The prize-giving ceremony of the Louis Vuitton Classic Serenissima Run took place recently at Piazza San Giorgo, where the cars were put on display, in Venice.
Yves Carcelle, Louis Vuitton chair; CEO Christian Philippsen, president of the jury and selection of cars; and René Metge, sports director, awarded the 1923 Bugatti Type 23 Brescia Modifiée.
After having won the first four places in the 1921 Italian Voiturettes Grand Prix at Brescia with the Type 13, Bugatti built an improved version called Type 23 or Brescia Modifiée. Powered by a 1.5-liter, four-cylinder engine with four valves per cylinder, it carried a wide variety of coachwork, including a rare torpedo décalé with its staggered seating arrangement. This same car already won the last Louis Vuitton Classic Run in 2006 at the Bohème Run.
True to the “Art of Travel” spirit which characterized the Maison, the Louis Vuitton Classic Serenissima Run is the seventh rally organized by LV since the legendary Vintage Equator Run created in 1993.
Through this rally, LV pays tribute to its historic association with the world of motoring since the creation of the first car trunk in 1897.
On April 24, 42 exceptional cars set off from Monaco and crossed the borders of France, Switzerland and Italy to reach Venice a few days later.
The participants set off on a 1400-km-long journey, stopping off at Menthon Saint Bernard, Stresa, Verona and Fiesso d’Artico, the birthplace of Louis Vuitton’s shoes. Then the cars were transported by boat to Venice to be presented on the plaza San Giorgio for the weekend.
Since 2005, LV has been giving every year two Louis Vuitton Classic Awards. The Louis Vuitton Concours Award rewards the car that won “best in show” in one of the most prestigious classic car shows in the world, while the Louis Vuitton Concept Award rewards the “prototype of the year,” a model likely to win great car shows in the 40 years to come.