Valletta Concours d’Elegance

Story and photos by Gary Axon

Due to an imminent Maltese Governmental general election, the traditional St. George’s Square location for the annual Valletta Concours (VC) — usually staged next to the Maltese Parliament building in the center of Valletta; Malta’s breath-taking UNESCO World Heritage capital — had to relocate to Triton Square for this year’s VC on 24 May.

Historic Valletta is the citadel city of the Knights of St John, constructed after the Great Siege of 1565 with its striking honeyed facades largely unchanged since then. One of the more recent additions though are revisions made to the 16th Century fortifications built by the Knights around Triton Square, notably renovated by globally renowned architect Renzo Piano who changed the city’s main entrance gateway where the 2026 VC was held from one to keep people out to one now welcoming them in.

Of the 60 cars or so entered into the 2026 VC, no less than 25 percent were either of French or Italian origin, with two of the ten Concours classes dedicated to Italian coachbuilders (Pininfarina-styled Ferraris and Aston Martins by Touring of Milan). French car highlights included a luxurious 1982 Citroen CX Pallas, plus a pair of sporting Renault 5s; a 1976 Alpine and its ultimate ‘hot hatch’ big brother, a wild 1982 Turbo 2.

From its Italian neighbours, this year’s VC entries ranged from an immaculate 1950 Fiat 500C and rare 1958 Fiat Nuova 500 Sport, via an Alfa Romeo 105 GTA ‘recreation’ and a stunning Series 2 1966 Maserati Sebring, through to a pair of 1980s Ferrari Testarossas. These were joined by another half-a-dozen or so mid-engined Pininfarina-penned Ferrari models, plus a glorious 1969 365 GT 2+2. An impressive separate display of other iconic Maranello models was staged by members of the Maltese Ferrari Owners Club to support the VC, with the local Triumph Club presenting an interesting line-up of Michelotti styled models – Herald, Vitesse, Spitfire, Dolomite, etc.

Interesting none-Latin VC entries included an unusual Austin 1800 Van, a unique commercial support ‘ute’ pick-up built by BMC Australia for the final leg of the 1968 London-Sydney Marathon that had driven over to Malta from Yorkshire in Northern England specifically to participate in the VC. Another rarity was a 1962 Toyota ‘Toyopet’ Tiara 1500 sedan (briefly sold in the USA as the Corona), this example potentially being the first Japanese car to be imported into Malta (and possibly Europe for that matter), decades before Toyota became the best-selling car brand on the Mediterranean Island. The Tiara was joined by another early example of a Japanese import; a 1965 Honda S600 Coupe.

The overall ‘Best Of Show’ winner for the 2026 edition of the VC – as painstakingly selected by an international Concours jury of car experts — was a 1939 SS Cars ‘Jaguar’ SS100 3.5-Litre Roadster, with a Touring-bodied 1968 Aston Martin DB6 awarded the runners up prize. A 1986 Testarossa took first place in the Pininfarina Ferrari class, with the 1950 Fiat 500C taking the Post War 1945-60 class win, beating a batch of period Mercedes-Benz sedans and English Fords, and the 1958 Nuova 500 Sport taking the top honours in the Sports Car 1945-60 class.