Having covered the manufacturer’s stands and modern cars of Salon Prive in my last article, which you can read about here: https://motorsportformentalhealth.com/2024/04/21/the-modern-cars-of-salon-prive-london-2024/. It’s time to explore the coveted Concours de Vente and the classic cars of the show.
We’ll start today with what is probably one of my favourite displays at a car show of all time. This is the evolution of the development of the LaFerrari.
We start with a standard 458, then we go to a 458 test mule for the LaFerrari’s hybrid V12 powertrain, then comes a prototype (again based on the 458) for the bodywork and aerodynamics and then we have the finished LaFerrari.
It was really interesting to see these test chassis’ in person. It’s cool that Ferrari let them survive and, I assume, be sold on to one of their customers.
There were a few other Ferraris scattered about the show too:
Silver 575s always remind of the film Bad Boys 2. “Shoot outside the car!”
The F40 GT. This car raced in the Italian GT Championship between 1992 and 1997 and completed 27 races before being imported into the U.K at the end of the 1997 season.
The Koenig Ferrari 512 BB. Koenig are a tuning house based in Munich who are still about today. They are famed for building absolutely outragous BMWs and Mercedes back in the 1980s. It was fun to see their signature styling on a Ferrari!
I was born after the 1980s had passed and these Koenig specials are an embodiment of what I picture the 1980s to have been like. I’m sure the original owner had a permed mullet, a power suit with enormous shoulder pads and did copious amounts of cocaine off the red leather dashboard. I love it!
Speaking of the 1980s: The Ying-Yang Countachs – one white with a black interior and the other black with a white interior.
Another notable Lamborghini at the show was the Miura P400S.
A selection of classic Porsches were available.
Vintage Aston Martins are a staple of Salon Prive!
Jaguars of the 1950s and 1960s were absolutely beautiful.
There were a lot of beautiful cars that came from that era actually.
Mercedes-Benz in particular came up with some cracking cars in this era. A stacked headlight Mercedes, like the dark blue car below, is still very much on my automotive bucket list.
The Datsun S30/Fairlady Z came onto the scene right at the end of the 1960s and was produced through the 1970s.
The S30 was the first internationally successful Japanese sports car produced. Here in the U.K it hit the market at a very similar time to the Mk1 Ford Capri which was from a well established and trusted English(ish) brand – at a time when the British public wanted to buy British built products. On a similar note it also had to compete with the aging MGB GT.
Nowadays they’ve gained a cult following, and rightly so in my opinion. This particular example was lovely and in a very traditional 1970s colour!
One car that’s rapidly approaching classic status is the Bugatti Veyron. Of all the unobtanium super/hypercars, these are still my favourite. I know they are dated now but when these came out in 2005, 1000hp in a factory street car was unheard of. Plus it could be used like a normal GT car – inside it had lots of leather, air conditioning and a good radio and if you aren’t booting it, they are apparently very pleasant and agreeable to drive as a normal car.
These two examples were offered by H.R Owen.
Finally we get to the pre-war cars. The majority of them at this show were Bentleys’, including this 4.5ltr ‘Blower’.
Back in 2021 I built Airfix’s 1/12 scale model of the Bentley Blower. It’s one of the most popular articles on this site! You can read it here: https://motorsportformentalhealth.com/2021/12/17/airfix-112-bentley-blower
Here are some of the others:
This rather special machine is the 1934 Barnato Hassan Special. It was commissioned by Captain Woolf Barnato and driven by Oliver Bertram.
It was initially powered by a 6.5ltr Bentley engine but in 1935 it was uprated to an 8ltr Bentley 6-cylinder. In that configuration it briefly held the lap record at Brooklands before it was broken by the Napier Railton.
Last but not least we have this lovely little Frazer Nash.
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By Richard Francis
Stunning collection of classics.