Past winners to return for Concours of Elegance's spectacular 10th anniversary show

CONCOURS OF ELEGANCE - The Concours of Elegance, presented by A. Lange & Söhne. is delighted to announce that its upcoming, 10th anniversary show, will welcome back some of the astonishing previous winners of the coveted ‘best in show’ crown. The fabulous motor cars will further burnish an already outstanding selection of machinery, joining a field featuring over 75 of the world’s rarest and most spectacular cars, all drawn from leading private collections by the concours committee’s panel of internationally recognised experts. The UK’s leading concours d’elegance event returns to Hampton Court Palace from the 2nd to 4th September.

Among the returning Concours victors will be the 1930 Bentley Speed 6 ‘Blue Train’ Coupe that took home the best in show prize at the 2013 show edition. The imposing British machine sported a raked coupe body, which was designed and built by coachbuilders Gurney Nutting. Performance matched the imposing, dominant looks; the Speed 6 was powered by a 6 ½ litre-Le Mans spec engine, putting out 180 bhp, enough to propel the imposing machine to nigh on 120 mph. The car rose to fame and gained its nickname after the Bentley owning playboy Woolf Barnato – perhaps the definitive ‘Bentley Boy’, and one-time company chairman, raced the famous Blue Train north through France. Whilst drinking at a party, Barnato claimed that he could beat the train on a run from Cannes on the glamorous Côte d’Azur to Calais. Despite the absence of autoroutes, Barnato convincingly beat the train, indeed, he won by such a margin that he crossed the channel on a steamer, and made it to London before the train pulled to a halt at the station in Calais. In all he’d covered around 700 miles – all at a remarkably fast pace – averaging 43 mph on the dusty, uneven roads of France. While there is debate over the exact car that completed the journey, it was the Gurney Nutting coupe that became associated with Barnato’s exploits, and known as the ‘Blue Train’, as a result. A wonderful car from an enchanting, fearless period in British automotive history.

Also returning will be the glamorous winner from 2016, an incredible, one-off 1938 Hispano-Suiza Dubonnet Xenia. This dramatic, art deco motor car, with its aero-inspired bodywork was developed by André Dubonnet, an inventor, racing driver and World War One fighter pilot. Dubonnet chose an H6 Hispano-Suiza engine for his creation, and commissioned Jean Andreau to design the incredible, streamlined body. Jacques Saoutchik then brought the design to life, featuring curved glass, sliding doors and a panoramic windscreen. This outrageous car wowed the crowds back in 2016 at Windsor Castle, and is set to enthral guests all over again at Hampton Court in a few weeks’ time.

Another car making a triumphant return will be the Best in Show winner from 2020, a 1969 Porsche 917 KH. The endurance racing Porsche was a crowd favourite throughout that event two years ago, with its imposing design and incredible backstory. In 1970, Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood drove this very same 917 KH (short-tail) in the world-famous red-white Salzburg design to the first ever overall win for Porsche at the famous Le Mans 24 Hours. The 917 marked the first time Porsche competed in the league of immensely powerful, large-capacity racing cars. Its 580bhp 4.5-litre 12-cylinder engine set new standards, and is still legendary today. 

These superb former winners will join the display of over 70 rare and spectacular Concours Cars at this September’s glamorous event. Further star cars are set to be announced in the coming weeks. Outside the main display of vehicles, the Concours of Elegance will assemble around 1,000 further cars in a series of special features and displays, as well as a live collector car auction by Gooding & Co.

James Brooks-Ward, Concours of Elegance CEO, said: “As our 10th anniversary event at Hampton Court Palace fast approaches, we are delighted to announce the return of these former ‘Best in Show’ winners. These exceptional motor cars have each stood out in consistently exceptional fields, so having them all together in the Palace grounds at the start of September will be very special indeed. It’s the perfect way for us to celebrate our decade of success. We cannot wait to welcome guests to our event – now just three weeks away - which is set to be our most spectacular yet.”

Away from the automotive displays, Concours of Elegance will once again be an occasion of pure luxury, with champagne provided by Charles Heidsieck, picnics by Fortnum & Mason, and a collection of art, jewellery and fashion displays. Presenting Partner A. Lange & Söhne will once again showcase some of its most intricate timepieces.

Tickets to the Concours of Elegance 2022 are available now from just £35 for half-day entry, with full three-course hospitality packages from £320. Tickets can be bought from concoursofelegance.co.uk/tickets

Star cars from UK’s largest private car collection to feature at London Concours in 2022

LONDON CONCOURS - The London Concours, presented by Montres Breguet, is delighted to announce that for 2022, its class ‘The Collector’ will feature star cars from Rodger Dudding’s Studio 434.

Running from the 28th-30th June at the Honourable Artillery Company in the heart of the City of London, this summer’s event will assemble the finest examples from Dudding’s astonishing array of machinery – which now numbers well over 400 motor cars in total. 

The collection began in the 1970s, initially with a Jensen Interceptor FF and Dudding’s father’s Morris Minor. It is now thought to be the largest privately assembled collection in the UK, if not Europe. The enthralling selection of metal, amassed over decades, is a bold individual collection, one that charts the history of British and European motoring through the ages – giving a unique sense of how cars have evolved from the early 1900s to the present day.

Ordinarily housed in Dudding’s sprawling warehouses, the London Concours will offer a special opportunity to view the star cars on the manicured lawns of the Honourable Artillery Company HQ, at the capital’s summer automotive garden party.

Among the cars on display will be an example from one of the automotive industry’s oldest marques – AC. Guests to the HAC will have the opportunity to examine the British firm’s extremely rare, high performance GT car of the 1960s – the AC 428 Coupe. Based on a stretched Cobra chassis, the 428 was nearly a quarter of a ton lighter than its rivals – the Aston Martin DBS and the Jensen Interceptor. With a substantial, 7.0-litre Ford V8, it packed serious performance: 5.5 seconds to 60 mph and over 150 mph flat out. Also known as the ‘AC Frua’, only 51 ‘fastback’ versions were produced of this alluring coupe, which compellingly blended British charm, Italian style and American brawn.

The display will also feature an AC from the 21st century, the 378 GT Zagato. Launched at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, the GT combined bruising performance, courtesy of an LS Chevrolet V8, with a stunning Zagato designed body – one that still looks decidedly modern 10 years on. Analogue, with a manual transmission and no driver aids of any kind, the 378 was supposed to herald a new era for AC. Sadly, this was not to be; Dudding’s car remains the sole 378 Zagato in existence. A rare opportunity to pore of this unique, alluring car, and ponder what might have been.

The Collector class will also play host to an example for the car that has for some, come to define Dudding’s collection: the Aston Martin Lagonda. With its wedge like design and high-tech, if temperamental, digital instruments, the V8 powered Lagonda was spaceship-like in 1970s Britain, removed from any Aston Martin, indeed any car, that had come before it. The Lagonda on display is one of a remarkable 26 in Studio 434’s collection. Dudding acknowledges it to be something of a ‘Marmite’ car, noting, “you’re certifiable if you have one…what happens when you have 26?”

The line-up of cars will also include the Lagonda’s most direct antecedent, if there is one, the Lagonda Rapide Sports Saloon of the 1960s. An earlier foray by Aston Martin into reviving the revered Lagonda name, the Rapide’s elegant shape was designed by Touring of Milan, and was produced for just three years, from ’61 to ’64. Based on the DB4’s platform, the chassis was lengthened by some 16 inches and a De Dion axle added to provide the rear space befitting of a luxury saloon. The Rapide featured the familiar Tadek Marek straight-six, enlarged to 4.0-litres and similar to the engine that later powered the iconic DB5. Extremely rare, only 55 of these stylish sporting saloons were produced, all built by hand, specially to order. The London Concours will offer a special opportunity to savour one in an intimate setting.

The breadth and reach of the Dudding collection will be borne out by the presence of the automotive, and indeed cinema, icon of the 1980s, the DeLorean DMC12. Famed for its appearance in a certain sci-fi comedy film, the DMC12 was produced in Belfast between 1981 and 1983. With its avant-garde shape by the masterful Giugiaro at Italdesign, brushed stainless steel bodywork and gullwing doors, this much-loved car is sure to entertain the crowds when it takes to the HAC’s lawns this June.

These fascinating motor cars, and many more besides, will be assembled as the London Concours celebrates Dudding, the most passionate of enthusiasts, with this special ‘Collector Class’ display. Further announcements will be made about the exiting further classes in the coming weeks and months, as we build up to the 6th iteration of the event, sure to be another occasion of complete automotive indulgence.

Andrew Evans, London Concours Director, said: “We are delighted that for 2022 the London Concours will feature star cars from Rodger’s astonishing collection. Our class ‘The Collector’ was conceived to celebrate the most passionate and committed car enthusiasts; Rodger is perhaps peerless in this regard.

“We look forward to bringing motor cars from this astounding collection to the heart of the City this summer. Guests will be able to savour truly special cars, delectable food and beverage options, and browse a carefully curated selection of designer brands and boutiques at London’s ultimate automotive extravaganza.”