“Only Cool Cars Allowed” said the cryptic invitation that came from our friends at BorromeoDeSilva, which we received in early May this year. Sent by Carlo Borromeo, the studio's Creative Director and Christophe Duchesne undersigned as “Chief Vibe Inspector,” this new, mysterious event instantly grabbed our attention. There was also a date and location printed on it. September 9th and 10th, Mottarone, Stresa, Italy. As BorromeoDeSilva have a great track record at being absolute trendsetters at everything they touch - they have created most of the world’s hottest restomods after all - we immediately declared ourselves ‘in’ and waited for further developments.
Time went by as other details unfolded, making us increasingly excited about what was to come. An invitation only event, inspired by the early days of the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Intimate, fun and thrilling, it was to be held on a 7km stretch of private road owned by the Borromeo family (‘Strada Privata Borromea’), where the participants would make their way up the Mottarone mountain through a series of bends varying from technical fast corners to slow hairpins. All in a way that was described at the drivers briefing later as “Safe, but not boring”. To summarise: a lifestyle, car-culture gathering with elements of demo driving and an aperitivo, as well as a reception dinner in the Baroque gardens of the private island of Isola Bella on Lago Maggiore. La vita é bella indeed.
The first part of the mission was getting a suitably cool car. Thankfully our friends at Rolls-Royce, who are used to our somewhat unorthodox ideas, stepped up and provided us with a St. James Red Cullinan Black Badge. The perfect Classic Driver spirit-vehicle. Heritage, comfort, speed and quirkiness all at the same time and at the highest possible level of refinement. The plan was to waft through the course in an unforgettable manner in a car that is frankly not suited to the road width of this particular corner of the world and, at the same time, see how it will cope with the task.
Rolls-Royce’s history is steeped in various challenges, from the Alpine Trials to the London to Edinburgh run in Top Gear, so we thought we could add our own piece to its history - one of creating cars that can deal with anything you throw at them with unparalleled grace. Our Cullinan being the motoring equivalent of the early Bonds played by Sean Connery, who was subjected to fistfights, gunfire and explosions yet always came out the other end completely unfazed, in perfectly pressed clothing, with an equally ideal hairstyle, drink in hand, with some gorgeous girl on his arm. Once this was sorted, our friend Grisha Morgenstern designed a simple “Classic Driver” livery for the car and we were good to go.
A day before the event, we flew straight from Luftgekühlt Copenhagen, picked up the car in Münich and made our way through Austria and the Timmelsjoch pass into Italy. The journey allowed us to get to grips with its considerable size and learn that with 600 hp and 900 Nm of torque on tap as well as rear wheel steering, climbing up mountains was surprisingly easy. The only thing to consider was the car’s 2.7 tonne weight, especially on the way down. Fortunately in a Rolls-Royce, one tends to take it easy and, even if it was raining cats and dogs on that particular day, we arrived to our hotel as fresh as daisies, thanks to the supreme comfort of the magic carpet ride, the massage seats, the sense of space in the back, and the sound insulation from the double-glazed windows, which dampened the sound of the torrential downfall to a bare whisper.
The next morning, we inspected the course, took delivery of the 155 DTM Alfa Romeo, kindly loaned to us by Kessel Racing to be displayed as part of the Rennmeister project at Tutto Bene - Rennmeister being a partner of the event - and took the day to create all sorts of images with California’s legendary creative agency Race Service, the event’s main partner. As people started to arrive throughout the day, we also took first notice of the growing crowd of amazing cars brought to Tutto Bene, some of which were driven by our friends.
Our personal highlight was definitely the spectacular Maserati MC12 Corsa in pearl white piloted by Max Girardo, but others also showed up guns blazing. Ronnie Kessel brought ‘our’ Alfa that was displayed at Bar Stazione in the middle of the course, next to Thierry Nardone’s 928 Prototype and the fantastic HWA restomoded Mercedes 190 Evo, as well as a Ford RS200 rally. A car which he raced up the hill throughout the day while his Ferrari 488 GT3 racing car was parked at Stazione.
Eugenio Amos appeared in force as well, with a Lancia Delta Futurista, his Porsche 930 TAG Turbo powered by a Formula 1 engine (you can find the full story here) as well as a Ferrari 430 Challenge in a fantastic two-tone green livery (the man has a penchant for the colour). While we struggled frantically to apply our own livery (thank you to Benedict Radcliffe and Maximilian Funk, we couldn’t have done it without you) aperitivos and dinner have started. Fortunately, we made it in time to catch the last boat to the island and participate in the convivial atmosphere while admiring the baroque gardens and interiors of the Palazzo.
The full extent of the amazing entries could be appreciated the next day. From a V8, Twin-turbo, Audi-powered Dakar Truck, through various vintage Porsches brought by friends like Felix Bauermeister, Ted Gushue and president of Deus Ex Machina Italy, Filipppo Bassoli, to modern limited edition 911 S/Ts and two Dallaras.
A crazy KTM GT-XR, a mint R34 Nissan GT-R and an equally clean E30 BMW M3, as well as a Caterham, Benedict Radcliffe’s Subaru Impreza WRX STI, a Ferrari SP3 Daytona and a Lancia Delta Integrale 8V in Brooklyn Chewing Gum livery, design by the talented Davide Virdis, all lined up on the start.
We were also glad to run into the only manual Alfa Romeo 8C in the world, upgraded by our pals at Officine Fioravanti, who also supplied the (un)Safety Car for the event in the form of a Mitsubishi Pajero Evo. Race Service founder James Kirkham drove an AMG GT-R and the mysterious Powerslide Lover slid all the way to the top in a Ferrari 812 Competizione Aperta in a cloud of smoke.
The unofficial Classic Driver “Best Sounding Car of the Event" award went to the MC12 Corsa, with close runners-up in the form of the Lamborghini Sterrato driven expertly by Anna Gańczarek, and Tommaso Zeriali’s straight-piped 901. Julia Kraeplin’s 430 Scuderia also didn’t sound too bad, as did the Fioravanti 8C. Gentleman racer Philip Kadoorie was also spotted in between the spectators gathered at Bar Stazione, observing from the sidelines. The small crowd of guests enjoying the show as well as the excellent DJ while unlimited pasta and ice cream were served.
When it was our turn, Błażej Żuławski donned his Puma racing gloves and the Tutto Bene helmet provided by Bell, checked the time on the limited edition Tutto Bene Unimatic supplied to each driver, and hauled the Cullinan up the hill in complete silence and, as we were told, with the grace of a ballerina. While doing so he made sure to test the ventilated massage seats and listen to some Burt Bacharach.
The car proved surprisingly nimble and drivable on the course, with excellent handling and grip, albeit no steering feel whatsoever, which is the proper way for a Rolls-Royce to behave. All of them have this sort of soft, vague, but reassuringly resistant feeling when you operate the wheel, you can’t feel anything but need to trust the system, and it’s that precise feeling that tells you immediately that you are driving a Goodwood product. Up top, a quick inspection of the brakes, that to our surprise were barely even hot, reassured us that the Cullinan can actually do anything, just with much more pomp and circumstance, and while carrying a boot load of camera gear, which we forgot to unload.
How does one summarise the experience? In a world of exceedingly boring cars and coffee type events, during which nothing interesting happens except some enthusiastic tire kicking, Tutto Bene brought something new to the table. Real emotions and fun, especially for those who participated with their cars, all set in the stunning scenery of Lago Maggiore, with the mighty Italian Alps as the background to the top paddock. This being the inaugural edition, it is yet to be determined how the event will develop in the future. More people and spectators will undoubtedly be interested in joining and the capacity of the main venue seemed somewhat limited. But that’s a problem for another day. The main point is that Italians truly do it better, and an Italian-American joint venture is even better than that.
