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Hampton Court

Hampton Court Concours, French and Italian

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This 1948 Simca 8 Sport Cabriolet prototype actually started life in Italy as a Fiat 1100S before being taken to France for use in the development of Simca’s new post war sports model. The coachwork was created in Italy by Stabilimenti Farina and differs from the later production version. The first private owner of the Simca was an American Army officer stationed at Friedberg in West Germany, which just happened to be the base where Elvis Presley served with the 3rd Armored Division. As he was also a friend of Elvis, the story goes that he deliberately chose a red cabriolet so as the red lipstick marks left by Elvis’s adoring fans would be less visible than they would have been on a white car!

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

Another weekend, another country estate. This one actually a Palace, Hampton Court Palace, right on the Thames, and once the home of Cardinal Wolsey, an influential adviser to Henry VIII.

Whilst the main entrance to the Palace is from the Tudor period, the concours itself is held in the parkland in front of the Baroque part of the Palace built during the reign of William and Mary in the seventeenth century. It is a fantastic setting, not just because of the Baroque backdrop, but for the luxury of space to properly display the cars. [Read more…] about Hampton Court Concours, French and Italian

Hampton Court Concours, British and Other

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Wilhelm Schmid’s 1956 AC Ace-Bristol chassis BEX 148 was shipped directly from the Thames Ditton factory to Venezuela for Dr Oscar Lupi and was one of the first group of five models sent to the country through the importer and racing driver Juan ‘Jack’ Fernandez. Lupi planned to race the Ace so entrusted it to Karl Pentz, a German garage owner based in Caracas, who modified it, together with two other examples, to improve their aerodynamics, each example differing slightly from the next with BEX 148 gaining a lower Ferrari-like nose with cowled headlights. Wearing the racing number 139, Lupi campaigned the Ace extensively over four seasons, finishing fourth in the under 2.0 litre class at the 1956 Estado Carabobo Trophy in Valencia and ninth at the La Montana hillclimb in 1957. In 1958 he finished seventh at the Trofeo Shell and second at the same event in 1959. In 1960 he retired BEX 148 from racing haveing purchased another AC Ace-Bristol.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

We continue the Hampton Court coverage with British and other makes. A complete list of winners follows the photo gallery. [Read more…] about Hampton Court Concours, British and Other

And How! Ernie, Hugues and Jonathan

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Photo by Hugues Vanhoolandt.

This week And How gives us a glimpse of Ol’ Yeller II at Goodwood on parade while E.T. Nagamatsu, ever the ambassador, meets the women who did such a wonderful job singing the classic tunes of the war years. Then Hugues Vanhoolandt captures some of the ambiance that surrounds the Goodwood Revival, and Jonathan Sharp focuses on a special OSCA shown at the Hampton Concours.

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Hampton Court Concours, 2020

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Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

I kept expecting to receive an email stating that the Hampton Concours had to be cancelled due to current circumstances, but it never came. So the Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court was on, hot on the heels of the London Concours, and I was very happy. I was truly amazed that, with all the travel restrictions and quarantine regulations around the world, that the event’s steering committee was able to come up with such an interesting entry. [Read more…] about Hampton Court Concours, 2020

Gauld at Hampton Court

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The Frazer Nash High Speed at Hampton Court that finished 3rd at Le Mans in 1949.

Story by Graham Gauld

Perhaps the title d’Elegance does not hit an exciting cord: static cars, polished, primped and lined up but there are some of them that are fascinating not only because of the quality of the cars but of the variety. Obviously classics like Pebble Beach and Villa D’Este come to mind but it is time to add a third one, the Concours of Elegance, held at London’s Hampton Court Palace a week ago. (Note the British use of the word “of” rather than the French “de”.) [Read more…] about Gauld at Hampton Court

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