After a summer of very little – in fact, almost nothing – in the way of classic car events thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first signs of life began to appear recently as the London Concours actually took place as scheduled at the city centre oasis of the Honourable Artillery Company.
Just a couple of weeks later, it was the turn of an even more famous landmark, Henry VIII’s former home, the fabulous Hampton Court Palace near the Thames in East Molesey, east of London, to host a dazzling collection of the rare, expensive and in many cases, outrageously beautiful cars that matched the splendour of their surroundings. This was the sixth time I’ve attended the Concours of Elegance (previously also held at Windsor Castle, St. James’s Palace London and Holyrood House in Edinburgh, and its fourth appearance at Hampton Court) and somehow the organisers have managed to top their previous efforts each year.
I reported on what was a superb event both last year and the year before, and as before there was just too much glamour and prestige on display to do it justice in a single write-up, so I’ve split it into two – the Concours itself and the Goodings auction for this piece, and the club, dealer and visitor cars for another.
The Hampton Court Concours (presented by A. Lange and Söhne), attracts cars from the upper stratosphere of the classic car world, far beyond the reach of the vast majority of us – the organisers claimed that this year’s selection was the greatest line-up of collector’s cars ever assembled in the UK, and it would be difficult to argue with them. Unlike most Concours, the judges at this one are the owners of the other cars themselves – and when you think about, who better to judge than those who would be judged?
As at the London Concours, the organisers went to significant extra effort not only to attract a superb selection of classics but also to ensure COVID-19 precautions were in place; unlike the London event, Hampton Court stayed dry for the duration and the sun shone particularly generously on the Saturday, showing this wonderful collection of classics off to marvellous effect, and on that day, I was even able to persuade my better half to come along, since the combined attraction of the cars plus the palace was enough to persuade her to come along. Oh, and the promise of a pub lunch.
I headed out for the 50km drive to Hampton Court in die Tomate, making its debut as my classic transport to a classic event. After parking up on the green directly across the road from the palace in the spaces allocated to those of us who arrived in a classic, I made my way into the palace grounds.
One of the great attractions of attending on the Friday is seeing the cars arrive to take their places around the Fountain Gardens in front of the Palace – seeing and hearing these marvellous machines is not to be missed!
To describe every car here would be an impossibility, since each one was special in some way, so I’ll concentrate on the ones that grabbed my attention the most, but hopefully the photo gallery at the end of this piece will give you some idea of the splendours on offer over the weekend.
Special features this year included some outstanding displays of historically important racing cars from the world of Le Mans – an astonishing line-up that included two of the McLaren F1’s that took Le Mans by storm in 1995, a 1997 Porsche 911 GT1 and even more incredibly, cars from the 1966 Ford vs Ferrari era – a brutal 1965 Ford GT40 with a lengthy motor-sport history alongside a gorgeous 1965 Ferrari 250LM and a stunning 1965 Ferrari P365P, both in bright yellow and two of Maranello’s most beautiful racing cars. The former came 2nd at the 1965 running of the Le Mans 24 Hours, and the 365P had a 1st and 2nd place at the Nurbürgring 1000km behind it, driven on both occasions by the late and very great John Surtees. Glorious cars with wonderful pedigrees.
And yet these spectacular racing cars weren’t the pinnacle of the event. The crowning glory? Even among company as stellar as this, a Ferrari 250GTO stands out for its sheer star quality. As ViaRETRO readers will know, the GTO is the Mona Lisa of the classic car world, with a world record price achieved at RM Sotheby’s Auction on August 25, 2018 of US$48,405,000 (including buyer’s premium). That at least one of these – of 36 built – is raced at the Goodwood Revival each year beggars belief… this particular example was the second 250GTO built, and competed at Le Mans in 1962, where it finished 6th, having earlier that year crossed the line in 2nd place at the Sebring 12 Hours.
As if this wasn’t enough from the world of sports car racing, also taking part, a 1969 Porsche 917K – and not a replica or recreation, but the genuine fire-breathing beast, and an actual Le Mans 24 Hours winning car at that. In fact this was the car that brought the Stuttgart marque the first of its many triumphs at Le Sarthe, piloted to victory by Dickie Attwood and Hans Herrmann in 1970. I could have looked at it for hours, and this utterly astounding car took the Best in Show prize.
Historic motor racing was also represented in the shape of some iconic – yes, iconic – F1 cars, including an ex-Chris Amon and Derek Bell 1967 Ferrari 312/67 and Damon Hill’s 1993 Williams FW15C, as well as Jean-Pierre Beltoise’s 1972 BRM P180 and the legendary Maserati 250F. Brought together to mark the 70th anniversary of F1, these racing machines looked and sounded fabulous. For me, any one of these looks so much better than the current F1 crop, epecially the Ferrari.
Other cars that made my jaw drop included a wonderful black 1958 BMW 507 – designed by Albrecht Goertz, this beauty’s timeless lines look as good as ever, and this example , one of only eight built in black, was bought four years ago by the owner as a gift for his wife… though I note he drove it around the fountain to its allocated space…
Porsche 356’s are a relatively common sight at classic events, but not this 1952 356 America Roadster. One of just sixteen built, eleven survive and according to the owner, the only one in Europe, this 356 is slightly more curvaceous at the hips than the than the familiar bathtub profile of the standard car, giving it more of a Healey-type profile. I’m not entirely convinced by it, much as I love the 356, but it was a rare treat to see it, nonetheless – I hadn’t even been aware such a Porsche existed.
Having seen a Facel Vega 500HK just a couple of weeks ago at the London Concours, finding one here was not quite as impactful as it would normally have been. However, seeing its 6.7-litre sibling, a 1962 Facel II in a beautiful shade of metallic blue, was a rare treat. Despite having the bigger, more powerful engine, the styling is slightly less aggressive, especially at the front, and I actually prefer it to the 500HK. And what a cockpit!
Yet another absolutely breathtaking car on show was the 1957 Bertone Jaguar XK150; gleaming in black, this was one of three XK150 chassis sent to Bertone and styled by Scaglione. It’s the only one of the three cars built known to still exist and although the badge says Jaguar, this car embodies Italian design flair. Exquisite.
Then there was the stunning 1938 black over purple 1938 Bugatti Type 57 Atalante, a magnificent pale blue 1960 Aston Martin DB4 GT, a gorgeous burgundy 1958 Ferrari 250GT Ellena, and undoubtedly the most unusual car of the day, a replica 1921 Leyat Hélica, basically an aircraft fuselage without wings, driven by a front-mounted propeller – yes, really! And there was so much more…
A new feature at this year’s Concours was an auction – and not just any old auction. Hosted by Gooding and Company, this was a small auction in terms of number of lots, but what lots they were…just 15 cars from a single private collection, brought together under the umbrella of “Passions of a Lifetime” and it’s hard to know where to start…
The cars were arranged around one of the palace’s internal courtyards, which was a suitably splendid setting for this astonishing collection of cars, all from the same private owner.
The auction took place on the Saturday – a day on which the sun shone more generously than on the previous day – and it felt like a privilege to watch it as some very expensive mobile sculptures attracted serious money – star lot of the day was the historic and beautifully patinated 1934 Bugatti Type 59 which reached a world record price for a Bugatti at auction of £9,535,000 including 15% buyer’s premium, a little shy of its estimate but still a formidable price, and over-achiever of the day was a gold metallic 1971 Miura P400 SV that went under the hammer for £3,207,000 (another record), more than a million over its top estimate. A little surprisingly, the stunning 1961 Aston Martin DB4 Zagato – resplendent in a deep burgundy as opposed to the metallic green that these curvaceous beauties are normally seen in – failed to sell, stalling at £6.3m; indeed, it was the only lot of the 15 that didn’t find a new home.
The flamboyant 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante was the other star performer, costing its new owner £7,855,000. In contrast, the “bargain” of the sale was the lovely 1959 silver Zagato-bodied Lancia Flaminia 2500 Sport, selling for a meagre £310,000 – if I’d known it was going so cheaply, I would have saved up. In total, the sale brought the selling collector almost £28,000,000 after commissions…
At your common or garden auction, prices will often move in £100 to £250 steps; that was certainly not the case here – increments of £20,000 a time were normal, and in the case of the Type 59, £250,000 to £500,000 at a time…
How on earth does one select a Car of the Day from an event like this? Well, with difficulty, would be my answer, but I’ll attempt it. Certainly the 917K was the car that got me the most excited, even above the 250GTO, and among the road cars, the Bertone Jaguar stole the show for me – it’s unique beauty sets it apart from the “average” Jaguar XK150, but I would be thrilled to own pretty much any one of the classics on display this weekend – there’s only one small problem; perhaps I should start buying lottery tickets…
