Wilton Classic & Supercar: Preview

PH pops by Wilton House ahead of the fortcoming show to meet host Lord Pembroke and drive some of his cars

Strolling around the front of Wilton House's grand facade with owner Lord Pembroke - or Lord P as everyone seems to call him - it's hard to imagine the immaculate lawns and rolling parkland beyond packed with cars and people. But in less than a couple of weeks that will be the scene at the Wilton Classic & Supercar with Castrol Edge, a large contingent of PHers included as we run a very special Sunday Service as part of the second - and supercar related -day of the event.

Wilton's host has quite a private collection...

First day is officially 'classics' as you may have guessed from the event's official title. But in reality supercars and classics will be in abundance on both. Now in its sixth year Wilton Classic & Supercar stems from Lord P's personal enthusiasm for cars rather than any attempt to out-do similar shows at places like Goodwood and Cholmondeley. With Wilton he's going for a relaxed atmosphere and the feel of a garden party but as the event grows it's attracting more and more support, not least from the high end manufacturers and specialists in bespoke and custom models.

This year McLaren has chosen Wilton as the first place in the UK to show the new 570S - aka the Sports Series - after its debut at the New York show. Indeed, this will be the first time the full, three-tier McLaren range of Sports Series, Super Series (650S and 675LT) and Ultimate Series (P1 and P1 GTR) will be shown anywhere in one place.

Dan lets Lord Pembroke have a go with the GTO

Then there's the promise of a significant gathering of Bugattis, one of nearly every type built if all goes according to plan. As you'll see, Lord P has a personal interest in this one given that he's proud owner of a 20,000km-plus Veyron he's driven extensively in the UK and in Europe.

Showing the diversity of cars coming to the event Wilton has just confirmed attendance of two of the most famous - or perhaps infamous - F1 cars ever, reunited after a crash at Suzuka 25 years ago that saw Senna crowned champion and rival Prost vanquished. This is apparently the first time since that day that Senna's McLaren MP4-5B (chassis #7) and Prost's chassis #121 Ferrari 641/2 have been seen together. And, no, there are no plans to re-enact that particular moment in F1 history. So you'll just have to imagine the crunch of them colliding.

Lord P's Bugatti will be joined by many others

Details of the PH Sunday Service aspect of the show can be seen here and nearly 400 PHers have already signed up, attendees bringing cars as diverse as a Porsche 918 Spyder, Ford Escort XR3i, Dodge Challenger SRT and much more besides. Should be good!

All bases covered
To get us in the mood though we took a wander round Lord P's collection, housed in a former riding training hall, and picked out three cars we thought symbolised the spirit of the event. And then took them for a drive.

What DIDN'T we take out though? Well the Ferrari 550 Maranello he's just bought looked nice, this one earmarked as an end of an era car he had to buy before prices went bonkers. Then there's his V-Spec II R34 Skyline, his second such car and one he's racked up big miles in. Over the period he's had it Lord P has steadily been restoring it to as close to original condition as possible - no small challenge it turns out. Next to that the Porsche 956 Stefan Bellof crashed at the 'ring 1000KM after setting his banzai lap record in qualifying and more besides.

And now for the 'classics' bit of it!

We pick the Jaguar E-Type as our representative of the classics, the Ferrari 288 GTO discussed earlier on PH as our 80s icon and the Veyron as our modern supercar.

You've probably heard enough about the GTO already. But what's it like driving a Veyron? Opportunities to explore the 1,001hp and 922lb ft of torque on narrow Wiltshire lanes are, predictably, limited. But Lord P has seen well over 200mph on the Autobahn on jaunts to Europe and the point where it really goes like nothing else is in the 150mph and beyond realm. Where most are tailing off at this speed the Veyron is, he says, just as fast as it is below that. Which, given the violence of the couple of stabs we get on clear sections of road, must be utterly astonishing. It remains an incredible vehicle though and the sight of this and a host of other Bugattis in a suitably aristocratic setting should be worth the price of admission alone.

Classics, heroes and supercars at Wilton!

Compared with this shot of adrenaline the E-Type - a Series I 4.2 roadster - is like a soothing cup of Earl Grey and a cucumber sandwich beside Wilton House's lawns. It's certainly much more suited to the rolling B-roads surrounding the house, the evocative growl of its straight-six complemented by pleasingly direct steering, slop-free shift and decent bite from the all-disc brakes. Another case of exceeded expectations.

The chance to play with some of the collection and meet the host certainly confirms his petrolhead leanings and you get the impression of all the many activities related to the house and the estate this is one very close to Lord P's heart. Best of all he can confirm after the somewhat biblical conditions last year good weather has been booked in for 2015!

See you there!

For ticket information and more see the Wilton Classic & Supercar with Castrol Edge homepage. See here for more on the PistonHeads Wilton House Sunday Service.