Classic & Sports Car - December 2015 UK

OURCLASSICS SUPPORTEDBY

170 Classic&SportsCarDecember 2015

I’ve neverthoughtof myselfas
muchof a concourschap.I enjoy
driving cars morethanpolishing
them.But,like a proudmumat a
babycontest,I’ve alwaysbelieved
(withunforgivableandtotally
subjectivebias)thatmy Gurney
NuttingRothschildSedanca,one
of onlytwo built,is absolutelythe
mostbeautifulDerbyBentleyin
the world,ever. AndI did takeit
ontothe hallowedlawnsof Pebble
Beachsix yearsago, and camehome
with a weightytrophy.
So whenSalonPrivécreator
AndrewBagleyinvitedme to bring
it to his big do at Blenheim,I said
yes at once–even thoughIwas sure
that the internationallyhigh stand-
ard at this prestigiousevent,and
the preponderanceof well-known
concourshigh-rollers,meantI

CLASSWINNERIN

THEBABYSHOW

couldneverbe morethanan also-

ran. But just to be there,and drool

at closequartersoversomeof the

world’s mostbeautifuland exciting

cars, meant that it was bound to be

a weekendto remember.

Thiswas SalonPrivé’s 10th year,

and its firstagainstthe magnifi-

centlyover-the-topbackdropof

BlenheimPalace.To an equally

highstandardwas the concurrent

Prestige& Performanceeventfor

modernsupercars.Gathered

aroundthe concoursfieldvarious

specialistswerepurveyingplenty

of top-gearkit, too, fromopen-

chequebookrebuildsto chi-chi

motoringclothing.

We werein the Pre-War Luxury

& To uringclass.I’d just got the

patientand ever-friendlyVince

Romaat FrankDale& Stepsonsto

givethe Bentleya mid-year oil-

changeandcheck,so withno

furtherprepI got it out of the

garage,gaveit a quickdust-down,

and set off via the M40for the A44

to Woodstock.The rain the previ-

ous day had beentorrential,but

fortunatelyit was dry.

Aftergrumblingmy way through

a bad jam in the roadworksaround

Oxford– withthe Bentley’s water

temperatureremainingobediently

steady– I droveinto the Dukeof

Marlborough’s gaff and ontothe

fieldto see the othercars in my

classalreadyin position,readyfor

judgingthe followingday.

Of course,seriously cherished

concoursjewelsare rarelysulliedby

roaduse and are transportedfrom

air-conditionedgarageto eventin

closedtrucks,ministeredto by

meticulousminions.But Salon

Privéhas takena leaf out of Pebble

Beach’s bookand now runs a To ur

earlierin the week,startingat the

RACCountryClubnearEpsom

and edginginto the Cotswolds.I’d

haveenjoyedthis but was tied up

that day, thougha selecthandfulof

the concoursentrantsdid take part.

Tw o of the moststunningcars in

my classhad comefromPeter

Mullin’sgloriouscollectionin Cali-

fornia,whichconcentrateson

Frenchcars and coachbuildersof

the 1920sand 1930s.His 1934

Voisin C27roadsterwearsslinky

coachworkby JosephFigoniin its

originalyellowand black,with

ostrichskin upholstery, and it was

linedup alongsidehis wondrous

Figoniet FalaschiDelahaye135M,

TheStarof India.This,downto its

spattedfrontwheelsand the art-

decosweepsof its twin-blue

paintwork,is the epitomeof flam-

boyant1930sFrenchcoachwork,

and has beenatop concourswinner

on bothsidesof the Atlantic.

Closerto Britishtastes,perhaps,

was the morerestrainedbut equally

elegantLagondaRapideV12

enteredby LordBamford,in dark-

est greenand cream.Thislovelycar

was havingits first outingsincethe

completionof a perfectionistnut-

and-boltrestorationby SteveClark

of Clark& Carter. Onlyabouta

dozenV12 Rapideswerebuilt,and

that mightyenginewithits gear-

and chain-drivencamshafts

representedWOBentley’s answer

to Rolls-Royce’s PhantomIII.

We weretold to get our cars in

placeby Wednesdayeveningahead

BentleySedanca

RunbySimonTaylor

Totalmileageunknown

OwnedsinceOctober 1996

MilessinceJanuary

2013report 1476

Latestcosts£377.42

Fromtop:gettingthe

plaudits;different

takesonabeautiful

bottomfromBlatchley,

FigoniandFeeley