This weekend, 95 of the UK’s best cars will pull up at Hampton Court Palace to celebrate the Queen’s 95th Birthday as part of the 2021 Concours of Elegance, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg!
We’re here this Friday in the breathtakingly manicured grounds of Hampton Court Palace, once the home of Henry VII Elegance. We’ve already shared the Aston Martin Bulldog reveal with you, but right after that, the event kicked off with a spectacular parade of 95 of Britain’s most iconic cars, one from each year of life of the Queen, of which our three favorites had to be e.g. the 2008 Morgan AeroMax , the 1976 Aston Martin Lagonda S2 and a stunning 1990 Lotus Carlton. But that was just the opening ceremony and the rest of the weekend is full of spectacular features.
One of the main themes of this year’s Concours of Elegance is Gulf VS. Martini, and as such, the perfectly shaped topiary is accompanied this Saturday by some of the most iconic racing cars to ever sport Martini’s signature blue, sky blue, and red stripes and Gulf Oil’s signature zenith blue and pungent tangerine orange. Another main theme for this weekend is the Coachbuilt Rolls Royces, which explains the multitude of bespoke creations from Barker, Park Ward and HJ Mulliner trying to surpass Hampton Court Palace itself in terms of grandiosity. This weekend, however, not only British coachbuilders will be presented here, as some of the curviest cars from Zagato, Scaglietti and Touring Superleggera have also performed as part of the last main theme of this weekend – European Coachbuilt Greats.
A total of 60 cars from almost 100 years of automotive passion take part in the concours itself. What sets the Concours of Elegance apart from other events on the calendar, however, is that the winner is not chosen by a jury. Instead, the car owner chooses himself, with each participant being asked to vote on the other models on display in order to decide which car will take home the “Best of Show”.
Motorsport includes two Porsche 917K, Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato, two Ferrari 275 and two Porsche 911 RSR, one of which is the terrifying turbo variant. Lancia is well represented with a Group V, Beta Monte-Carlo, the Le Mans LC2 and the Group B 037. Modern super sports cars are also well represented among the modern exotics with the McLaren F1 GTR 11R, Ferrari F50 and Carrera GT.
Some of the trend-setting events take place on Sunday, including the Thirty Under 30 Concours, which is intended for anyone under the age of 30 who owned a car from 1900 to 1999 is the Junior Concours, which is the best hand-built pedal, electric and gasoline cars pint-sized celebrations that we all wish we were about three feet shorter. One of the last features to look forward to on Sunday is the Future Classics, which examines which modern rides will eventually become even concours-worthy, with some of the most exclusive metals on the market vying for the attention of the crowd – think Singer Porsche 911 and Ferrari Monza.
Photos: Rob Cooper for Classic Driver © 2021
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