The Salon Prive Concours d’Elegance 2015 was held 3-5 September on the grounds of Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, England. More than 11,000 guests enjoyed the selection of 100 cars and bikes on display at the 10th annual event, held at the Cotswolds residence of the 12th Duke and Duchess of Marlborough.
This year’s Salon Prive offered something for both classic and modern car enthusiasts, as the display of vehicles in the Chubb Insurance Concours d’Elegance and the Pirelli Prestige and Performance Competition impressed judges and guests alike on the beautiful lawns of Blenheim Palace.
The 12th Duke of Marlborough commented, “I am thrilled at how well the first year of the Salon Privé Supercar Show went. It was fantastic to see such a huge range of amazing cars and to welcome so many enthusiasts. I very much look forward to next year’s event and hosting the show for years to come.”
A JD Classics-restored Jaguar XK120 ‘Jabbeke’ won Best of Show at the 2015 Salon Prive Concours d’Elegance. The Jaguar owned by Kurt Engelhorn also won in the Post-War Coachwork class. Originally enlisted by Jaguar as a Works Competition car, this XK120 competed at the 15th running of the Rallye International des Alpes, before going on to set a Flying Mile world record of 140.789 mph in 1953. It was later that year — having lost the record to a V8-engined Pegaso — that Jaguar streamlined the body and added the unique Perspex bubble above the driver’s head. The car then went on to smash the world record, setting an average speed of 172.412 mph, a record still held today. The XK120 is named for the Jabbeke Highway in Belgium where it set the record, piloted by Norman Dewis OBE.
The Jaguar triumphed over what some considered to be the favourite, the stunning 1937 Delahaye 135MS Cabriolet bodied by Figoni and Falaschi. However, it wasn’t all bad news for the Delahaye entered by Peter Mullin, as it received the People’s Choice award and a special award for Most Elegant.
The roster of cars awarded their respective best-in-class winners included Simon Taylor’s Bentley 4.25-litre Sedanca Coupe by Gurney Nutting in ‘Pre-war Luxury and Touring’, the Ferrari 250 GT/L Lusso owned by Dave Back in ‘Pininfarina and The Prancing Horse’, the Lancia Sport Prototipo Zagato of Heinz Swoboda in ‘Competition Cars’ and Alexander Senft’s Ferrari 275 GTB/2 Long Nose Alloy in ‘Fixed-Head Coupes from the 1950s and ’60s’. Another Ferrari swooped to victory in the ‘Gentlemen GT Drivers – To the Track and Back’ class, with the Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta ‘Tour de France’ of Gregor Fisken beating rivals including a 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 and 1965 AC Cobra 289.
Special awards went to Lord Bamford’s 1938 Lagonda Rapide V12 Drophead Coupe, which was honoured with the award for Best Interior, the unique 1955 Goldmanini for Most Sensitive Restoration and Rebecca Prytherch’s 1930 Bentley Speed Six, which was deemed the Most Iconic on the day.
With a focus firmly on more modern machinery, the inaugural Pirelli Performance and Prestige Competition on Saturday saw super and hypercars face off in the famous Great Court of Blenheim Palace. Porsche 918s, McLaren P1s, LaFerraris and Bugatti Veyrons were parked side by side, presenting the public with a rare opportunity to see and hear their automotive heroes in the metal. The arrival of 11 Paganis (led by Horacio Pagani and with three Pagani Huayras and eight Pagani Zondas) added to the drama.
Despite an array of rival machinery, Ferraris received many of the awards on the day, with the Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale winning the ‘Built for Speed’ class and the Ferrari Superamerica taking the ‘Feel the Breeze’ title. The technical tour-de-force LaFerrari reigned supreme, not only taking top honours in the ‘Blink and it’s Gone’ class, but also receiving the overall Pirelli Award for the day.
Other winners included the Alfa Romeo 8C in the ‘Grace and Pace’ category, the KTM X-BOW GT in ‘Road and Race’ and a Bugatti EB110 SS taking the title in the ‘Pre-Millennium Supercars’ class. Meanwhile, there was a host of concept cars on show, including the Ford GT which won the award for Best Concept and Prototype, alongside classic car dealers displaying their wares.
—
Similar to 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014, Sports Car Digest also documented the 2015 Salon Prive. We split up pictures into two galleries. The first gallery starting below features our favorite images, all displayed in the full-width view, while the second gallery can by found on the last page of the gallery and gives a comprehensive view of all photographs.
Salon Prive Concours 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery
The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Salon Prive Concours 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Two
The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Salon Prive Concours 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Three
The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Salon Prive Concours 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Four
The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Salon Prive Concours 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Five
The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Salon Prive Concours 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Six
The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Salon Prive Concours 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Seven
The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Salon Prive Concours 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Eight
The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Salon Prive Concours 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Nine
The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Salon Prive Concours 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Ten
The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Salon Prive Concours 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Eleven
The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Salon Prive Concours 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Twelve
The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Salon Prive Concours 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Thirteen
The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Salon Prive Concours 2015 – Main Photo Gallery (click image for larger picture and description)
[nggallery id=849 images=15]
The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
[Source: Salon Prive; photos: Newspress UK]
I only managed to get in on the public day (Saturday) but enjoyed the Salon Prive immensely – great opportunity to see some cars you don;t get to see everyday in terms of the supercars, and the weather was perfect.
Images from the event that I took can be seen on my website, for those interested in the supercar side of the event.
Wonderful photography of 2015 Salon Prive Concours. Keep up the excellent quality work!! Thanks, art foley