Class H: Gentleman's Sports Cars
Taking a step back in time, Class H featured some of the more sophisticated cars produced immediately after the War. The earliest of these was an Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 clothed by Ghia with a thoroughly modern design. Styled by Felice Boano, this was one of four similar 6C 2500s built, one of which was very successful in the 1947 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este.

The Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 was given an evocative body design by Ghia. (Photo: Ultimate Car Page)

A succession of Bentleys made up most of this class. Literally, the most striking of these is Sir Anthony Bamford's Bentley S1 Continental with a Fastback Coupe body by H.J. Mulliner. This car was ordered new by his father and painted in bright white and red colors as a nod to the popular American cars of the day.

Sold on by his father to make room for newer cars, the S1 Continental would be the subject of a 15-year search. Bamford eventually tracked the Bentley down in the United States and he managed to acquire it just before it was converted to left-hand-drive.

The rare Graber-bodied Alvis TD 21 that was presented at the 1962 Geneva Motor Show was the final car in this class.

Class I: Heroes of Le Mans
Its lineage celebrated in Class F, an actual Ferrari 250 GTO was also presented at Villa d'Este. This particular example, raced in period by Jean Guichet and Pierre Noblet, has recently been carefully restored in the United States to full racing condition.

A Porsche 917 in iconic Gulf livery is lined up next to a road-going Ford GT40 Mk3 in the Heroes of Le Mans class. (Photo: Ultimate Car Page)

The GTO's successor was the 250 LM of which a fine specimen was also brought to the shores of Lake Como. The ex-Scuderia Filipinetti-owned machine finished sixth overall at Le Mans in the 1965 edition won by a sister car. It would be the final victory for a Ferrari as first Ford and later Porsche would take over.

Of the former's highly successful GT40 a very rare road-going Mk3 version was shown for the first time since a loving restoration. All of the original components were carefully refurbished, while retaining the patina. The fabulous result was awarded by the jury with the Trofeo BMW Group Classic for the most sensitive restoration.

The GT40 Mk3 lined up next to a Porsche 917K, finished in Gulf colors, which could very well be the best racing livery of all time. Bought new from the factory by the current owner in 1973, this example had been raced extensively and also starred in the movie Le Mans.