Best-ever Blenheim ‘garden party’ promised
THE 19TH RUNNING of Salon Privé is promising to be bigger and better than ever. The event, presented by Aviva and dubbed ‘the UK’s most exclusive automotive garden party’, will run on 28-31 August at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, and has already pledged to display an astonishing selection of precious metal over a range of classes. These will include a world-beating display of sports racers, featuring cars from Jaguar, Lister, MG and Porsche in the Sports Racer class.
A Swiss entrant will bring the 1956 Lister Maserati, ‘MER 303’, packing a 2.0-litre Maserati A6 GCS engine and raced in period by Archie Scott Brown. Joining it will be an ex-Dieter Glemser and Hans Hermann works Porsche 906 Carrera 6, chassis 906 111, and a 1966 MGC GTS Lightweight, ‘MBL 546E’, the first of two built by the Abingdon works and making its Targa Florio debut in 1967 in the hands of Paddy Hopkirk and Timo Makinen.
Concours chairman Andrew Bagley said: ‘Every year, we are honoured by the huge number of entries we receive for the Salon Privé Concours, and this year’s Sports Racer Class already has us excited. These cars are genuine living legends and I know our guests are going to relish the opportunity to see such storied models up close.’
The early entries also suggest there will be a big international presence at the concours, especially when it comes to some very traditionally British marques. One of the highlights will be a US-built 1923 Springfield Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Pall Mall, which will travel from North America fresh from winning its class at The Amelia concours.
Having just won the Lugano Elegance, the ex-Rudolph Valentino Isotta Fraschini 8AS Fleetwood Roadster will continue its tour of Europe by appearing at Salon Privé. Restored by RM Auto Restoration, this car is a two-time class-winner at Pebble Beach and won Best of Show at the 2019 Audrain Newport Concours.
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