Thousands of visitors traveled to St. Moritz to marvel at what is probably one of the most visually impressive and lively Concours d'Elégance. While it had generally been exceptionally warm in the Upper Engadine in the weeks before, the weather now - one day before The I.C.E. - spontaneously and dutifully switched to winter and snowfall. And it had it all.
The I.C.E. literally sinks into the snow
By Friday evening, 60 cm of fresh snow had already fallen. The organizers, who cancelled all of Friday's events in the morning and postponed them to the following day, had to announce the next piece of bad news in the evening: No vehicles or visitors were allowed on the ice for Saturday either. According to the experts on site, the ice was stable, but with too much water and even more fresh snow on the surface, it was not suitable for man and machine. Many of the exciting and rare vehicles could probably only have been pulled across the circuit with snow groomers and invisible up to the waistline, which would have resulted in less dignified Instagram and carspotter videos than in previous years.
Plan B in the lower deck of the Serletta parking garage
Here they waited in rank and file and fascinated thousands of visitors who queued up here. Special vehicles such as the Lamborghini Jarama, Zagato Aster, Ferrari 250 LM Spider and Abarth 750 Record - many of which were fitted with spikes just for the occasion - would have been great to see drifting across the ice in the bright sunshine. Down here, however, in the pale neon light of the cold lower deck, only the imagination of the onlookers could help. But even under these circumstances, most of them looked happy; even after having to wait 30 minutes at the entrance so that the parking deck didn't have to close due to overcrowding.
Now you were done in 30 to 45 minutes, even with an intensive tour. And what else is there to do in St. Moritz? Expensive VIP ticket holders were at least taken to other current attractions, such as the NOMAD design and art exhibition, which is well worth seeing.
In the end, the realization remains that it is always important to have respect for nature and the weather: because it does what it wants anyway - even when the particularly lucky or wealthy want to show off their four-wheeled treasures in a unique setting. Nevertheless, the participants deserve to be thanked for this - especially in view of the great effort they sometimes put in or the special travel risks involved, as was the case this year.
Concours underground
Nevertheless, as beautiful cars look beautiful everywhere, the Concours d'Elegance, which was originally held above ground, was also held in the basement and the winners were determined with the usual professionalism. These were:
- "Barchettas on the Lake" category: one of only five Talbot-Lago T26 GS from 1950 built for rally use
- "Concept Cars & One Offs" category: the angular Aston Martin Bulldog flat-twin with gullwing doors, which was already capable of speeds of over 300 km/h in 1980
- "Icons on Wheels" category: a Delage D8-120 S with De Villars bodywork, which was first shown at the Concours de l'Auto de Printemps in 1938. The elegant two-seater also won the "Best of Show" title at The I.C.E. 2024
- "Open Wheels" category: the 1962 Cooper-Maserati T81 by Jo Bonnier
- Racing Legends category: the Ferrari 275 P, which won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1963 and 1964 and the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1964
One piece of good news at the end: Rumour has it that the organizers have taken out insurance against weather-related cancellations. This currently gives all interested parties confidence that the event can continue - and fuels anticipation for The I.C.E. 2025.
