23 highlights from Concours of Elegance 2024

A feast of classic cars

Concours of Elegance returned to Hampton Court Palace’s beautiful Great Fountain Garden from 30 August-1 September.

The event celebrates the crème de la crème of the automotive world, and this year’s edition did not disappoint.

From limited-run supercars to coachbuilt rarities, here, in no particular order, are some of the Classic & Sports Car team’s stand-out classic cars from the 2024 event – including this year’s Best of Show winner.

1. 1995 McLaren F1

The McLaren F1 represents a high watermark in the supercar world.

As a result, values have soared and now many are tucked away in private collections, only used occasionally. 

Although it’s probably not a workhorse for weekly shopping trips, this 41,000-mile example has certainly seen more action than most.

It’s spent the past 12 months at McLaren’s headquarters for a mechanical refresh.

2. 1927 Bentley 3 Litre Boat Tail Speed Model

Fresh from a three-year restoration, this Bentley 3 Litre bowled over enthusiasts at Hampton Court Palace, where it made its first public appearance in more than six decades.

Its skiff-like lines were designed by coachbuilder Martin Walter. 

The restoration was finished by the family of the car’s late owner, Chris Jaques, who asked them to finish the project he instigated.

3. 1953 Siata 208 CS

Fiat agreed to provide Siata with 50 Otto Vu-based V8 engines to create a sports car of its own design.

The 208 S barchetta and the 208 CS coupé were the results of this tie-up.

The aluminium-bodied berlinetta on display at Concours of Elegance was an example of the latter, and it was one of just 11 cars styled by Italian coachbuilder Balbo.

4. 1951 Jaguar XK120

This extraordinarily original 1951 Jaguar XK120 bowled over judges of the RAC Club Trophy, supported by Classic & Sports Car, to claim this year’s win on Saturday.

Many of its near-6000 miles were in competition, but it has hardly turned a wheel since its first owner, Formula Three driver David Brake, died at the wheel of his Cooper-Norton in 1951.

This year, however, it has come out of relative hiding – even taking a run up Shelsley Walsh hillclimb.

5. 1980 Ford Escort Mk2 1.6 GL

It was brilliant to see such an adored and well-cared-for four-door at Hampton Court Palace.

Owner Ian Yates is a lifelong Ford fan and this brilliantly beige Mk2 Escort 1.6 GL stood out for the Classic & Sports Car judges as a much-loved classic – so much so that it won Sunday’s C&SC car club award.

6. 1949 Alfa Romeo 6C-2500 Sport Freccia d’Oro

We spotted this rather fetching Alfa Romeo in the Gooding & Company auction.

Just 680 examples were built from 1947 to 1952.

Previously finished in black, traces of this 6C-2500’s original Verde Esmeralda hue were found in the engine bay and it was repainted during a nut-and-bolt restoration.

7. 1934 Barnato-Hassan Bentley

This Brooklands record-breaker hit 140mph-plus on the banked circuit in the late 1930s.

Engineer Wally Hassan built the single-seater for the British firm’s ex-chairman, Woolf Barnato.

Part of marque specialist Vintage Bentley’s display, the sky-blue racer got lots of attention at Concours of Elegance.

8. 1956 Alfa Romeo 1900C Zagato

The Alfa Romeo 1900’s steel monocoque helped the marque to thrive in the post-war world. 

However, the new construction also prevented coachbuilders from creating more elegant, limited-run models.

In response, Alfa created a separate, special platform available specifically for coachbuilders.

First shown at the 1956 Geneva motor show, this one-of-39 aerodynamic coupé was Zagato’s interpretation.

9. 1954 Cooper-Jaguar T33

Concours of Elegance’s class of 1950s competition cars included the 1953 Le Mans-winning Jaguar C-type, but this one-of-two Cooper-Jaguar T33 also caught our eye.

British racing driver Peter Whitehead, who won the 24-hour race at the Circuit de la Sarthe in 1951, commissioned Cooper to build a sports-racer which could take on Jaguar’s C- and D-type cars, and this was the result.

10. 1939 Daimler DB18 Drophead Coupé

Concours of Elegance 2024 was the first time since its restoration that this Daimler had been shown in public.

It was bought new by King George VI for his personal use in March 1939 from Stratstone on Pall Mall and retains its original registration number.

The Daimler’s fifth owner, Tan Sri Dato Francis Yeoh, gifted it to Rev David Pawson in 2013 in gratitude for his ministry and he, in 2017 and aged 87, passed it to his son and present keeper Richard, asking that it be restored to King George’s specification.

11. 1962 Ferrari 250GT SWB Speciale Aerodinamica

Ferraris are most commonly seen in the Italian marque’s distinctive shade of red, known as Rosso Corsa, which makes this bronze-coloured 250GT even more alluring.

It was repainted Nocciola Metallizzato during a recent restoration of this one-of-four, Pininfarina-built car which was inspired by the coachbuilder’s Superfast III concept car.

12. 1937 Cord 812 Phaeton

World-famous aviator Amelia Earhart bought this Cord 812 in 1936, a year before she went missing while on a mission to become the first woman to circumnavigate the world.

Recently restored, this American concours star was the 33rd entry to the United States National Historic Vehicle Register.

13. 1986 Ford RS 200 police car

Back in the 1980s, Essex Police trialled the Ford RS 200 and considered adding the sports car to its fleet.

The idea never came to fruition, but the ensuing press coverage must have been enough to make motorists think twice about speeding.

This fully stickered car certainly stood out at Concours of Elegance 2024.

14. 1984 Mercedes-Benz 500SEL AMG

Parked nonchalantly in the car club line-up was this Mercedes-Benz 500SEL AMG whose first owner was The Beatles’ George Harrison.

It was registered in Glasgow on 23 May 1984, and received an AMG bodykit and interior courtesy of Strattons of Wilmslow.

Harrison kept this car longer than any other, parting company with it on 25 May 2000 after 30,000 miles, about 18 months before he died.
 

15. 1954 Lagonda DP115/2

This Lagonda racing car was reunited with its closely related sibling, DP115/3, at Concours of Elegance 2024.

Following a 10-year restoration, it was the first time the cars have been seen together in the UK in their original specifications since 1954.

The Aston Martin DB3S-based racers were designed to win at Le Mans, and the pair was due to compete in the 1955 Mille Miglia before the British marque pulled the plug on the project and sold the cars.

16. 1928 Lancia Lambda Eighth Series Torpedo

Lancia’s game-changing Lambda introduced many features which are commonplace on modern-day vehicles, including a pressed-steel monocoque design and floor-mounted pedals positioned in the ‘right’ order.

This car, which sold for £528,750 in the Gooding & Company auction on Friday 30 August, is apparently the sole-survivor from Lancia’s 1928 Mille Miglia effort.

17. 1956 Maserati A6G/54 Zagato

Zagato built 20 Maserati A6G/54s, but this example – the 17th car produced – has some unique features.

Following a crash on the 1956 Mille Miglia, the car went back to the Italian coachbuilder to be repaired.

Whilst in the workshop, chassis 2155 was given a reworked radiator opening, new alloy trim and lowered headlamps.

18. 1973 Porsche 911 turbo prototype

This year marks half a century of the Porsche 911 turbo, and Concours of Elegance celebrated with a car which is, err, 51 years old.

That’s because this car was the original prototype, first shown at the 1973 Frankfurt motor show.

Based on a modified 911S, it previewed the production model which arrived a year later.

19. 1939 Talbot-Lago T150C SS

The motorsport-inspired Talbot-Lago T150C SS was based on the firm’s open-wheel T150C racing car.

Bodywork was entrusted to some of the top 1930s coachbuilders, and this streamlined coupé was one of three built by Marcel Pourtout.

Chassis 90120 was completed in 1944, after being hidden from the Nazis during WW2.

20. 1964 Egal E-type

Classic & Sports Car readers might recognise this beefed-up E-type from our September 2022 magazine.

The 600bhp, Ford Galaxie V8-powered Egal E-type was developed by a plucky racer and engineer in the 1960s.

Its huge, side-exit exhausts, flared wheelarches and chunky Goodyear tyres certainly helped it to stand out at Hampton Court Palace.

21. 1935 Lincoln Model K Coupe

The 1930s was a challenging decade for makers of big, luxurious cars in America.

Lincoln’s steadfast loyalty to building high-end vehicles in a country devastated by the Great Depression was a controversial move.

It means that these cars are relatively rare today, and this LeBaron-bodied coupe was one of just 23 built in 1935.

22. 1999 Ferrari F355

Does Maranello's magnificent but rather modern F355 have a place on concours lawns?

This 4500-mile example was perhaps the best to test the waters.

Its dainty lines and highly evolved Dino V8 with five valves per cylinder are in its favour – likewise the number of admirers it had at Hampton Court Palace.

23. 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III

Last, but certainly not least, is Concours of Elegance’s 2024 Best of Show winner.

This car is one of a few Rolls-Royce Phantom IIIs with bodywork by American coachbuilder JS Inskip.

Previous accolades include a class-winning appearance at the 2016 Rolls-Royce Owners’ Club meeting and a third-in-class finish at the 2017 Pebble Beach concours.