The International Concours of Elégance St. Moritz – The Ice 2025

To mark the centenary of the sporting event, in January 1985, a group of British members of the competition, led by Scotsman Keith Schellenberg, celebrated the event by driving a few cars, their Vintage Bentley tourers, on the frozen lake for the first time.

For the famous auto-brand manager Marco Makaus, who was present on that distant January day, witnessing that scene was a revelation.

The image of those iconic vehicles standing out with their colourful liveries against the backdrop of the white expanse, the counterpoint between the winter climate and the summer attitude of the open cars, the contrast between the dynamism of the engines and the stillness of the glacial forms: all this fired his imagination and kindled in him the desire to replicate it, to make it grow on a larger scale.

What was at first only a vision became a goal, the goal became a project and the project was shared, proposed, discussed. Over interminable decades, local and international authorities discussed the possibility of making Makaus’ idea a reality. First the St. Moritz municipality and Badrutt’s Palace were enthusiastic about it and decided to support it. Then came the partners and sponsors and, with them, the decisive support.

Source: Website https://theicestmoritz.ch/history/