London, 21-23 April 2022

Salon Privé’s inaugural “Concours de Vente” took place in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea between the 21-23 April 2022, offering a new take on the concours theme, in that all the cars on display were from dealers and available to purchase at or after the event. The Royal Hospital Chelsea was founded in 1692, “hospital” being the old term for almshouses, as a retirement home for those that had served in the British Army, and is famous for its Chelsea Pensioners in their red tunics, and also for being the venue for the annual Chelsea flower Show. It occupies a 66 acre site bordering Chelsea Bridge Road and The Embankment on the north side of the River Thames, and features impressive architecture by the renowned Christopher Wren and John Soane.

There was also the debut of the Alfa Romeo 12C Prototipo some 81 years after its conception, with a book detailing its fascinating history titled “The Missing Link?” available to order. Other marques represented included Lamborghini, with a display featuring a pair each of Aventadors, Huracan STOs and Urus’, Dallara, Porsche, Koenigsegg, Fiat with a pair of electric 500s, Kimera with their 037 Evoluzione, inspired by the iconic Lancia model of the same name, Maserati with an MC20 and Pininfarina with their Battista. There was also a display of very nationalistic red, white and blue Minis arranged as the number “70”, to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne in 1952.

The Concours de Vente featured a truly diverse array of some 50 classic and supercars spanning a broad range of ages from the Barnato-Hassan Bentley to a Ferrari Enzo. Between these two ends of the spectrum there was a great variety of offerings, including a Delahaye 135 CS Roadster, the unique AC MA-200 Prototype, a delightful powder blue Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider, a Mille Miglia class winning OSCA MT4, a 1987 Aston Martin V8 Vantage X-Pack in a lurid metallic yellow with a yellow and red leather interior, a Ferrari 250 GT S2 PF Cabriolet and a 250 GT Lusso, a Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary, a pair of BMW 3.0CSLs, one white and the other silver, a white Dino 206 GT and many more besides. The Prix d’Honneur , presented at the Gala Dinner in the Great Hall Of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, went to the OSCA MT4.

To satisfy the inner needs there was the exclusive elegantly decorated Sloane Restaurant marquee to the east side of the show field, or the Dining Village by JKS Restaurants for al fresco dining on the west side. To quench the thirst there was a Pommery Champagne Bar, or if you wanted something a little stronger there was the London Essence Bar with a wide variety of spirits on offer, with a pair of coffee stations as an abstemious option. The organisers donated 20% of entry ticket revenue to the Disasters Emergency Committee for the Ukrainian Humanitarian Appeal, and also held an online auction in the week leading up to the event to further aid this cause.

Keith Bluemel
04/2022

As with their traditional concours held at Blenheim Palace in September each year, there were also displays from manufacturers or their dealers, numbering 25 in total. There was also a broad spectrum of luxury lifestyle offerings from Panama hats, through haute couture by Isabell Kristensen, fine millinery by Jess Collett, Penhaligon’s perfumery, exclusive jewellery from Boodles, Roger Dubuis watches, Krazy Horse, Thornton Hundred, Harley Davidson and MV Agusta motorcycles, to jet charter, helicopters and Riva power boats, to name but a few. If you wanted to combine road and air transport, the Pal-V International “flying car”, a road car that converts into a helicopter with a 300 mile range, was also on display.

The event saw the either global, European or UK debuts of a dozen new vehicles from manufacturers or their representatives. Alphabetically, there was the Alpine A110S, Aston Martin DBX707 SUV, a Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport Sur Mesure, Charge Cars electric Mustang, Caton’s modern interpretation of the Austin Healey 100/4, Ferrari’s 296 GTB and Daytona SP3, the Genesis GV60 all electric model, Morgan’s new three-wheeler the Super Three, Prodrive’s all terrain Hunter, the Range Rover bespoke SV, Rolls Royce’s Black Badge Ghost and the Tushek TS900 Apex all electric supercar, boasting a 1:1 power to weight ratio, from Slovenia.