PLACES TO GO

The private collection of Corrado Lopresto

OVER MANY YEARS Corrado Lopresto has painstakingly put together, with all the impeccable taste you would expect from an architect, a wonderful collection of rare cars. They are principally Italian and many of them one-offs and prototypes, with those that aren’t unique often having ultra-low chassis numbers. Lopresto, pictured above, also has a healthy interest in the obscure, with many oddities and curiosities peppering his collection.

W hat they all share, however, are the benefits of Lopresto’s determination to preserve as much as possible of their originality while maintaining them in driving condition. And sharing them with the world. Cars from the Lopresto Collection have won, at the time of writing, some 260 awards, including 84 Bests in Class and no fewer than 56 Bests in Show, in such prestigious concours events as Villa d’Este, Pebble Beach and Schloss Dyck. It’s not hard to see why Corrado Lopresto is often described as one of the most influential individuals in the collector car world. He’s also one of the most charmingly approachable.

A visit to the collection’s home, on the outskirts of busy Milan, is to be savoured. There are so many treasures that it’s hard to know where to look next, but fortunately curator Michele Casiraghi is on hand to guide us through the halls and point out some of the more significant cars.

The collection, he explains, welcomes everything that’s Italian, rare and exotic, so the range spans everything from the very first horseless 1901 Isotta Fraschini, chassis #1, to the final concept design by Bertone. That early car, incidentally, is dwarfed by one of its descendants, an elegantly opulent 1930 Isotta Fraschini 8A SS Torpedo, chassis #1651, by Castagna. But even rarer is the 1998 Isotta Fraschini T8 Spider prototype. This bright yellow soft-top – just visible, top right, in the picture above – was based on Audi A8 running gear but never made it into production.

Even classic car aficionados may be unfamiliar with some of the brands represented here; for example, by cars such as the 1930 Bianchi S5 Torpedo Monza, chassis #7765, made in Varese. Other names are more familiar. For a Milanese, Alfa Romeo is a kind of Holy Grail, so it comes as no surprise that Alfas are among Lopresto’s favourites. Dating back to 1931, the 6C 1750 GS Aprile in the collection has a particularly intriguing history. Chassis #10814331 wore Zagato clothing until 1938, when it was purchased by Giuseppe Aprile, who ordered a new body from designer Mario Revelli di Beaumont. In Lopresto’s ownership, the car narrowly missed out on a Best in Class at Pebble Beach.

A tireless researcher on the history of his cars, Lopresto also collects documents related to Italian marques and coachbuilders: a few years ago, he successfully bid at auction for thousands of drawings from the Bertone archives.

Although this is a private collection that’s not open to the public like a museum, groups of visitors are welcome by appointment.

Collezione Lopresto is on the outskirts of Milan. To apply to visit, go to loprestocollection.com. Thanks to Corrado Lopresto and Michele Casiraghi.