With more than 100 cars and motorcycles in nine carefully selected categories, the Salon Privé Concours d’Elegance takes place at Britain’s grandest palace from September 1 to 5.
This week sees the 16th edition of one of the UK’s most prestigious motoring events, the Salon Prive Concours d’Elegance, take place at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. The brainchild of brothers Andrew and David Bagley, Salon Prive is inspired by the extravagant concours events in the United States and Italy, which bring together rare and exotic cars from around the world to be judged by experts for their originality, historical provenance and quality of restoration.
This year’s event brings an eclectic range of cars to the palace grounds, from pre-war Mercedes luxury models to vintage Ferraris to the latest hypercars from contemporary brands. The event has grown significantly in recent years, inviting brands such as Rolls Royce, Aston Martin and McLaren to occupy the lawn and showcase their latest models. More boutique-style hypercar manufacturers like Hispano Suiza, Pininfarina and Touring Superleggera also made an appearance this year.
With only 10 examples built, the Ferrari 275 GTB Competizione Clienti is one of the Italian marque’s rarest and most sought-after models. Built as a replacement for the mid-engined 250 LM, the Competizione Clienti was a race car with alloy bodywork close to the standard car to ensure its entry into the racing class. The Competizione Cliente treatment included a lighter tubular chassis, additional cooling fins and a more powerful V12 Columbo engine fed by six Weber carburetors.
Rolls Royce displayed two examples of the Rolls-Royce Wraith and Cullinan, customized by Rolls-Royce Bespoke, based on the Black Badge editions of both models. The Wraith luxury coupe gets a more distinguished look, contrasting with the darker elements of the Black Badge collection, such as the brand’s Spirit of Ecstasy emblem, the various black stainless steel inserts, but also the specific 21-inch wheels, combining carbon fiber with brushed aluminum spokes. On board, a bright red “Mugello Red” leather upholstery brings a sporty and luxurious look to the interior of the brand’s latest coupe.
The McLaren F1 GTR, meanwhile, won the final race at Le Mans in 1995. A more aggressive aerodynamic focus, a stripped-down interior and a new suspension setup increased performance, despite FIA restrictions that limited power to less than 600 hp. This was enough to cement F1’s place in motorsport history.
In terms of prizes, the Panhar and Levassor 80hp, dating from 1903, won the Concours d’Honneur.
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Featured Photo : © Salon Privé
