Heveningham Concours: PH Photo Gallery

A fairly new addition to the concours calendar is not one to be missed!

If asked to compile a list of things Suffolk is famous for, what would come to mind? Probably not a great deal; Constable, maybe, Ipswich Town being the longest serving Championship football team, Lowestoft being as far east as the UK stretches... Whatever you come up with, though, it's unlikely that you'll think of Suffolk as a hotspot for automotive concours events. Fortunately, Heveningham Hall's Country Fair & Concours, held last weekend, looks set to change that.

Because in amongst a sprawling rural fete, with live music, food stands, air displays, a sheep show (well worth seeing, in fact) and more, there's a concours featuring some of the most amazing cars you've ever seen. The sort of event where the only 911s there are an S/T and a GT1, and an F1 GTR sits alongside Nick Mason's 250 GTO - it's not a normal village car show...

Our weekend with Heveningham began earlier than that though, with Friday's Heveningham Tour through the country routes of Suffolk and Norfolk. And while it won't be remembered as a slice of B-road nirvana, seeing an assortment of McLarens, Ferraris and Lamborghinis scream through rural East Anglia is certainly an experience, particularly from the lofty perch of a Mercedes GLC. Even more incredible was seeing some of these cars then board Reedham Ferry, which felt a tight squeeze in the Mercedes - leave alone a P1 GTR...

The real draw of the weekend, though, more than the wall of death and the sheepdog display, was the Heveningham Concours d'Elegance, held around the back of the hall. And honestly, whatever type of car interests you most, it was likely be found amongst the 50 - it was incredible. You can see below for both the quantity and quality of cars on display, though personal highlights included the gorgeous Porsche 910, the Nurburgring lap McLaren P1 LM, an original one-of-19 Ferrari F40 Michelotto and a stunning Pagani Zonda S; as they continue to grow old disgracefully, there's something almost dainty now about Zondas from the turn of the millennium.

As if that wasn't enough, Saturday also saw a few of the supercars head up 'Horsepower Hill' at Heveningham, a timed quarter-mile stretch of driveway. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the fastest time of the day came from a Veyron Gran Sport (hence the off-road celebration!), though that certainly wasn't through lack of trying from the other competitors.

So yes, the Heveningham Country Fair and Concours) is well worth a visit for those in Suffolk during the summer. There's even a chance to try out a digger, if all else fails, and who wouldn't want to do that? See you in the sunshine next June!

Concours winners
Pre-war:
1939 Delage D8-120 Cabriolet (owned by Peter and Merle Mullin)
Commended: 1927 Bugatti T37 Grand Prix and the 1937 Bugatti Type 57S

Post-war:
1962 Ferrari 250 GTO (owned by Nick Mason)
Commended: 1953 Jaguar C Type and the 1964 Ferrari 500 Superfast)

Supercars:
1987 Porsche 962 (owned by Henry Pearman)
Commended: 1997 Porsche 911 GT1 Evolution and 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder)