London, 02 – 04 July 2008.
After the hottest day of the year in London on Tuesday 01 July, visitors to the opening day of Salon Privé on the
following day were greeted by leaden skies and intermittent rain, but that’s the vagaries of the British weather
for you! After all, it is to be expected to get rain during Wimbledon fortnight! The gathering started three years
ago as an exclusive luxury super car event, to which a concours was added last year, with this expanded theme
continuing into this year’s edition. It is more than just a car show, with entry tickets providing lunch, afternoon
tea, evening entertainment and a gala dinner finale. Since its bold inception it has grown in stature to become
one of the “must do” events on the London social scene, no doubt helped by the exclusivity and charm of the
chosen venue, the Hurlingham Club in South West London, which in the past has hosted the Louis Vuitton
Concours d’Elegance.
The organisers have a steering committee of respected names in classic car circles, who source suitable
interesting cars for the concours section, whilst the array of automobiles in the super car section is eclectic,
ranging from well known and respected luxury and sporting brands like Bentley, Lamborghini, Maserati,
Maybach, Porsche and Rolls Royce, to niche manufacturers whose mean little to other than the select few, like
the Breckland Beira, Champ Cars GBR, the Cocept Climax, F&M Auto’s Antas, the Keating TKR, Koenigsegg
and Tesla Roadster. Apart from the cars, there is a whole lifestyle display, ranging from speed boats and
yachts, to high end holiday destinations, jewellery, tailoring, and even traditional rocking horses by the oldest
maker in England.
Despite the intermittent rain there were plenty of attendees enjoying the wonderful array of machinery, both new
and old, with the super cars nestling on the lawns between the main building and the croquet lawn running to
the River Thames. The concours cars were on a lawn to the side of the building, and included a class for Le
Mans cars, which featured a couple of examples of the spectacular McLaren F1 GT car, one short body and one
long body, there was also an Aston Martin DBR9, fresh from this year’s edition still covered in its race grime, the
silver and mauve Veloqx Audi R8 looked very attractive, as did the Gulf Liveried Porsche 917.
Radio presenter and entrepreneur, Chris Evans, arrived in his recently acquired Ferrari 250 GT California
Spider, to be greeted by musician Jay Kay of Jamiroquai fame, who had brought a beautiful black Porsche 356
Speedster. Alongside the black California was another Ferrari, which at a glance could be taken for the same
model. However, it was actually a 250 GT S1 PF Cabriolet, chassis # 0829 GT, which had been re-bodied in the
style of a California Spider in 1960 after an accident. It was discovered in France late last year, after having been
hidden away in storage for almost thirty years. Another very interesting older car was the mid-engine Alfa
Romeo 6C 2300 Jankovits, which was developed as a secret project outside the works by chief designer
Vittorio Janowas. Whilst one couldn’t help but notice the lurid Dayglow orange Lancia Strato prototype, or the
beautiful bright yellow Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ and turquoise Lancia Aurelia Spider.
The event provides a very exclusive and special experience for attendees, with the attendance fees at a level to,
plagiarising the words of Goodwood, have the right crowd and no crowding.
Ferraris on Display
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