FULL CAR LIST REVEALED AS COUNTDOWN TO CONCOURS OF ELEGANCE 2019 BEGINS

FULL CAR LIST REVEALED AS COUNTDOWN TO CONCOURS OF ELEGANCE 2019 BEGINS

Concours of Elegance has revealed the full list of spectacular cars which will appear at Hampton Court in just a week’s time.

Taking place from 6-8 September, this celebration of automotive elegance, style and passion will feature more than 60 of the rarest and most exclusive cars ever produced in its Main Concours. But while the spotlight most certainly falls on this collection, the Concours of Elegance will display a total of nearly 1,000 rare and exotic vehicles over the course of the weekend in special world-first features and collections.

The Concours of Elegance’s main line-up is always a visual story-telling of the history of the motorcar. From iconic pre-1914 automobiles to limited edition sports and supercars of the 21st century, each of the Concours of Elegance cars has a remarkable story to tell.

Concours of Elegance has picked out a handful of the incredible cars confirmed to appear in the Hampton Court Palace Fountain Garden:

1937 Delage D8-120 Cabriolet

A car with a unique story, this Delage appeared in one of Hollywood’s most spectacular lm musicals, An American in Paris, glamorously carrying Gene Kelly around the City of Light. How did it get the role? It was delivered by coachbuilder Henri Chapron to a Parisian customer in June 1939, only for it to be appropriated later by a French general of the Vichy government, a German collaborator. In 1946 the treacherous general sent the car to California, expecting to follow it, but the USA denied him a visa, so he went to Argentina and sold the car to RKO Studios. In Hollywood, its exotic lines earned it a few roles in films, including Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye, starring James Cagney. The producers of Gershwin’s An American in Paris asked for a few changes including rear-light modifications and two- tone green livery, so when it was returned to France for location filming, Chapron himself oversaw the changes.

1948 Delahaye 175S Grand Luxe Dandy Convertible

The very same flamboyant coachbuilder Henri Chapron called the body style of this delightful four-seat convertible, ‘Le Dandy’, and no doubt he was aware of the poet Baudelaire’s expressed opinion that dandyism meant cultivating the idea of beauty, of satisfying one’s passions and of rejecting middle-class values and any egalitarian principles. The result presented here is an exceptionally pretty car, very rare (only some 50 examples of the 175 in all styles were built) and with that indisputably artistic and original character for which the French stylists were famous. The two-tone paintwork is colourful, dynamic and expressive of speed, and inside the blue theme is continued on the steering wheel, instrument panel, seats, carpets and door panels. With ‘Le Dandy’, Chapron created a car that can have several different characters: when there is rain or cold or one does not wish to be seen, it can be fully closed; it can be a ‘coupé deville’ with an open front section and closed rear for a chauffeur and discreet passenger, or it can be a fully open cabriolet.

1974 Porsche Carrera RS 3.0

In 1973 Porsche launched the 2.7 RS Carrera, an unashamed homologation special designed to ensure the world-famous 911 silhouette became even more successful in races and rallies, which it did. The following year, the Stuttgart firm desired more power and performance, and the engineers came up with the 3.0 RS, the splendid car presented here. While total production of 2.7 RSs was 1580, a mere 54 Carrera RS 3.0s emerged from the factory, a rare model that homologated a further-developed RS for the ‘G-Series’ 1974 model year. The much-developed cars were of course road legal and were fitted with a 3-litre Type 911/77. The 2.7-litre flat-six had not only been enlarged: it had also been given new cylinder heads, larger inlet ports and larger inlet and exhaust surfaces for the valve heads. It developed 230bhp in the road versions, wonderful for highway use, and up to 330bhp in the competition cars for Group 3 races and rallies. In standard form, top speed was around 155mph, with 0-60mph in 5.5 seconds. The 3.0 RS was lightened by the use of thin-gauge steel, simplified equipment and glassfibre for engine and bonnet lids.

2019 Touring Superleggera Sciàdipersia Cabriolet

Intended to be a road-going Orient Express, the inspiration for this ultra-exclusive model – of which only 15 will be built – goes back to 1958 and the Shah of Iran. Shah Reza Pahlavi, who came to power in 1953, was a keen collector
of fast and luxurious cars, buying Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Bizzarrinis and Maseratis, and in 1958 he asked Maserati to build him a bespoke high-performance car, with a 450S racing engine fitted into a 3500GT chassis. He commissioned Touring Superleggera to design the coachwork for a highly distinctive car in which he could display his royal status. This new custom model, nicknamed the Scià di Persia (Italian for Shah of Iran), was one inspiration behind the current Sciàdipersia. Another key influence was the simple desire to buck the current trend for aggressive design features. The Sciàdipersia is intended to be svelte, subtle and understated, with classic (and therefore long-lasting) looks that also hark back to the best of the 1960s and ‘70s. It has a low, minimalist front, clean flanks and a substantial tail.

Adult tickets for this year’s Concours of Elegance start from £40, with children under five and carers entering free of charge. For the first time, visitors can also book into an on-site ‘Tom’s Kitchen’ restaurant by celebrated chef, Tom Aikens for a full three-course lunch. Alternatively, Tom’s Kitchen provides less formal deli grab and go options or a three-course picnic. To buy tickets head to: http://www.concoursofelegance.co.uk/tickets

The full list of cars on display in the Main Concours is:

1904 Napier L49

1907 Diatto A Clément

1911 Lancia Delta Tipo 56

1920 Ballot 3/8 LC

1921 Bentley 3-Litre

1922 Bentley 3-Litre ‘Le Mans’ Tourer

1923 Bentley 3-Litre Supercharged

1928 Bugatti Type 37

1928 Minerva AF Transformable Town Car by Hibbard & Darrin

1929 Bentley 4 ½-Litre Single Seater ‘Bentley Blower No 1‘

1929 Bentley Speed Six ‘Old No. One’

1930 Bentley Speed Six Gurney Nutting Sportsman’s Coupe ‘Blue Train’

1929 Bentley 4 ½-Litre Blower ‘Team car’

1930 Bentley 8-Litre

1930 Bentley Speed Six ‘Old No. 3’

1931 Bentley Speed Six Dual-Cowl Sports Tourer by Vanden Plas

1932 Aston Martin LM9 Le Mans Lightweight

1936 Bentley 4 ¼-Litre by Antem

1936 Stout Scarab

1937 Delage D8-120 Cabriolet

1938 Alvis Speed 25 DHC

1938 Bugatti Type 57

1948 Alfa Romeo 6C-2500 SS Pininfarina Cabriolet

1948 Delahaye 175 S Grand Luxe Chapron

1949 Ferrari 166 MM Barchetta Touring

1949 Ferrari 166 MM Barchetta Touring

1949 Ferrari 166 MM Barchetta

1950 Ferrari 166 MM Barchetta

1950 Talbot-Lago T26 GS

1951 Pegaso Z-102 Berlinetta Prototype ENASA

1951 Ferrari 212 Export Berlinetta Touring

1952 Frazer Nash Targa Florio

1953 Lotus Mk VIII

1954 Alfa Romeo 1900 C SS Zagato

1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial

1955 Bentley R-Type Continental Coupé by Franay

1955 Jaguar D-Type

1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing

1956 Aston Martin DB 2/4 Mk II

1956 Bentley S1 Drophead Coupé by H.J. Mulliner

1957 Porsche 356A Speedster

1958 AC Ace Bristol

1958 Aston Martin DB Mk III

1959 Bristol 406 SWB Zagato

1959 Ferrari 250 TR

1961 Jaguar E-Type FHC

1964 Aston Martin DB5

1964 Aston Martin DB5 Convertible

1965 Ford GT 40

1967 Maserati Mistral V8 ‘Prototype’ by Frua

1968 Ferrari 330 GTC

1970 Lamborghini Miura P400 S

1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7

1974 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.0

1984 De Tomaso Pantera GT5

1985 Aston Martin V8 Vantage X-Pack Prototype

1987 Ruf CTR ‘Yellow Bird’

1997 McLaren F1

2002 Bentley State Limousine

2016 Aston Martin Vulcan

2016 Rolls-Royce Phantom VII Drophead Coupe

2017 Ruf CTR Anniversary

2018 McLaren P1 GTR

2018 Ginetta G60-LT-P1

2019 Touring Superleggera Sciádipersia Cabriolet

2019 Bentley Mulsanne WO Edition