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Hampton Court Palace, 31.08 - 02.09.2018
The seventh edition of the “Royal Concours” as it widely known, due to its tour of Royal residences, including St James Palace and Windsor Castle, before settling at Hampton Court Palace, was held over the weekend of 31 August – 02 September. It featured a total of 60 desirable automobiles displayed in the Palace’s Fountain Gardens, ranging from a 1903 Panhard et Levassor 15 HP to a 2018 Ferrari GTC4 Lusso Tailor Made. There were also massive club displays on the perimeter of the main show area, together with classic dealer displays, broadening the spectrum of cars for visitors to enjoy. Those participating in the club displays were eligible for judging by HRH Prince Michael of Kent and his team for the RAC Club Trophy. There was also a RAC Spirit of Motoring Trophy, which went to Katie Forrest for her passion and flair in taking part in the Concours in her 1912 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost ‘Taj Mahal’, affectionately nicknamed ‘Nellie’.
It is unusual, in that unlike most concours it has no jury to judge the cars, with each owner of a participating vehicle having a vote for their favourite car on display, obviously not being able to vote for their own. This year the awards were extended to have ones for set production periods, under the same process, pre-1920s, 1930s, 1940s/50s, 1960s and 1970-onwards. There was also a public vote for the “Future Classics” display and “Harry’s Garage” display, the former featuring the likes of the unique Rolls Royce Sweptail and Mclaren Senna, whilst the latter was comprised of four door performance cars, which included a Vauxhall Lotus Carlton, the Lancia 8.32 with its V8 Ferrari engine and a Jaguar XE SV Project 8. The public vote went to the opulent Rolls Royce Sweptail, which certainly had massive presence, and was exquisitely crafted in the company’s finest tradition.
Apart from the main concours awards and those already mentioned, there were Jaguar and Bentley Club awards on the Saturday and Sunday respectively, with eminent experts for each marque choosing the recipients of the awards. The Jaguar Club award went to a highly original XK 120 with only 53,000 recorded miles, whist the Pre-1965 Bentley Club award went to a S2 Saloon, and the Post-65 award went to a 200 model year Continental T. The much coveted overall Best of Show award, the Pullman Trophy, went to the 1929 Mercedes-Benz Barker Tourer originally built for the founder of the British Racing Drivers’ Club, Earl Howe, which was very impressive in its blue and polished aluminium coachwork, and was the winner of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2017.
Best in Show
1929 Mercedes-Benz Type S Barker
Pre-1920s
Isotta Fraschini Tipo A FENG
1930s
Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Short Chassis Spider
1940s/50s
Maserati 300S
1960s
Porsche 917K
1970-onwards
Lamborghini Miura P400 S
The RAC Club Trophy
Alvis Speed 25 DHC
The RAC Spirit of Motoring Trophy
Katie Forrest and her 1912 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost
The Jaguar Trophy
Jaguar XK 120
The Bentley Trophy (pre-1965)
Bentley S2 Saloon
The Bentley Trophy (post-1965)
Bentley Continental T
Bridge of Weir British Legends
Morgan 4/4
Future Classics
Rolls Royce Sweptail
Ferrari Entry Model | Colour | Chassis # | Reg’ # | | 166 Inter Touring Coupé | Dark Red | 017S | 770 XUX | | 212 “Uovo” | Silver-Dark Blue | 024MB | VI 19370 | | 500 TRC | Silver-Red Stripe | 0708MDTR | 96961 | | 250 GT SWB Berlinetta | Blue Met’ | 3367GT | 1 NGL | | 275 GTB* | Grey Met’ | 07169 | 11 DOF | | 275 GTB (Alloy) | Pale Blue Met’ | 07927 | CEL 85 | | 365 California | White | 9849 | TGU 587E | | Dino 246 GT | Silver | 00910 | SIL 246 | | GTO (288) Prototype | Red | | 47647 | TH 4 | GTC4 Lusso | “Arancia Rik” Met’ | 232717 | GT 600 | |
*Did Not Show
Keith Bluemel 09/2018 |