Classic & Sports Car - December 2015 UK

togethersevencarswithillustriousfemale
owners.WilliamE Connorshippedtheex-Hellé
NiceBugattiType35BfromtheUS,butit was
ChristianTr aber’s BMW 507 – presentedbyElvis
to UrsulaAndressafterworkingwithheronFun
in Acapulco– thatwasthemostphotographed.
OtherfamousgiftsincludedtheMercedes280SE
CabrioletthatSeanPenngavetoMadonnaas a
weddingpresentandwhichfeaturedinthe
DeeperandDeepervideo,whileformerownersof
theRolls-RoyceSilverCloudConvertible
includedBrigitteBardotandCharlesAznavour.
Citroënfanswerespoiltwithtwoclasses
featuringDSandSMspecials,includingthe
DS21PrésidentielleorderedbyGeorges
PompidouandtheSMOpéra,Chapron’s last
design.Otherhighlightsincludeda fascinating
V8,a recreationofthecarbuiltforGiulioAlfi-
eri but later scrappedbyorder of Alessandrode
Tomaso.Theprojectwastheideaof SMfanatic
PhilipKantor, whohadmodelexpertFrédéric
Daunat fit the original prototype’s four-Weber
V8under a Perspex bonnet.
Therewasa strongV8themetotheevent,
withcategoriesfor openand closedcarswith
Americanpowerplants.Germancollector
HarmutIbingwaschuffedtowinhisclasswith
thestunning 196 2 Facel-VegaFacel II that was
ordered new byhis father.
SponsorRichardMilleis a passionateGrand
Prixfanandwasinstrumentalina specialclass
forFormulaOnegreatsfrom1966-’72. Forthe
prize-givingtheseracerswerestartedupandrun
aroundtheparadering,theunsilencedexhausts
reverberatingdramaticallyfromtheRenaissance
façade.TohiscleardelightMillewontheclass
withhisBRMP83H16,whichJackieStewart
drovetosecondatSpain 1967. Francescode
Baldanza,meanwhile,tooka specialprizewith
hisex-JackyIckx 1971 Ferrari 312 B2.
TocomplementtheConcoursd’Étatfor
historiccars,thegrandtraditionof theconcours
d’elegancewasrevivedwithmodernconcepts
matchedtohautecouture. BMWteamedupwith
fashionhouseBalmaintowinwithitsCSL
HommageR,whichjustpippedtheFordGT
andfashionstylistHaiderAckermann.
Distractionsfromthecarsincludedanart

December 2015 Classic&SportsCar 123

tentandtheremarkable1:43dioramasof Nico-

lasHumbert,whounveiledhislatestwork

featuringFordGT40sbeingunloadedfrom

a Bristol 170 Superfreighter.

Thejuryuniteda diversegroupincludingstyl-

ists,historians,artistsandcollectors.Theviews

ofdesigngurusGordonMurray, BenoitJacob

(BMW),Jean-PierrePloué(PSA),andAchim

Anscheidt(Bugatti)offereda fascinatingperspec-

tivealongsidethoseof respectedspecialists.

Withsomanygreatcarsondisplay, theselec-

tionfor‘bestofshow’wastoughtocallbut

eventuallyEvertLouwman’s spectacular

Mercedes500KSpezialRoadsterburbledinto

thearenatocollectthetopaward.Knownas

‘TheButcher’s Car’, thissuperchargedsensation

wasdiscoveredbrickedupinWalsallin1986,

andis nowoneof thestars of theDutch museum.

Muchhardertojudgewerethesuperbclub

picnicsaroundtheforest, with 36 presenting

displays.ClubMercedes-BenzdeFrancegath-

ereda hugearrayof 190SLroadsters,whileClub

ACFrancedisplayeda diverserangeofvehicles

froma pre-war16/80toa 428,buttheprize

eventuallywenttoLesAmisdeDelage.

Chantillyis setina scenicwoodedregionof

Picardy, justnorthofParis,andis aneasydrive

fromtheChannelports– particularlyif youplan

a detourawayfromtheautoroutes.AswithPeter

Auto’s LeMansClassic,Arts&Elegancelooks

settobecomeanunmissablefixture.We’re

alreadyplanningnextyear’s visit...

ThenextChantillyArt&Eleganceison4September

2016.Seewww .chantillyartsetelegance.com

Clockwise,fromabove:

timewarpBugattiT57

with just 12,000km;’64

Tour de France-winning

250GTO; Bugatti‘Black

Bess’roarsaway;ex-Hellé

Nice Type 35B; SM

Présidentielle;Humbert’s

1:43 Ford GT40 diorama