In 2021, one of the world’s car events – the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este – blew out the candles on its 90th birthday cake. Launched in 1929 and revived in the 1990s the elite event sees the owners of the globe’s most sought-after vintage vehicles gather on the shores of Lake Como to celebrate the charisma of collectable cars.

Prizes are handed out in classes such as ‘From Manhattan to Mayfair: The Golden Age of Motoring’, and the benchmark is set for what qualifies as the most superior set of wheels in the world. 

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Here are a few of the vintage cars to keep an eye out for if you want to be a contender in the 2021 event.

Ferrari 250 GTO

The original buyers of Ferrari 250 GTOs had to be personally approved by Enzo Ferrari before they were given the green light to purchase the car. Only 36 models were ever made and, of those, only a handful had series two bodywork. A product of the 1960s, each car had Monroe curves and most came with Ferrari’s trademark lipstick red paintwork. In June 2018 a 1964 version of the car was rumoured to have reached $70 million at private action. Two months later, chassis number 3413 sold for $48.4 million at a public auction.
 

Ferrari 335 S Spider Scaglietti

Reaching speeds of up to 300 kilometres an hour, 1957/58 Ferrari 335 S Spider Scagliettis were the car of choice for some of the world’s greatest historical racing drivers. Only four were ever produced, though, so they’re rare as four-leaf clovers. That’s not to say they never come up for sale, though. In 2016 a 1957 scalietti sold for $32 million euros at an auction in Paris.
 

Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic

The Bugatti Type 57 and later variants (including the famous Atlantic and Atalante) was a grand tourer car built from 1934 through 1940. It was an entirely new design created by Jean Bugatti, son of founder Ettore. A total of 710 Type 57s were produced. Type 57s used a twin-cam 3,257 cc engine based on that of the Type 49 but heavily modified by Jean Bugatti, unlike the single cam engines of the Type 49 and earlier models. The engines of the Type 50, 51 used bevel gears at the front of the engine to transmit power from the crankshaft, whereas the Type 57 used a train of spur gears at the rear of the engine, with fiber gear wheels on the camshafts to achieve more silence in operation.

Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spider

Described as the Ferrari 250 GTO of its time, the Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spider is a peerless piece of engineering. With its tuxedo-black paint work and Italian tailored interior it’s more than a little easy on the eye as well. It’s thought that just 12 touring Spiders exist in the world today, meaning models are pretty rare. The last one came up for auction at Sotheby’s Monterrey in 2016 and sold for $19.8 million.
 

Rolls-Royce Phantom IV State Landaulette

The Rolls-Royce Phantom IV is a British automobile produced by Rolls-Royce. Only eighteen were made between 1950 and 1956, sold only to buyers whom Rolls-Royce considered worthy of the distinction: the British royal family and heads of state. Sixteen are known to still exist in museums as well as in public and private collections.

Aston Martin DP215

When the Aston Martin DP215 no longer exists, people will still be able to read about it in the history books. This car reached the fastest speed ever recorded by a front engine vehicle on the old course at Le Mans. Only one was ever produced so it’s got near-mythical status in the classic car world. With its olive green paintwork, it looks like it’s been pulled from a classic James Bond novel. It last went on sale at Sotheby’s in Monterey California in August 2018, where it sold for almost $19 million.
 

Aston Martin DBR1

The Aston Martin DBR1 is another one-of-a-kind creation from Aston Martin. Like the DP215 it has also gone down in the history books for being one of only three cars in the 1950s to win both the World Sports Car Championship and Le Mans 24 Hours in the same year. Frog-green with a grill that resembles the mouth of a koi carp, it’s a classic car with character. It last went on sale at Sotheby’s in Monterey California in 2017 and sold for $22.550 million.
 

1962 Shelby 260 Cobra CSX 2000

With its gas flame-blue paintwork and wide eyed headlights, the original Shelby Cobra sold for $13.75 million when it last came up for auction in Monterey California in August 2016. Of course, this model was inimitable because it was the first of its kind to ever be made by car designer Carroll Shelby. Other models such as the Cobra 427 and the Supersnake fetch figures closer to 3 million when they come up for auction.
 

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Rolls-Royce image courtesy of Top Speed, Ferrari GTO image courtesy of One Million Pound Blog, Bugatti image courtesy of New Car Design, remaining car images courtesy of RM Sotheby’s.

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