This is the clear conclusion from our reporter Tony as he quite enjoyed himself at this newcomer to the concours scene. Here’s why:
For the last few years we have had two major concours in the UK – the London and Hampton Court events, both now well established with the Hampton Court event being one of the highlights of the year for me. Alongside these are the exclusive Salon Prive shows, and you would think this might be enough for one country, but no – this summer has seen the launch of two new concours in England, the first of these being the one-day RAC Concours in the spectacular setting of the RAC Club in Epsom, which took place on Wednesday.
When you add the various European concours one starts to question whether there is sufficient demand – and indeed, suitable classics – to satisfy so many events, but if the RAC Concours is any indication, the answer seems to be – yes.
The RAC or Royal Automobile Club is synonymous with motoring in the UK, principally for offering roadside assistance to motorists since its inception in 1897, the dawn of motoring. It’s members’ clubs are located at two prestigious venues, one in Pall Mall, London, the other at Woodcote Park, Epsom in Surrey, which the RAC acquired in 1913. The latter is a superb country club, with two 18-hole golf courses, tennis and squash courts and an Olympic-sized swimming pool, and a beautiful 19th-century clubhouse. I’ve been fortunate enough to visit it many times to play tennis and squash as an invited guest, and it provided a fitting setting for it’s inaugural classic Concours.
For the Concours itself, the organisers had created six car categories covering classic Grand Tourers, convertibles, limousines, Mille Miglia participants, coachbuilders (possibly the most glamorous grouping) and veterans from the beginning of the 20th century, as well as one motorcycle category. In addition, there were seven “Concours Features” celebrating 75 years of Formula 1, BRM and British motoring from 1950, a century of the Rolls Royce Phantom, 120 years of the Tourist Trophy as well as a display of members’ own classics. All in all, a veritable feast for the eyes, so let’s take a look…
The day was blessed with glorious sunshine, and the location and cars looked stunning in the sun. I have to start with the absolute highlight of the day – a 1955 Mercedes Benz 300SLR roadster, loaned for the occasion by Mercedes Benz Classic, and not a recreation. Uniquely among the seven such cars built, this one had not been raced in period. Seeing such a car outside a museum was an amazing experience, and next to it, another superb Mille Miglia racer, a 1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 SS, and next to that, a sublime 1953 Ferrari 166MM Spider…what a trio!
At a less exotic and considerably less expensive level, seeing four Auto Unions – two 1000SP’s (one a hardtop, the other a convertible) and two 1000 saloons – was a delight, three of them among the cars brought to the event by RAC club members. While on the subject of members’ cars, other lovelies driven in by members included a number of Aston Martins, a gorgeous orange Alfa Romeo Montreal, an actual 1965 AC Cobra as opposed to the usual replicas that seem to be everywhere, and a very rare – though not so lovely, to my eyes at least – Bristol 406 Zagato, one of three or four original Bristol 406s sent to Zagato in 1960.
Back with the Concours, the Grand Tourers class included a gorgeous 1963 Facel Vega II, one of very few Pininfarina-bodied Bentley’s, a 1949 MkVI and a unique 1948 Riley RMB “Transformable” – built by Swiss coachbuilder Walter Kong, it was so named due to it’s removeable roof panels, but I have to say that visually, it didn’t work for me.
Among the Coachbuilders class, a huge 1936 Packard Twelve by LeBaron and a 1934 Bugatti Type 57 Stelvio by Gangloff stood out, as did the contrast between the small and very charming two-tone 1928 Austin Seven by Swallow parked alongside a somewhat larger 1932 Rolls Royce 20/25 by Graber – in fact the Swallow was by far the smallest car among a group of very grand cars.
Speaking of grand, there was a Limousine category which included a huge 1969 Mercedes 600 Pullman as well as a white 1965 Rolls Royce Phantom V formerly owned by John Lennon, another example of which featured in a very majestic group of Rolls Royces celebrating a century of the Phantom – all very imposing.
The earliest days of motoring were celebrated with a display that marked the 125th anniversary of the famous 1,000 Mile Trail from London to Edinburgh and back, organised to demonstrate the potential of the motor car. 51 cars took part, 35 completed the journey and the point was most definitely proven. I know these cars have probably been rebuilt possibly several times, but that they are still going is a wonderful thing.
Marking 75 years of BRM, the show included a pair of the company’s most iconic racing cars, the first a recreation of the famous 1950 V16 BRM P15, the second the unique 1963 Rover-BRM Gas Turbine car, While the former enjoyed only limited success, the latter competed well in the Le Mans 24 Hours that year, completing 3,600km and finishing in an unofficial 8th place. It raced again in 1965 wearing the number 31 as seen at the Concours, finishing 10th.
A few more motorsport icons on display included a spectacular 1955 Mercedes W196R, raced to victory by Fangio at Zandvoort that year and the basis for the 300SLR – and a beautiful ex-Stirling Moss 1955 Osca FS372, as well as another famous ex-Moss car, the 1960 Ferrari 250GT SWB Competizione which Moss raced in Rob Walker Racing Team colours, winning all three of the races it entered. The 1973 BMW 3.0CSL in it’s distinctive Jägermeister colours made a very noisy entrance the previous evening – astonishingly, it’s road legal.
I have to mention the Car of the Show winner – an exquisite and unique 1927 Bentley 3-litre Boat-Tail Speed Model – I didn’t get a good photo of it, but these two are courtesy of the RAC and friend of ViaRETRO Anders Bilidt, there ostensibly to work, so he claimed, as RM Sotheby’s – one of the event sponsors – had a small stand featuring a couple of cars that were unsold after the previous day’s auction at Cliveden. It was great to share some of the day with him.
Photo: Anders Bilidt
Photo: RAC
This inaugural RAC Concours was an unequivocal success – a wonderful setting, spectacular cars, glorious weather – and I can easily imagine it being expanded to a two or even three-day event over the next few years. Below are some more of the classics on show that day – enjoy!
En 300slr er nu fin
Thx Tony. As always, an excellent report and lovely pictures.
It was great catching up with you again. It had been way too long. Hope to see you at Hampton Court… 😉