with electric ranges and algorithmic efficiency, FuoriConcorso reminds us why we fell in love with cars in the first place.
Not because they move fast, but because they move us.
Enjoy More Photos by Quentin Martinez below:
