China’s third YanQi Island Concours d’Elegance, held in the Huairou District near Beijing, presented 38 top-level historic vehicles and 14 modern automobiles in one the top exhibitions of its kind in China.
This year’s classic historic automobiles included: a 1957 Alfa Romeo Giulietta SS Prototipo (above, photo courtesy of YanQi Island Concours) owned by Corrado Lopresto that had been selected as Best of Show at this year’s Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este; a 1967 Porsche 911 Targa from the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart; and the 1967 Red Flag Hongqi CA770 from the Beijing Classic Car Museum. There was also a very rare 1950 Skoda VOS, the car of Marshal Zhu De, restored by Skoda China and now part of the Military Museum of the Chinese People’s Revolution. YanQi Island marked its first appearance at a concours event.
With the event under observation by the Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens (FIVA) this year, its organizers are hoping that the YanQi Island Concours d’Elegance and Great Wall International Classic Rally will be accorded international status by FIVA for 2018.
In the final judging, Lopresto’s Alfa Romeo deservedly scooped Best of Show honors — as well as the La Dolce Vita class — while the Red Flag Hongqi was awarded a special Jury Prize, and the Porsche Museum’s 911 Targa, a 1957 Hansa 2400 Pullman and a Bentley Mulsanne all won awards based on the jury’s personal favorites. The Porsche also took the “Sunshine Express” class.
A 1951 Volkswagen T1 Pickup Truck claimed class honors in the Functional Classic category, a 1983 Volkswagen Beetle won the class For The People, a 1914 Ford Model T took The Oldtimers class, a 1930 Skoda 422 won Pre-War Classics, a 1980 Mercedes-Benz 230TE topped The Youngtimers, a 1959 Borgward Isabella Coupé Cabrio claimed The Borgward Classic class, a 1982 Audi Quattro Rally A2 won The Competition Car and a 1950 Skoda VOS topped The Luxury Classic category.
In the run-up to the concours itself, the 2017 Borgward Great Wall International Classic Rally — a five-day, 550-kilometer run — was organized by the magazine Auto Bild China. This was the fourth running of the road rally, which has established itself as one of China’s most important historic vehicle events. Departing from the Beijing Yanqi Lake International Convention Center, the rally took participants through the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, China Film Group Base, Beijing Classic Car Museum, Borgward Automobile Production Base, Huiyuan Group Base, Gubei Water Town, Longqing Valley, the ancient town of Yongning and the Lakeside Great Wall, before arriving at Yanqi Island having completed nine timed sections and seven non-competitive road sections.
Sixteen historic vehicles completed the rally, with victory going to Xu Tao/Song Shan in their 1994 Porsche 993; 2nd place to Albrecht Rolf Karl/Lautenbacher Wolfgang Georg in their 1982 Audi Quattro Rally A2; and 3rd to Wang Yin/Zhang Qi in their 1980 Mercedes-Benz 230TE.
“The Great Wall International Classic Rally is a moving ‘poem,’” commented Mr. Wang Yin, founder of the Great Wall International Classic Rally and the YanQi Island Concours d’Elegance, “while the YanQi Island Concours d’Elegance is a static ‘painting,’ as well as a wonderful interaction between historic vehicle culture and Chinese culture. This is the vital significance of these two activities. As organizers, we are tasked to hold these two annual events, striving to make them ever more wonderful.”
FIVA is the only global organisation of its kind aiming to encourage the safe use of historic, mechanically propelled road vehicles, while remaining equally focused on preserving and promoting the very culture of motoring. Since April 2017, FIVA has been a non-governmental partner of UNESCO, and continues to pursue its successful FIVA World Motoring Heritage Year program. For more information please visit www.fiva.org
