The Bugelfalte Triumphs: Villa d'Este 2026 Crowns Its Best of Show
A one-off 1937 BMW 328 with a Soviet past and a MiG designer in its history has won the Trofeo BMW Group at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. The 2026 edition belonged to the 90-year-old 328.
The Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, held from 15 to 17 May 2026 on the shores of Lake Como under the motto Future Needs Heritage, gathered 54 cars from 13 countries in eight classes. The jury's highest honour, the Trofeo BMW Group for Best of Show, went to the 1937 BMW 328 Bugelfalte of Stefano Martinoli. The nickname, meaning trouser crease, refers to the distinctive metal edging along the front wings. The car is the only special roadster of its type built at BMW's Munich plant.
Villa d'Este at its best does not preserve the past. It argues for its relevance.
A car with nine lives
The Bugelfalte's history reads like a twentieth-century novel. Built in May 1937 for BMW's development department, chassis 85032 raced for the works at Le Mans and the Tourist Trophy before being dismantled in autumn 1939 and rebuilt with a streamlined open body for the 1940 Mille Miglia, where it finished sixth overall with race number 71. In 1945 it was taken to Moscow as war reparations and later came into the possession of Artem Ivanovich Mikoyan, co-creator of the MiG fighter aircraft. In 1972 Mikoyan's son traded it for a new Lada. After the fall of the Berlin Wall it returned west, spent time at the BMW Museum in 2001, and eventually passed into Italian hands. It also won its class at the 2026 concours.
The people's choice and the future
The public referendum, the Coppa d'Oro Villa d'Este, went to a 1963 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster owned by Eric Blumencranz of the United States, one of the last examples built. The weekend also looked forward: BMW unveiled the Vision BMW Alpina and the BMW Motorrad Vision K18 as world premieres, and BMW Group Classic marked anniversaries including 40 years of the M3 and 50 years of the 6 Series and the Art Car collection. Broad Arrow Auctions, the official auction partner, sold 70 cars with markedly increased bidder numbers.
The analysis: heritage as a living argument
The 2026 concours was framed as a dialogue between past and future, and the jury's choice embodied it: a 1937 racing car, rebodied for 1940, honoured in 2026 in the 90th anniversary year of the BMW 328. The Bugelfalte won not as a relic but as a survivor, a car whose every chapter added to its significance. Villa d'Este at its best does not preserve the past. It argues for its relevance.
