At this year's Salon
Privé Concours D’Elégance a 1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 S
Berlinetta claimed the honour of ‘Best in Show’
alongside eleven other beautiful category winners at
Syon Park. The London-based concours presented its
rarest and most stylish collection to date, with over 80
cars displayed and paraded in the palatial grounds of
Syon House, the London home of the Duke of
Northumberland.
The Alfa Romeo which scooped the ultimate accolade, is a
fascinating car for many reasons. Not only is it a rare
and beautifully restored example of this hugely
desirable pre-war model, but this particular car had
been purchased new by the infamous Italian dictator,
Benito Mussolini, who gifted the car to his mistress
Clara Petacci. It is said that Ms. Patacci took her last
ever journey in the car before being arrested.
Salon Privé co-founder, Andrew Bagley, said of this
year’s event: “We are so honoured to have brought
together such a stunning collection of beautiful and
historically significant cars for the 2011 Concours,
which included amazing collections of sports cars,
touring cars, racing cars and motorcycles. This Concours
is now truly world-class and an event for the UK to be
proud of”.In
addition to the collection of cars and motorcycles, the
event also attracted an outstanding panel of judges for
this year’s event. Derek Bell, who is a long time
supporter of Salon Privé, was once again a key member of
the panel, and this year he was joined by an esteemed
collection of individuals who are all acknowledged
experts in their fields.
Alfa Romeo in fact won
three honours in the Concours as also coming out on top
was a 1932 Alfa Romeo Tipo B (P3), the winner in "Class
F - Grand Prix Racers up to and including the 1970s",
while the "Best of Show 2011" title claiming Alfa Romeo
6C 2500 S Berlinetta also scooped a category award:
"Class G - The Thirties". There was more success for
Italian cars as classic Ferrari sports cars notched up
two awards: a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder won
"Class H - Ferrari 250 Series" and a 1954 Ferrari 250
Europa won "Best Interior".
The full judging panel
included: Derek Bell, MBE, former British grand prix
racing driver, Marcel Massini, world-renowned Ferrari
enthusiast and historian, Dr. Adolfo Orsi, President of
Historica Selecta and world-famous Concours d'Elégance
Judge, Dr. Franz-Josef Paefgen, Classic car collector
and former Chief Executive Officer of Bentley Motors and
Bugatti Autombiles, Marc Potter, Britain's leading
motorcycle journalist and editor of MCN and Paul Wood,
internationally recognised Rolls-Royce enthusiast and
restoration specialist.
