The 2017 Salon Prive Concours will be staged on the grounds of Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, England from 31st August to 2nd September. The 12th annual event will feature a mixture of classic cars, fashion and supercars.
The three-day Salon Prive incorporates the Chubb Insurance Concours d’Elegance, Boodles Ladies’ Day and the all-new for 2017 Concours Masters, focusing on a ‘Tribute to 70 Years of Ferrari’. Salon Prive announced two early entries to the first of the two Concours celebrations held during the event, including a 1939 Horch 853A Cabriolet, fresh from a four-year restoration, as well as a race-winning AC 427 Cobra.
Andrew Bagley, Salon Prive Managing Director & Concours Chairman, said, “We’ve been working tirelessly on the 2017 Concours Show Field and the standard of early entries already confirmed is once again improved. From the Cobra entered in the class ‘Classic Sports Racers against the Stopwatch’ with amazing race pedigree — which is certainly one of the best examples of Carroll Shelby’s racing legacy — to the freshly restored Horch 853A Cabriolet, which its owners are bringing from their collection in Germany to display on the lawns of Blenheim Palace. I think 2017 will surpass previous years in being our best Chubb Insurance Concours d’Elégance event to date.”
Born to race, in 1964 Shelby American decided to update the ageing 289 Competition Cobra, and set about producing 100 new 427 Cobras for homologation purposes. Unfortunately, AC could only build 51 cars at the time, and when the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) inspectors realised they stopped the new Cobra from racing. Luckily for Carroll Shelby, in June of 1965, the FIA decided to juggle its classification system and a new class called ‘Competition GT’ was born, whereby the production requirement was lowered to 50 cars — coincidentally, one less than the number of 427 competition cars built at the time of the FIA inspection. Only 19 of the 51 built were turned into racing cars, while the remaining examples were converted for the road.
‘CSX3006’ is best remembered for its victory in the Ilford 500 at Brands Hatch on 8th May 1966, driven by the legendary drivers, David Piper and Bob Bondurant. Graham Warner, principal of the Chequered Flag race team stated that, “It was the only outright victory in an international FIA race ever achieved by an open Cobra, including the USA.”
One of 19 pure 427 Competition Cobras and one of the first 427 competition chassis sold to a private team; this rare 427 will be winging its way from America to take part in the Concours competition in its original white over black 1966 specification, as it was when it raced at Brands Hatch.
Another international entry confirmed, which currently forms part of a collection in Germany, is a 1939 Horch 853A Cabriolet, entered in to the ‘Graceful Pre-war Motoring’ class fresh from a four-year restoration.
The car’s first owner was German entrepreneur Hugo Poddig, owner of the Poddig Works in Berlin, who built his fortune in the construction of telescope antennae. After his death, his Horch, along with a collection of around 100 cars, was sold to Daimler-Benz AG, who displayed the collection at the Museum of Technology in Berlin in 1981. The current owner purchased the car in 2012, and spent the following four years restoring it to its original condition — even finding and fitting the original engine to ensure its matching-number status — until it became part of the SK collection in August 2016.
Salon Privé is set to become the world’s first event to hold two Concours celebrations during the same event. With the addition of the inaugural Concours Masters, which will pay a ‘Tribute to 70 Years of Ferrari’, visitors will be able to see a timeline of 70 different models from the Maranello-based marque. Concours Masters will complement the Chubb Insurance Concours d’Elegance.
Salon Prive 2017 – Class List
- Exceptional Motorcycles 1900-1939
- Exceptional Motorcycles 1940-1976 – Competition
- Exceptional Motorcycles 1940-1976 – Highway
- Graceful Pre-war Motoring
- Post-war Luxury Tourers
- Curvaceous Coupes from the 50s and 60s
- Riviera Cruising
- Classic Sports Racers against the Stopwatch
- Best of British at Blenheim Palace
- Supercar Pin-ups
Each of the ten classes will comprise cars or motorcycles, assessed by a select panel of judges. The team, chaired by Derek Bell MBE, will scrutinise each entry on strict criteria of; history, preservation, style and originality. The Salon Prive jury is drawn from different areas of the automotive sector, ranging from marque historians and industry figureheads to designers and journalists.
For further information, visit SalonPriveConcours.com.
[Source: Salon Prive Concours]
