Lake St. Moritz, last Saturday. Blue sky, bright winter sunshine, a layer of cold air hovering above the frozen surface — and a faint, unmistakable blend of petrol, cigars and champagne drifting across the ice.
Some of the rarest and finest automobiles in the world line up between snowbanks and Alpine peaks, engines warming, owners exchanging quiet nods. As the cars begin their laps around the lake, time seems to loosen its grip: it is a brief return to decades that still stood for unfiltered automotive enjoyment.
13’000 tickets sold. (Image: Mattia Tagliavinifor The I.C.E. St. Moritz)
For this year’s edition of The I.C.E. St. Moritz, finews took up quarters slightly above the lake, at Casa Ferrari, hosted for the second consecutive year at the Kulm Country Club.
Casa Ferrari: A Club, Not a Showroom
Ferrari and The I.C.E. share more than a glamorous audience: the early editions of the event relied heavily on a community assembled by Lugano-based Ferrari dealer Ronnie Kessel, while Ferrari’s Classiche department has been present every year — except when Covid cancellations or extreme snowfall made the frozen lake inaccessible.
Inside the Kulm Country Club, the transformation is subtle and assured. The traditional Alpine club was extended with remarkable restraint into a Ferrari brand world. Nothing feels staged; everything appears as if it had always belonged there.
Casa Ferrari at the Kulm Country Club. (Images: Nunzi d’Amelio)
Ferrari clients and prospective customers gather over cappuccinos in the mornings and glasses of Perrier-Jouët in the afternoon, Ferrari’s long-standing champagne partner. Away from the sensory overload of the lake, Casa Ferrari offers something else entirely: an intimate place to linger, to talk, to reaffirm a shared affiliation.
From Boutique Initiative to Fixed Date in the Calendar
What began in 2019 as a relatively compact initiative by Ronnie Kessel and automotive authority Marco Makaus has matured into a fixed point on the international collectors’ calendar. The I.C.E. has grown with discipline.
This year, 13,000 tickets were sold, deliberately down from the roughly 18,000 of the previous edition in an attempt not to overwhelm St. Moritz. Even so, traffic at peak times bordered on the surreal: the one-kilometre stretch from the village centre to the lake could easily take half an hour.
Behind the scenes, demand was far more intense. A record number of applications was received from car owners worldwide. In the end, exactly 50 vehicles were admitted to the concours. Many of the cars had travelled far: dozens were flown into Zurich from countries such as the U.S. and Japan before completing their journey to the Engadin by truck.
Concours of Elegance on ice. (Image: Andrea Klainguti for The I.C.E. St. Moritz)
On the ice itself, celebrity presence was tangible but understated. Lapo Elkann was spotted among the crowd; former Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa and architect Norman Foster — designer of the event’s trophy — were physically present.
The Sporting Core: Concours on a Frozen Stage
At its heart, The I.C.E. remains what its name promises: an International Concours of Elegance, staged on ice.
The 50 selected cars competed across five categories: Barchettas on the Lake, Open Wheels, Icons on Wheels, as well as two newer additions, Birth of the Hypercar and Legendary Liveries. On Friday, the international jury awarded the Best in Class titles; on Saturday, the cars returned to the ice for the much-anticipated free laps, reflections gliding across the frozen surface.
The Best in Show award ultimately went to the Talbot-Lago T150C SS «Teardrop» (1937) — a decision entirely in keeping with St. Moritz’s aesthetic compass. The trophy, designed by Norman Foster and presented together with Richard Mille EMEA CEO Peter Harrison, reinforced the event’s self-image: automotive excellence as sculpture in motion.
Additional honours followed: the Spirit of St. Moritz award, signed by artist Rolf Sachs, went to the Ferrari Dino 206 S (1967), while the public-voted Hero Below Zero was claimed by the McLaren F1 GTR Lark (1996). A newly introduced Best Sound award, presented by Bang & Olufsen, went to a Pontiac Vivant (1965) — engines briefly fired up during jury deliberations, much to the audience’s delight.
More Than Classics: A High-End Automotive Fair
Beyond the concours, The I.C.E. has increasingly evolved into a platform for contemporary high-end mobility. Ferrari once again rented the Kulm Country Club to present its current range alongside selected classics. Elsewhere in the village, the pattern repeated itself: Koenigsegg at Suvretta House, Rolls-Royce at the Kempinski, Bugatti at The Grace.
On the lake itself, Rimac showcased its electric hypercars; Maserati, Pagani and others joined as official automotive exhibitors. Mercedes-Benz used the Engadin to present its newly revealed S-Class. The message is clear: The I.C.E. has become not just a retrospective celebration, but a living showroom for the present tense of luxury mobility.
Ronnie Kessel: In Search of a New Geneva
The morning after the race, back at Casa Ferrari, the event’s co-initiator Ronnie Kessel finally pauses. The previous day he seemed to be everywhere at once — a brief hug here, a one-minute exchange there, constantly moving.
«We are extremely satisfied with how The I.C.E. has developed,» he says. «What certainly helped was the huge success of the 2023 edition. After two years of Covid, people were simply eager to meet again at events like this.»
Winner of the Best in Show award : Talbot-Lago T150C SS «Teardrop» from 1937. (Image: Andrea Klainguti for The I.C.E. St. Moritz)
Looking ahead, Kessel articulates a broader ambition: «Our goal is to be a platform for enthusiasm around European cars. After the end of the Geneva Motor Show, such a platform no longer exists in Switzerland. We invite all brands to become part of this experience.» It is a statement that resonates and positions The I.C.E. as something more durable than a seasonal spectacle.
«High End» Sponsors
The partner list reads like a cross-section of contemporary luxury: Richard Mille as title sponsor; Badrutt’s Palace as official hotel partner; Loro Piana, Bang & Olufsen, VistaJet, Vincenzo Dascanio and Junkers Aircraft.
Swiss private banking is present too. UBS appeared as one of the main partners for the second consecutive year, reportedly inviting select private clients and hosting side events in the evenings. Publicly, however, activity remained deliberately low-key.
At Casa Ferrari, finews encountered a private banker from another Swiss institution — himself a Ferrari owner — who praised the design and atmosphere of the space. Away from the lake, Casa Ferrari fulfils its role perfectly: intimate, welcoming, and aligned with Ferrari’s cultivated sense of exclusivity.
A Farewell in the Sky
As if the frozen lake had not already delivered enough spectacle, the weekend concluded with an unexpected highlight above the Engadin. The Patrouille Suisse performed a fly-over, carving sharp red-and-white lines into the winter sky.
One lastaerobatic flight over St. Moritz: The Patrouille Suisse. (Image: Davide Bianchet for The I.C.E. St. Moritz)
According to organizers, the initiative came from the Patrouille Suisse itself. The appearance marked its final farewell to the Engadin with the iconic F-5 Tiger jets. Two years ago, the Swiss parliament decided to discontinue the formation, citing annual costs of around 40 million francs. In the clear Alpine air above St. Moritz, that decision feels strikingly petty.
Then the engines fade, the ice falls quiet again. The I.C.E. ultimately leaves behind a simple conviction: that certain forms of excellence remain worth preserving.
