The Concours of Elegance, now in its sixth year, was hosted at Hampton Court Palace towards the end of last summer, featuring nearly 1,000 different cars over the course of the weekend. Best of Show was awarded to the Lancia Astura Aerodinamico Castagna, and the event has raised over £1.2million for charity to date.
We won't bore you with who won what in every class, because frankly you can read that on the organiser's website. Instead we chose what we were most impressed by in the grounds of Hampton Court. A few factors were considered when choosing the following cars. We favoured things that looked good, sounded good, were rare, fast, expensive, had an interesting backstory, or just tickled our fancy. None of these cars fit all those criteria, but we collated anything that was a little bit different, or a little bit epic here for you to hopefully enjoy!
Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato
Arguably the most desirable Aston Martin ever made, the 1962 DB4 GT Zagato is drop dead gorgeous, maybe even a contender for the most beautiful car ever. We were taken by its curvaceous lines and the fact that this is number 14 of just 19 Zagatos made! It was even in like new condition after an extensive recent restoration. If ever there was a car that could be beautiful for the rest of time, this would be it.
Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato
Not quite as rare, beautiful, valuable or special as the DB4, the Vanquish Zagato still holds its own and is one of the best looking cars of this millennium. One could even argue it's the 'realistic' dream for those who long after the DB4. It's almost as stunning, it's still an Aston Martin coach built by Zagato, and with a relatively massive 99 units made, each costing £525,000, we don't know why we don't all have one! Jokes aside, finished in the striking Predator Grey 'satin metallic' paint work, this modern supercar puts any Ferrari or Lamborghini to shame in terms of style, class and sophistication.
Aston Martin Vantage Concept
This Aston Martin Vantage Concept was a peculiar beast. Unveiled at the Detroit Motor Show in 1998 under the name Project Vantage, the car, which was finished in Derwent Green, was the only one of its kind, and was so well received by the public, it did later go into production as the 2001 Vanquish. However, none of the components would have been interchangeable with the production car. The car is not road legal, and the current owner said the gearbox gave up the ghost just driving into the event, but that's a small price to pay for such a fascinating and unique Aston!
Koenigsegg Agera RS Naraya
The Bugatti Type 54 is a 4.9-litre supercharged straight-eight racer which could exceed 150mph with its mighty 300hp. Not bad for the '30s! The car shown here is supposedly one of the most original examples in existence, finished in in Bugatti Bleu de France, you can't help but be taken back in time looking at it!
Another contender for most beautiful car ever, the Ferrari 250 GT SWB. We always have time for an SWB, but in light green racing livery with dark green lipstick, it was impossible to not look twice at this masterpiece from Maranello.
The Jaguar C-X75 is the British supercar that never was, immortalised only by its appearance in the latest Bond film as the villain's run around. In the film, the C-X75 ended up burnt and almost at the bottom of a river, much like the C-X75 project itself... For that reason we should count ourselves lucky that we ever get to see any of the prototypes in the flesh, such as this blue one!
You should all be familiar with the Harrods F1 GTR (which was also at the show). When the McLaren P1 GTR was released several cars were produced in the same Harrods livery as a homage to the Le Mans legend. However, the P1 GTR on display at Hampton Court paid tribute to the Harrods livery in a different way. The owner, who also owns the F1 GTR in question, said that the colour scheme was inspired by the Harrods livery, rather than being a direct copy. Refreshing, and very unusual to see green and yellow wheels!
Ferrari 340 MM Vignale Spider
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