Hampton Court Concours, 2020

One of the most original prewar Alfa Romeos, this 1929 6C 1750 chassis 0312867, is one of 52 Super Sports. It was completed in March and then driven to victory in that year’s Mille Miglia by Giuseppe Campari and Giulio Ramponi. Enrico Wax then paid a premium to obtain the Mille Miglia winner.

Wealthy French industrialist Fernand Crouzet order this Bugatti Type 57 Atalante Coupe, chassis 57633, in February 1938.

He requested that Gangloff make a one-off body for the chassis. Unique features include long rear wings, a bootlid mounted spare wheel, single back window, special bumpers and disc wheels. Having survived the war, the car was refreshed and then used in London by the French Ambassador.

By 1955 it was in the care of marque historian Kenneth Ulyett who kept the car until his death in 1977. Upon the death of his widow 10 years later, the car was assigned to a Sotheby’s auction as a restoration project. Property magnet Peter Ministrelli embarked on a body off restoration in 2003 with the car taking second in class at Pebble Beach in 2005.

This 1949 Delahaye 135 MS is believed to be one of three fitted with coachwork by Viotti. Purchased in 1988 in desolate condition by a Swiss engineer, it was restored over a ten year period.

With only two previous owners, matching numbers and presented in its original colours, it won best in show at the 2015 RAID Suiss-Paris Concours d’Elegance.

Steve Grove’s 1962 right hand drive Facel Vega Facel II is one of only two cars in this spec to be brought into the UK; Ringo Starr purchased the other example. Fitted with the larger 6765cc Chrysler V8 and originally finished in Torch Red with black trim, it was sold via Sandersons & Holmes in Derby to Sir Arthur Frederick Pullman Wheeler, the second Baronet of Woodman Eves, and registered on the 1st May 1963.

The Baronet quickly changed the colour to a much more suitable Metallic Dark Grey, Following the Baronets untimely death the Facel II passed to his nephew John Frederick Wheeler in December 1964. Philip White of London, the next owner, took the car off the road after having issues in replacing the inadequate Marchal headlights and the car remaining in stored in garage from 1967 till 1997, during which time the garage collapsed onto the car.

About 2003 the Facel passed into the ownership of Mr Barry Burnett who drove the car for approximately 800 miles before the Facel again came off the road. Following his death, the Facel passed to his daughter who did not use the car but kept up the maintenance schedule. The current owner then returned the car to Lance McCormack at ‘The Romance of Rust’ for recommissioning, having still only covered 28,000 miles.

John and Jeannette Corrie’s 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB chassis 07407 was delivered to Maranello Concessionaires in the UK in August 1965 and is believed that the car was used at least once by Michael Salmon as a demonstrator at Oulton Park. Harry Napier of Belfast purchased the car in late 1965 and unveiled it to his family and friends on his dance floor at midnight on New Year’s eve.

From 1974 the car was raced extensively in various events ranging from the Ferrari Owners Club hill climb championship, the Shell Historic Ferrari Challenge, and the Macau Grand Prix. Recently restored the car is presented exactly as it was when it left the factory.

This Ferrari 250 (275)LM chassis 6313 has a complex history. 6313 was the second to last LM built and was sold new to Ecurie Francorchamps on the 22nd April 1965. After debuting at the Monza 1000km 6313 was repainted yellow and raced throughout that season, its best result being second at the Le Mans 24 hours in the hands of Pierre Dumay and Gustave Gosselin. During the 1970s David Piper owned the car, he also owned chassis 6023, the other yellow Francorchamps car.

As it was sometimes not possible to obtain a carnet at short notice the chassis numbers were often swapped leading to many years of mistaken identity. Ultimately the car was offered for sale by Adrian Hamilton as chassis 6023 before its true identity as 6313 was established. Now owned and raced by Juan Barazi who races the car extensively throughout Europe including taking victory at the Le Mans classic in 2009 44 years after the cars first appearance at La Sarthe.

This stunning completely silver model of Niki Lauda’s 1976 Monaco Grand Prix winning Ferrari 312T2 stopped me in my tracks. It is only about 12 inches long. Displayed by Langfords of the London Silver Vaults, the detail needed to be seen to be fully appreciated. Stunning and yours for £40,000.

The Gilbert Smith family’s 1970 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 is one of only 11 finished in the unusual hue of Viola with a subtle black leather interior. Superbly presented but enjoyed greatly by the family in blasts around Europe.

Entered by Jean Francis Decaux, Ferrari 312 F1/67 chassis 0007 was the fourth and final example built in 1967. Chris Amon drove it to seventh place at its first outing at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, his best result in the chassis. Chris drove 0007 on three occasions in 1967 and for most of the ‘68 season.

The spaghetti are the fuel injection lines.

Derek Bell also drove it twice but failed to finish on both outings. Following 0007’s retirement it was sold to Pierre Bardinon, spending many years as part of the Mas du Clos collection. Subsequent owners included Yoshiho Matsuda and Carlos Monteverde.

Entered by Joe Macari, this 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO chassis 3387GT was the second GTO built and is the only example to feature a pop riveted rear spoiler. Completed on the 16th March 1962, once testing duties had been completed, the GTO was shipped to Luigi Chinetti Motors where, as a NART entry, 3387GT became the first GTO to be used in competition, finishing second overall and first in class at the 1962 Sebring 12 hours piloted by Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien.

In June of 1962 3387GT was sold to Robert Grossman of New York who entered the GTO in that years Le Mans, sharing the car with Fireball Roberts, finishing in sixth overall and first in the experimental 3000cc class. After eight more outings 3387GT was sold at the end of the season to fellow New York resident Mike Gammino who continued to race the GTO in local events. The final outing for 3387GT was the 1965 Nassau Tourist Trophy finishing first in class. Since then the GTO has been in the care of various collectors and was recently restored over a three-year period to original specification by Ferrari Classiche.

Chassis 0828 emerged from the Maranello factory early in 1965 as a 275P. John Surtees first drove the car at the Le Mans test day in April before piloting the car to victory at the Monza 1000km a few weeks later. Then, Nino Vaccarella and Lorenzo Bandini took chassis 0828 to first place at the Targa Florio.

As the season progressed 0828 evolved into a 4.4 liter 365P Spec in which John Surtees took victory at the Nurburgring 1000 km. It then passed to the Ecurie Francorchamps team who raced the car in 1966 at the Monza 1000 km, the 1000km de Francorchamps and the 24 hours of Le Mans

The Harvard academic George Agassiz married Miss Mabel Simpkins on the 27th June 1902 and whilst on honeymoon in Europe visited the Fiat factory in Turin and duly order a Fiat Type 24/32. Costing a significant $9000, Chassis No.745 was completed in June 1904 and then shipped to their home on Cape Cod. It was only the second car to be registered in Yarmouth Port. For the next 28 years Mabel and her brother Charles drove the Fiat all over the Cape.

Following Charles’s death in 1931, Mabel had the car buried, upside down, in a large hole on her estate at Sandyside. 10 years later, whilst holidaying in the Cape, Ted Robinson, a founder of the Vintage Sports Car Club of America, learned of the buried Fiat and managed to get the car disinterred and purchased it for $50. Several owners later, David Uihlein of Milwaukee bought the car in 1952 for $500. Extensive research including information supplied by Fiat Centro Storica and the Carlo Biscaretti Museum has confirmed the build date and since 2007 the Fiat has competed in every single London to Brighton Run.

Period pamphlets described the Hélica as “a stylish new vehicle designed by the science of the sky; it embodies speed, safety and elegance, all in a sleek aerodynamic chassis.” In 1909 Marcel Leyat, an engineer trained in aeronautics from south-eastern France, built his own aeroplane but realizing that there was no money to be made building aeroplanes decided to follow a lifelong dream to build what he called a “plane without wings.”

A propeller-driven car without the need for transmission, rear axle or clutch would obtain far better fuel economy. Leyat’s automobile business was founded on the Quai de Grenelle, Paris in 1919. He revealed his first model, the Hélica, at the 1921 Paris Salon.

Lacking the funding for mass production, Marcel continued to experiment with his design until 1925 and ultimately built 30 examples, managing to sell 23. Only two examples remain, both in France. This replica is based on the example on display at the Musee des Arts et Metiers in Paris.

Designed by Franco Scaglione, this 1957 Jaguar XK150S chassis S 834365 is one of three XK150 chassis sent to Bertone in Turin to be bodied as prototype fixed head coupes. S 834365 is car number two and is the only example built in right-hand drive.

Ordered by – and its final design overseen by – John Coombs, it was sold new to Tommaso Ingenoli, a friend of Enzo Ferrari in 1958. The car has had an interesting history, having spent some time as part of the Blackhawk collection and also being displayed at Pebble Beach in 1992. Daniel Donovan, the current owner, recently commissioned a complete nut and bolt restoration.

1954 Maserati 250F chassis 2516 was Jean Behra’s primary mount during the 1955 season, taking victory at Pau and Bordeaux, and a podium at the Syracuse Grand Prix.

Simon Kidston’s 1972 Maserati Ghibli SS 4.9 Spyder by Ghia chassis 1251 is one of only four examples built with right hand drive. Distributed new to Citroen UK it was sold to its first owner Sheik Hamad bin Ahmad bin Ali Al-Thani, a member of the Qatar ruling family. In 1979 the car was dispatched back to the factory for restoration and then sold to Swiss resident Jean-Claude Caveng in 1984. Since then the car has had various owners in the UK, and Australia, and has also featured in a ‘Classic and Sportscar’ magazine group test with a Daytona Spyder. The Ghibli returned to the UK in 2012 to undergo a concours restoration by Maserati specialist Bill McGrath, which has just been completed.

“La Dolce Vita meets this farming life.” By the way the Land Rover is chassis 001, the first production example built that has just had a sympathetic restoration but still retaining the originality.