13 exquisite classics from London’s Concours of Elegance

Îïóáëèêîâàííî 08.09.2020 08:00

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The British motoring calendar is officially back in business.

Fresh from the successful hosting of the London Concours event a couple of weeks ago, the same team has now brought us the Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court palace, and it all felt almost… normal.

From the opening day, here's our pick of just some of the cars from the concours and beyond. More are expected on Saturday and Sunday of the three-day event. The best concours this side of the Atlantic? We think so. Let's take a look at our pick of the best:

Photography by Tim Scott

Ferrari 365P

This car, chassis no. 0828, emerged from Scuderia Ferrari at the start of 1965 as a 275 P. Its first taste of action was at a Le Mans test day in April, driven by John Surtees. It evolved during the season to become a 410bhp, six-carb 4.4-litre 365 P specification, and won the N?rburgring 1000km under Surtees.

Porsche GT1 Evolution

Raced by Hans-Joachim Stuck, Thierry Boutsen and Bob Wollek in 1996, it took the Le Mans GT1 victory on its first attempt and finished just a lap behind the overall winner. Power comes from a 600bhp 3164cc flat-six and twin KKK turbos, giving a top speed of nearly 200mph. This example is one of only two factory 911 GT1s in private hands.

Aston Martin Victor

Aston Martin's bespoke Q Commission division has revealed its latest customer creation: a one-off supercar that combines elements of the One-77 and track-only Vulcan. The Victor is the most powerful road-legal naturally aspirated car Aston Martin has yet produced. Its 7.3-litre V12 powerplant was stripped and rebuilt by Cosworth, with power raised from 750bhp to 836bhp and mated to a six-speed manual transmission.

It uses the same inboard springs and dampers as the Vulcan and is fitted with Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes that Aston claims can deliver braking capability on par with a GT3 race car.   The car began life as a One-77 prototype that has been significantly overhauled over an 18-month period. It features extensive use of carbonfibre, with the entire chassis weighing less than an original One-77.

Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 (1929)

Introduced at the 1929 Rome Motor Show, it was technically virtually identical to its predecessor, the 6C 1500, except for a larger version of the six-cylinder overhead-camshaft engine. This car was prepared for the 1929 Mille Miglia, and is one of the 52 Super Sports built on the third-series 6C 1750 chassis.

McLaren F1 GTR

Following the launch of the F1 as a road car, everyone realised its potential as a racer. The result was the F1 GTR was a custom-built competition machine. Regulations saw the power tweaked down a touch, together with changes to the suspension, aerodynamics, interior and body panels. It then promptly won everything in sight; in the 1995 Le Mans it ranked first, third, fourth, fifth and 13th.

Land-Rover Model 80 Production Number One (1948)

This vehicle is where the Land Rover story began: the first ever production Land Rover. Owned by the company originally for two years, it then passed into private ownership and did steady agricultural duty from then on. In 2017 it was bought by INEOS Automotive, which is in the process of bringing the Grenadier 4x4 to market now, which in styling and purpose hopes it to be a spiritual successor as Land Rover’s new Defender heads in a more commercial and lifestyle direction. This vehicle has been restored to return it to as much of its original condition as possible.

Leyat H?lica (1921)

Aeronautical engineer Marcel Leyat wanted to build a “plane without wings” – a propeller-driven car. The theory was that the cars would be simpler and lighter with no transmission, rear axle or clutch, and therefore obtain better fuel economy. His first model, the H?lica, was revealed at the 1921 Paris Auto Show, and he claimed to have received 600 enquiries. He eventually built 30 vehicles and sold 23 of them. He used a full monocoque chassis with many aluminium parts to obtain a total vehicle weight of just 625lb (284kg), 900lb less than the Ford Model T.

Power came from an 8bhp Scorpion engine. Just two original examples exist today, making this one of the rarest cars in the world. This particular H?lica is a replica and copied from the original car now in the Mus?e des Arts et M?tiers, Paris; it also includes an original ABC Scorpion engine from 1921.

Facel Vega Facel II (1962)

This example was one of three to be displayed at the London Motor Show in October 1962. It was one of only two cars in this spec to come to the UK; the other was bought by Ringo Starr. From 1967 until 1997 the Facel sat in a garage, and then underwent a full restoration. The colour was changed to the current Rolls-Royce Peacock Blue, and was ‘detuned’ by removing the two four-barrel carbs and replacing them with a four-barrel Holley. The original carbs and manifold were subsequently refitted. It has just 28,000 miles on the clock.

MG PA (1934)

The PA made a headline-grabbing appearance at Le Mans in 1935, driven by an all-female team.   The three-car, six-woman team all performed faultlessly, finishing in eighth, ninth and tenth in the up-to-1000cc class. Power comes from a 847cc overhead-camshaft crossflow engine, while the Le Mans cars got a power boost from a Marshall supercharger, which proved to be a popular factory upgrade for road cars, too; including this example.

This car is in original condition, and its third (and current) owner is Cici Muldoon, who Autocar met at the London Concours in August, where the she told us about her purple Dino GTS. She can be seen here at the wheel, looking understandably delighted with her marvellous MG.

Bugatti Type 57 Atalante Coup? by Gangloff (1938)

First revealed in 1934 , the Type 57 was the first car built under the direction of Jean Bugatti. He directed the design of the new Type 57 engine, a 3.3-litre straight-eight producing 140bhp. The biggest selling point over and above the mechanical design, however, was the stunning body styling drawn up by Jean and in-house carpenter-wheelwright, Joseph Walter.

The Ventoux two-door, Galibier four-door and Atalante Coup? were later joined by the Aravis Coup? and the open Stelvio, from renowned local coachbuilder Gangloff. The 57 enjoyed competition success as well, but at the end of the decade Jean was killed testing for the La Baule Grand Prix.

This Type 57 Atalante was ordered in February 1938 by wealthy French industrialist Fernand Crouzet. He directed Gangloff to create a one-off; unique features include long rear wings, a bootlid-mounted spare-wheel mount, single back window, special bumpers and disc wheels. In 2003 it underwent a body-off renovation to return it to its original specification – majestic black over purple colour scheme aside.

Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta (2018)

The LaFerrari is one of the most celebrated recent cars to be built by Ferrari, but the Aperta convertible model is even rarer than the couple, with just 210 produced. It uses the same 789bhp 6262cc 48v V12 coupled with a 120kW electric motor for a total output of more than 950bhp and a maximum torque peak of 664lb ft.

The LaFerrari Aperta comes with a removable singlepiece hardtop roof, which meant some structural changes were made to the chassis to maintain the car’s rigidity. It’s capable of 0-62mph in 2.4 seconds and a 217mph top speed, and this example is one of just 17 UK-delivered cars.

Ferrari 250GTO (1962)

If you’ve ever wondered what tens of millions of dollars looks like, wonder no more. One 1962 GTO sold for $48 million in 2018. Just 39 250GTOs were produced as homologation specials for motor sport. This example is even rarer as it it began life as the factory’s test machine, and was only the second 250GTO ever built. It then became the first 250GTO to officially compete in a race, finishing second overall and first in class at the 1962 Sebring 12 Hours, driven by Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien.

It then competed in the 1962 Le Mans 24 Hours. More recently it underwent a three year restoration programme to return it to factory spec. After five decades in America it returned to Europe only in 2017. Power comes from a six-carb 3.0-litre overhead camshaft V12, good for 300bhp.

1955 HWM Jaguar ‘HWM 1’

Privateer racing team HWM was a famous name in the 1950s. Following success in single-seaters, it became the first proper marque to create a Jaguar-engined sports racing car. From 1953 to 1957, the team was involved in sports car racing sometimes beating its Jaguar and Aston Martin works competitors. This example, the first of the two late cars, was taken to the Mille Miglia as a factory entry in 1956 but didn’t finish following a serious crash with John Heath at the wheel.

A works rebuild used the same chassis, albeit with replacement rails, as was usual in this era of sports car racing. A total rebuild was undertaken in 2008, and it’s since been a regular sight at the Goodwood Revival event, and returned to its 1956 Mille Miglia colours just recently.

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