September 2019 Classic & Sports Car 153I
n a firstfora majorconcours,a Bentley
8 Litrewithanoriginalinterior,its
worn,patinatedleathertheevidence
ofdecadesofdrivingenjoyment,won
BestofShowatthesuperbChantilly
Arts&Elegance.“I’vewonseveral
eventsaroundtheworld,buttowinin
France,thecountrywhereconcourswasborn,is
reallyspecial,”saidWilliam‘Chip’ConnorII,
theHongKong-basedAmericanbusinessman
andcarcollector.“Ifellinlovewiththisfixed-
headcoupéwhenI firstsawit in a Londonmews.
Thelowroofalmostlookschopped,justlikea
Californiacustom,andit’sgreattodrive.We
could have done the whole rally on Saturday in
top gear.” The modest Connor never expected
to win, particularly because he was also judging,
butapplaudedthedecisiontogivethetopprize
toa carwithunrestoredfeatures.
The8 LitrebeautywithbodyworkbyFree-
stone& WebbwasorderednewbyGJSpark,but
duringthe’30sit hadtwoseriousaccidents–
includingonewhilebeingtestedat100mph
byBentleyworkshopmanagerTomWilliams.
Inrecentyearsit hasbeenrestoredsympatheti-
callybyNeilTwyman’steam,andevencompeted
in theBrightonSpeedTrials.
BestofShowatChantillyisnowjointly
awardedto bothpre-andpost-warcars,withthe
lattertrophygoingtoRobertKudela’ssensa-
tional 1948 Talbot-LagoT26GrandSport,
whichmanyfeltshouldhavewonPebbleBeach
lastyear.TheFigoni-bodiedfastbackcoupé
wasoriginallybuiltforMonsieurFayolle,better
knownasthe‘ZipperKing’,whoorderedits
uniquebonnetdetailof horizontalchromestrips
tohighlighthissuccessin thefastenerbusiness.
Thecarwasshownat the 1948 ParisSalon,but
FayolleonlykepthisuniqueTalbotfora year
andin thelate’50sit endedupin America,where
it was crashed by a mechanic and a lamp-post
wrecked its distinctive nose. In 1960 the car was
saved by Lindley Locke, a French-car enthusi-
ast, who ferreted it away for nearly half a century
in a Los Angeles lock-up together with a Talbot
‘Teardrop’. Czech collector Kudela acquired
the car in 2015 and restored the T26 himself,
the project providing a contrast to his business
designing robotic production machinery.Both the Talbot and the Bentley took part
in Saturday’s road run and looked magnificent
on rural French routes, gaining an extra point
towards their final judging scores. The informal
rally through the scenic Picardy region treated
locals to a spectacular parade of automotive
greats, from Bugatti Brescia to Gulf-liveried
Porsche 917. Adrian Beecroft went one better,
driving his fabulous Aston Martin DB4GT
(1 VEV) to the event from Oxfordshire, enjoy-
ing the run, winning his class in the concours,
then driving home on Sunday evening.Elegance
was expected
On the final day of June, the world’s
most glamorous cars took over a grand
château near Paris. C&SC joined them...
WORDS MICK WALSH PHOTOGRAPHY ERIC AUDRAS/MICK WALSHClockwise from main:
Kudela’s spectacular 1948
Talbot-Lago T26 GS raises
dust on the road run – and
still took the top award on
Sunday; French car clubs
take the picnic theme
seriously; special display
of Grand Prix and sports-
racing Matras surrounds
the château’s fountain
StaroftheClubMaseratiFrancedisplaywas
the sleek blue Ligier of Philippe Beugin. “I have
a small collection on the theme of the Maserati
V6 engine, and this is one of my favourites,” said
Beugin. “Last weekend I took it to the Le Mans
24 Hours and camped with friends. This week
we drove down from Lille. The JS2 loves twisty
roads and, with its long suspension movement,
it rides really well, but on the autoroute it’s very
noisy at high speed. Of the 82 built, we only
know of 15 JS2s that are on the road.
“I love the history of this Ligier, particularly
at Le Mans and the Tour de France, and it was a
shame Peugeot stopped SM engine production.
I have a Merak, but it’s fun to put the Ligier on
the Maserati Club stand. Chantilly is superb – in
2016 I was part of the SM class with my Opéra.”Philippe Beugin
LIGIER JS2