Winners of the Le Mans 24 Hours were front and centre at this yearʼs Concours of Elegance, held at Hampton Court Palace from 1-3 September, but a 1955 Maserati A6GCS/53 Frua Spider captured the prize for Best of Show.
A spread of Le Mans winners assembled in the gardens, led by the storied quintet at the entrance. Heading the line was Bentleyʼs 1929 Speed Six, ʻOld Number Oneʼ, which won the 24-hour enduro in 1929 and ʼ30, with the 1931-winning Alfa Romeo 8C-2300 Zagato alongside. They were joined by the Mercedes 300SL that set a 150mph Mulsanne Straight speed record on its way to 1952 victory; the Ferrari 250P that took the first all-Italian win in 1963 and won again a year later as a 275P; the 1968 Ford GT40 that secured 1968 and ʼ69 honours; and the 1974 Matra MS670B that concluded the French marqueʼs three-year reign at the Circuit de la Sarthe.
Other Le Mans contenders were spread throughout the lines of concours machines, including a 1924 Lorraine-Dietrich B3/5 Sport Torpedo, two Aston Martin DB3Ss, a ʼ37 DarlʼMat Peugeot 302DS, and more modern competitors such as the Jaguar XJR-9 that took fourth in 1988 and the 1996/ʼ97-winning Porsche-TWR WSC-95. The tales that follow these high-pedigree vehicles were told as they paraded on to the central stage each day.
The 1979 Rondeau M379B was also on display. Jean Rondeau landed a close victory in 1980 – in heavy rain and with a gamble on tyres – against Jacky Ickx in a Porsche 908. Then there was the 1969 Porsche 917K, which began racing at Daytona and was driven by Steve McQueen and David Piper for the 1971 film Le Mans before returning to racing with Jo Siffert, Gijs van Lennep and Derek Bell at the wheel. A lesser-known but fine inclusion was the 1953 Osca MT4 in which Phil Hill made his debut at the famous French circuit, although the little four-cylinder racer fell out of that yearʼs event after 80 laps with transmission problems.
Ultimately, however it would be a roadgoing sports car with beautiful coachwork that won the concours. Described as ʻmuscular, sculpted and elegantʼ by the judges, the ʼ53 Maserati A6GCS/53 Frua Spider is one of three built and two survivors, and it made its UK debut at Hampton Court. Commissioned by Guglielmo ʻMimmoʼ Dei, the official Maserati dealer in Rome, Pietro Fruaʼs beautifully proportioned design was delicately detailed with its concave lattice front grille and slender brightwork, and has been shown at the 1964 Pebble Beach Concours and the 2010 Concorso dʼEleganza Villa dʼEste. Original
