An absolutely CLASSIC autumn
A £30m Ferrari on the Queen’s lawn. The chance to buy Lennon’s old Austin. Here’s how to guarantee...
FORGET summer and the British Grand Prix – autumn brings a series of motoring events unmatched for their quality and variety. Want to see classic cars displayed on the Queen’s lawn, buy a hearse once owned by John Lennon, or dress up in 1950s gear and rub shoulders with the stars? Well, Britain is the place to be. All of the events featured below are open to the public and many are free. If you’re not already a petrolhead, one of these days out will turn you into one…
WINDSOR CASTLE Concours of Elegance, September 2-4 concoursofelegance.co.uk
IT’S not often that a £30 million Ferrari is outshone by its surroundings, but the Windsor Castle Concours of Elegance has the most spectacular setting of any classic car show. First held on the Quadrangle lawn in 2012, the annual event then embarked on a tour of the Royal residences before returning to Windsor this year to mark Her Majesty’s 90th birthday.
The 60 cars featured are worth an estimated combined total of £200 million, led by a stunning £30million 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO.
But despite the location and the value of the exhibits, the event is open to the public. Tickets allowing you to stroll around the main display on the public days (Saturday and Sunday) cost £40, or £25 just for the afternoon. Alternatively, access to the Castle’s Long Walk, where hundreds of other classic cars will be parked, is free.
Cars displayed in the Quadrangle range from an 1895 Benz through to elegant Bugattis of the 1930s, and Miami Vice-era Lamborghinis and Ferraris. It’s a concours competition, in which the cars will be judged on their design, rarity, importance and presentation.
RM SOTHEBY’S AUCTION Battersea, South London, September 6-7 rmsothebys.com
THIS sale has two cars once owned by very famous Britons. The first is John Lennon’s 1956 Austin Princess hearse featured in Imagine, the 81-minute film made to accompany his album of the same name. The car is also believed to have been used by the other Beatles and still has the five airline seats that Lennon fitted.
The hearse comes with the car’s original registration document bearing Lennon’s signature. It is estimated at between £200,000 and £300,000 and is expected to be at the centre of some fierce bidding. The second car is a 1965 Mercedes-Benz 300SE owned by British-born Hollywood star James Mason. The actor died in 1984 but this car has been kept by his family until now.
It also comes with its original registration document showing Mason as the owner and is set to fetch up to £200,000.
The auction itself is limited to registered bidders, but a vast marquee in Battersea Park will be open to the public, with free admission on the day prior to the sale, when most of the 70 cars being sold will go on display.
SALON PRIVÉ Blenheim Palace, September 1-3 salonpriveconcours.com
Think of Salon Privé as a high-end replacement for the British Motor Show, but without the crowds and with a far prettier setting than Birmingham’s NEC.
Held on the South Lawn of Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, the event showcases an incredible display of rarely seen modern hypercars from exotic makers Pagani and Koenigsegg, alongside the latest offerings from ‘ordinary’ supercar makers such as Ferrari and Lamborghini. There’s also a world-class concours d’elegance competition featuring 65 rare, multi-million-pound classic cars.
Unfortunately, tickets for the main show reflect the prices of the exhibits. An afternoon pass is £95 and an all-day pass £245, although the latter does include a lobster lunch. But the Saturday also sees a display of about 80 modern supercars in the Palace’s Great Court which will rival that in the main show, with entry from just £15.
GOODWOOD REVIVAL Goodwood, September 9-11 goodwood.com
The Goodwood Revival is unrivalled by any motoring event in the world. It’s an extraordinary step back in time: a perfect re-creation of a 1950s or 1960s race weekend at Lord March’s private motor racing circuit in West Sussex. The action on track is some of the best motorsport you’ll witness anywhere. The same priceless classic cars which you’ll only see parked on a lawn at other events are out on the track here, being driven hard.
Most visitors dress in vintage costumes, while there’s period food and music, and even an oldfashioned barber shop.
The Revival draws a big celebrity crowd too, including Jools Holland, David Gandy, Jodie Kidd, Geri Halliwell and her husband Christian Horner.
General admission tickets sold out long ago, but some highpriced hospitality tickets are still available.
LONDON TO BRIGHTON VETERAN CAR RUN November 6 veterancarrun.com
This is the world’s longest-running motoring event, and one of the best attended, with hun- dreds of thousands of spectators lining the 60-mile route. This year more than 400 cars will take part, all of them at least 111 years old. The sight of hundreds of ancient cars steaming and smoking their way to the South Coast, often breaking down, is a lot more thrilling than it sounds. It will certainly make you appreciate the speed and comfort of even an ordinary modern hatchback. The event’s website suggests some good spots from which to watch. If you want to see the competing cars close-up, 100 of them will be on display at the free Regent Street Motor Show the day before.