What not to miss at this year’s Royal Concours of Elegance

This weekend, 60 cars of various vintages, disciplines and origins – all of the highest quality – will descend on Hampton Court Palace for the annual Concours of Elegance. Here’s what you can expect to see at this year’s Royal affair…

The Royal stamp of approval

Returning to Hampton Court Palace (with Her Majesty The Queen’s blessing) for the first time since 2014, the Concours of Elegance will once again showcase the breadth of automotive excellence from numerous eras. This is the only concours event in the world with a Royal stamp of approval (the event’s patron is HRH Prince Michael of Kent) and, as you’d expect, this unique characteristic helps it to attract the biggest and most important collectors from across the world, all of whom will be keen to impress in this most regal of settings.

A visual bracket

Bookended by a 1896 Arnold Benz Motor Carriage (the very first car to receive a speeding ticket, at a recorded 8mph) and a 2017 LaFerrari Aperta, the list of 60 blue-chip motor cars poised to line the picturesque palace gardens is sensational.

As you’d expect in this, Ferrari’s 70th year, several significant Prancing Horses will contest the concours, including the 1953 Ferrari 340 MM Vignale Spyder that features on this year’s Charles Avalon-designed art deco event poster. Jaguar will mark the 60th anniversary of its 1957 Le Mans success by assembling five of the D-types that raced that year, including the three podium finishers. Visitors can also look forward to ogling the quirky and ultra-streamlined Tatra 77, the Maserati A6G 2000 Grand Sport from the legendary Baillon Collection, and the Lancia Astura that claimed the people’s ‘Coppa d’Oro’ trophy at Villa d’Este last year. Suffice to say, the ‘Grand Arrival’ at Hampton Court on Friday morning will be quite the spectacle – we look forward to meeting some of you there.