Heythrop Park, 09 September 2011
The majestic Baroque architecture of the garden front of Heythrop
House, deep in the Oxfordshire countryside, provided the
backdrop for the 2011 Ferrari Owners’ Club concours. The house
was designed by the architect Thomas Archer, with heavy
influences from the Italian Baroque style of the period, as both he
and the client, Charles Talbot the 1st Duke of Shrewsbury, had
travelled extensively in Italy, and were joint admirers of this
grandiose architecture. Building work commenced in 1706, and
although able to be partially occupied, was still incomplete upon
the death of The Duke in 1718, but remained in the family. The
interior of the house was burned out in 1831, after which it lay
derelict for nearly 40 years, until bought by the Brassey family,
when it was refurbished and remained in their ownership until
1926. From then until 1969 it was a Jesuit college, then being
sold tothe National Westminster Bank, who used it as a training
and conference centre until 1999, when it was sold to a
development group who turned it into the hotel, country club and
golf course that it is today, with the addition of a Crowne Plaza
hotel in 2010.
A dismal weather forecast for the weekend was probably the
reason that the overall attendance was down on recent years, but
that didn’t stop stalwarts like Bernard Worth and his wife from
driving to the event in their 166 MM/53 Vignale Spider, chassis #
0308 M. Similarly, other owners of rare and valuable cars, like
Clive Bate in his 166 Inter Touring Coupe, chassis # 017 S,
Richard Colton, who made the journey in his 250 GT SWB
Berlinetta, chassis # 1995 GT, and Clive Beecham in his 275
GTB/4S NART Spider, chassis # 10749, braved the predicted
poor weather. However, as is often the case, the forecast proved
inaccurate, at least for the grounds of Heythrop House, as it was
predominantly sunny with a few threatening dark clouds, and only
the most minimal spots of rain. The club was fortunate with the
weather pattern, as upon leaving the event, it was obvious that
some places quite close by had experienced some heavy rain.
Notwithstanding the lower than average turnout, there was still an
interesting array of cars on display, as apart from those previously
mentioned, there was a 750 Monza, a 268 SP and a 575 GTC
representing the competition Ferraris, plus a varied selection of
road cars. Amongst these was a “barn find” Dino 246 GT, chassis
# 00496, which was the 1969 London Motor Show car, and was
then exported to Barbados in 1971, where it remained until this
year, when the current owner managed to purchase it. Another
new to the UK car was a 250 GTE 2+2, understood to be a
prototype for the second series, chassis # 2713 GT, which was
first registered to Ferrari SpA in 1961, and then exported to the
USA in 1964. During its life there it had engine problems, and in
1968 it was fitted with the engine from chassis # 3225 GT. There
were also a couple of cars that had people scratching their heads,
as they didn’t resemble any Ferrari production model! In fact they
were a dark blue berlinetta and a black spider, both based on 400i
running gear, commissioned privately in the UK for Sir Anthony
Bamford, as bespoke forms of transport. Another one-off in
attendance was the only right hand drive 550 Barchetta Zagato,
chassis # 124138, but this made an early departure.
Renowned motoring artist Dexter Brown was in attendance, hard
at work painting an alluring study of a 250 GT SWB Berlinetta in
oil, which was to be auctioned for the benefit of the FOC
designated charity, the Bob Champion Male Cancer Research
Trust. The awards ceremony was held on the garden terrace, with
the H.R. Owen Trophy Best of Show award going to the
magnificently restored 275 GTB/4, chassis # 10835, of Nigel
Allen, which was finished in Grigio Mahmoud with a Bordeaux red
leather interior, a really stunning combination. Proceedings
culminated with a spectacular aerobatic display by club member
Peter Teichman in his P51 Mustang.
Keith Bluemel
09/2011
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