Tuesday 18th September 2018

PH Photo Gallery: Salon Prive 2018

Another splendid September supercar show at Salon Privé - here are the best bits!

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Salon Privé returned earlier this month for its 13th edition, at what now looks to be the event's permanent home, Blenheim Palace. The focal point of this highlight of the automotive calendar was the Chubb Insurance Concours d'Elegance. More than 50 cars, including 17 international entries, and 20 motorcycles were judged by a panel of 17 experts, chaired by five-time Le Mans winner Derek Bell MBE.

Concours classes included 'Preservation at its Best'; 'Pre-war Bugattis'; 'Pre-war Luxury Tourers'; 'Grand Tourers of the 1950s & 60s'; 'Wind in Your Hair'; 'Best of British at Blenheim Palace'; 'Streamlined Closed Sports Cars'; '50 Years of the Dino'; 'Supercars of the 70s' and 'Competition Cars', and saw the cars paraded around the event via the judge's stage. Class winners included a 1933 Bugatti Type 55 Roadster, 1964 Ferrari 250 LM, 1965 Aston Martin DB5 and 1971 Lamborghini Miura S to name a few.

Several of the latest and fastest supercars were also on display in the palace grounds. The Bugatti Chiron, Aston Martin DBS Superleggera and the new Lamborghini Aventador SVJ were in attendance, with the latter making its European debut. The 'Super Veloce Jota' is Lamborghini's most powerful car to date, despite being based on an almost decade-old design.

The Dendrobium D-1 electric hypercar also made its UK debut. This collaboration between Williams and Singaporean company Vanda Electrics produces 1,800hp and 1,475lb ft, whilst weighing 1,750kg.

Meanwhile our highlights from the show would have to include the Monte Shell liveried Ferrari F40 GT/LM, the drop dead gorgeous 250 LM, the extra-terrestrial Pagani Zonda 760 Oliver Evolution, and a brand-new Ford GT in the car park. One of the coolest cars in the show, however, had to be the 1956 Porsche 550 RS, which was the first ever car to feature a spoiler for downforce - can you tell?

As ever Salon Privé was one of the most memorable moments of a long summer of car shows and concours, and for those itching to be back there, next year's dates already been announced as 5th-7th September 2019, once again hosted by Blenheim Palace.

 

 

[JerryF]

I remember seeing a Zonda on a Cotswold B-Road driven by a one of the EVO journalists (I think Harry Metcalfe). The thing was a joke, far too wide and ungainly and he was driving at an appropriately slow pace. Plus, you look like a right wker driving it.

Don't aspire to any of the Italian stuff either. Now what about the E-type?

[ben.c]

...that would have been Harry in his own Zonda then. Too wide for a Cotswold B road perhaps, but with - for example - a boat on the Riveira and pad in Tuscany as well as all the EVO trips, it had a few fairly well-documented opportunities to stretch its legs elsewhere

[anonymous-user]

Some metal on show!! Love the Shell clad F40.

[Nerdherder]

Gorgeous metal. Not very 'Prive' this event though, is it.

[deadscoob]

JerryF said:

Plus, you look like a right wker driving it

As a 435/m50d driver you must know what that’s like eh

[Matt Harper]

What is all the silliness stuck on the back of that 512 BB?

[Sandpit Steve]

JerryF said:

I remember seeing a Zonda on a Cotswold B-Road driven by a one of the EVO journalists (I think Harry Metcalfe). The thing was a joke, far too wide and ungainly and he was driving at an appropriately slow pace. Plus, you look like a right wker driving it.

Don't aspire to any of the Italian stuff either. Now what about the E-type?

T’was a common sight in the Cotswolds, Harry’s Zonda (C12 UFO if memory serves me correctly) coming and going from a track day somewhere. He used to rent it out for “experience” days and press days, it had a quite rediculous number of miles on it, a lot of which would have been at a reasonable lick.

Fair play to him, always good to see exotics used as the maker intended, rather than simply kept in storage like an artwork as the owner watches the price go up.

[MDL111]

Matt Harper said:

What is all the silliness stuck on the back of that 512 BB?

looks like Koenig car (no expert though)

[V8muscle]

The F40 in Shell livery looks awesome!

[thegreenhell]

It's hard to tell, but are we stuck in 1998 with pictures this small and grainy?

[Hairymonster]

Matt Harper said:

What is all the silliness stuck on the back of that 512 BB?

I wonder if it's fallen throuigh the Mansory catalogue of tasteful body modifications.