Valletta Concours
Valletta, Malta 20 May
ONE OF THE RAREST variants of the Citroën DS was the star attraction at the second Valletta Concours d’Elegance on Sunday 20 May. The Chapron-bodied 1960 ID19 Le Paris, one of just nine hardtop versions of La Croisette by the LevalloisPerret coachbuilder, made its debut after a two-year nut-and-bolt restoration and was shipped to the Maltese capital solely for the event. It was no surprise when the spectacular two-door Citroën, the only one of this style on an ID chassis, took Best of Show for owners Peter and Merle Mullin.
The presence of the Citroën and its owners added to the growing international flavour of this concours, in just its second year and coming at the start of a summer in which Valletta will shine as the European capital of culture. The Mullins were joined on the Mediterranean island by Pebble Beach’s Sandra and Martin Button, the former heading a roster of international judgess.
Such heady company did nothing to dent the local enthusiasm for the event, so the Citroën had to fight off some stiff competition – notably from a gleaming Ford Zephyr Six and one of the last Minis to be assembled on the former British colony, painted in bright yellow and wearing yellow registration plates to denote its status as a hire car.
There is a very strong classic car culture on the island, with several notable aspects. It’s normal for cars to be passed down several generations in one family, most restorations are carried out entirely and exceptionally by the owner, and, thanks to a prevailing view that values matter less than a car’s survival, huge amounts of time and money are often poured into returning everyday cars that might otherwise be extinct to mint condition.
So the 80-car concours in Valletta’s Misrah San Gorg (St George’s Square) ranged from surely the world’s tidiest Mk1 Ford Escort, a pristine Fiat 127 plus an 850 Sport and Spider, to several Jaguar E-types, Aston Martins DB6 and DBS, and a brace of Mercedes-Benz 190SLs.
Early downpours and the rush to cover the cars demonstrated another quirk: many of the concours entrants’ cars had never been out in the rain. When the sun returned, however, the sunlight pinged off their bright colours and perfect bodywork. The nearest land mass being Sicily, there was no shortage of Alfa Romeos including a Giulia SS, a Spider and an impeccable Alfasud. Other classics included a handful of impressive veteran and vintage cars and a healthy smattering of Americans, such as Mustangs and Corvettes from C2 to C4.