Concours of Elegance, presented by A. Lange & Söhne has recently announced that they will be featuring an impressive selection of future cars for their 10th anniversary show. The Concours’ panel of internationally renowned experts assembled the list, gathering the rarest and most innovative motor cars. These simply are the best of the best, machines that sets themselves apart even amongst other exceptional cars.
From September 2 to 4, these highly impressive machines will be displayed on the grounds of Hampton Court Palace along with more than 70 of the most spectacular and significant cars in the world, provided by the leading collections in the world.
The list of future icons includes a very special limited-run Bugatti Divo, one of only 40 examples produced in the world. Introduced in 2018, the Divo was the first coach-built Bugatti of the 21st century, and it made its debut at the Concours d’Elegance at Pebble Beach. It has the Chiron as its base, but was given a bespoke carbon body, and a long list of other changes. The Chiron was created with the priority on top-end speed, on the other hand, the Divo – although it was still exceedingly fast in a straight line – was designed with handling and agility as the top priority.
A 6-ft wide wing was affixed to the rear of the all-new body, which is part of the revised aero package to give the car a much greater downforce. Bugatti was also able to minimize the unsprung weight through the use of lighter, Divo specific wheels. To have better handling precision, they also updated the suspension settings of the Divo.
Powering the car is a quad-turbo, 8.0-liter W16 engine that can produce 1479 bhp and 1180 lb.-ft of torque. This allows the Divo to accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in just 2.4 seconds. It has a maximum speed of 236 mph. All 40 units of the Divo was sold shortly after it was announced. The Divo simply is a rare and remarkable car that sets itself apart as a true engineering feat.
A 1990s Bugatti will also be featured, a high-tech supercar that is finally getting the attention it deserves, the Bugatti EB110. Designer Marcello Gandini, the brains behind the Lamborghini Countach, has also had a great influence on the look of the EB110. The design was further refined to its finished form by Giampaolo Benedini.
The gorgeous aluminum-carbon body houses cutting-edge mechanicals. Powering the supercar is a quad—turbo, 60 valve 3.5-liter V12 engine which sends power to all four wheels through a manual transmission. The EB110 also features innovative double wishbone suspension front and rear. Even Michael Schumacher purchased an example.
On display at the Concours of Elegance 2022 is the only right-hand drive example that was built for the 1994 British Motor Show. It was given a prototype ‘SuperSport’ engine as well as the prototype SS body parts which were used to create the higher-performance model. It is factory rated with 603 bhp, which was higher than the standard car’s 553 bhp, and was capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.2 seconds with maximum speed of 220 mph.
Only 139 examples of the EB110 were produced, and this model has been restored and upgraded in the recent years. Dauer gave it new pistons and turbos making it capable of 645 bhp.
The recently launched Ferrari Monza SP1 will also be featured during the event. When it was released in 2018, the single seater special was an instant hit. The Monza SP1 started a new era for Maranello. It was the first of the ultra-exclusive ‘Icone’ special series cars which aimed to pay tribute to the key moments in the history of Ferrari with cutting edge cars.
Inspiration for the Monza SP1 came in abundance from racing Barchettas from the 1940s and 1950s, specifically the 166 MM from 1948, the 750 Monza and the 860 Monza. Power comes from a reworked version of the naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12 engine which was the one used on the 812 Superfast. The SP1 version and an extra 10 bhp, giving it a total of 799 bhp at 8500 rpm.
When it was launched, the SP1 was then the most powerful modern Ferrari. It can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just 2.9 seconds. Though it was based on the 812 platform, the SP1 went through a lot of weight saving techniques like the extensive use of carbon fiber and the removal of the windscreen. The measures gave the SP1 a dry weight of 1500 kg which was a huge 250 kg less than the 812. Critically acclaimed, the Ferrari Styling Center was able to claim victory at the Compasso d’Oro Industrial design. Ferrari has announced that they will be producing only 500 units of this innovative example.
Another coach-built hypercar will be displayed at Hampton Court Palace, the exceptional Porsche Carrera GTZ. In 2013, they commissioned the first example. They tapped on the expertise of the revered Italian styling house, Zagato, and they created a shapely all-carbon Coupe body for the Carrera GT which was in production from 2003 to 2007. Zagato is well known for their brilliant work with Aston Martin and Alfa Romeos and other luxury brands, and for the Carrera GTZ, they were able to create a carbon body that was even more aerodynamic than the original Carrera GT. It had a gradually raked coupe roofline and the signature Zagato double-bubble signature design motif.
Zagato didn’t touch the howling, razor-sharp 5.7-liter V10 engine, the manual gear shift, and its carbon chassis. No performance figures were released for the GTZ, but based on the standard GT which could accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in only 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 205 mph. Zagato versions of the GTZ are extremely rare as it is believed that there are only six cars bodied by Zagato out of the 1,270 Carrera GTs. This Zagato-bodied Carrera GTZ is an extremely rare chance for enthusiasts to be able to see a Porsche that has brought together the Italian design flair with the most superb analogue driving experience.
Another future icon will be displayed in this September’s event: the McLaren F1. Hampton Court Palace will be displaying the ultimate, most extreme version of the F1, the GTR ‘Long Tail’. McLaren only built 10 examples for the 1997 racing season. It was equipped with the powerful BMW-developed V12 engine and the genius design by Gordon Murray. Even against purpose-built racing cars, the F1 GTR was very successful. In 1995, the road car based F1 GTRs were able to completely eliminate the prototypes at Le Mans.
The race-bred version of the V12 was slightly reigned in so it was capped at 600 bhp, but it was faster than a road car, mainly because of the drastic lightweight measures used. The GTR Long Tail weighted an impressive 910 kg compared to its road-going version which weighted 1140 kg. It also had a better downforce helped by the modified and extended body of the Long Tail.
The example that will be displayed was successfully campaigned all over the world in the late 1990s. It claimed victory at Silverstone in 1997 in the British GT championship, driven by future McLaren test driver Chris Goodwin. Recently, McLaren masters at Lanzante converted the example for road use and it is one of the most extreme road registered cars in the world.
Joining 70 other rare and spectacular Concours Cars, the future icons will be displayed this September. Apart from the main display of vehicles, there will also be 1,000 other cars that has been gathered by the Concours of Elegance for a variety of special features and displays. Gooding & Co. will also be hosting a live collector car auction.
Concours of Elegance CEO James Brookes-Ward shared, “we are delighted to have brought together such a stand-out selection of future icons for our fast-approaching event. As it’s our 10th anniversary show, it feels an appropriate time to look to the future. The carefully curated line-up will showcase the rarest and most spectacular motor cars from recent times – machines that are destined to be at the forefront of Concours events for the decades to come. With these and so many other standout cars on display, we really can’t wait to welcome guests to Hampton Court Palace in a week’s time.”
Aside from the impressive automotive displays, Concours of Elegance has always been an occasion of pure luxury. Champagne will be provided by Charles Heidsieck, picnics provided by Fortnum & Mason, There will also be a collection of jewelry, art, and fashion displays. Once again, Presenting Partner A. Lange & Söhne will be presenting their most intricate timepieces.
Concours of Elegance 2022 tickets are now available starting at £35 for a half-day entry, while full three-course hospitality packages start at £320. Tickets are available at the Concours of Elegance website.
