Stapleford Park, Leicestershire, 12 July, 2015
After missing a concours gathering in 2014, to the chagrin of
many members, the Ferrari Owners’ Club approached the 2015
event with renewed vigour, and welcome sponsorship from EFG
International, the private banking group, who are well known for
their valued backing to numerous prestigious classic car events
throughout Europe. The gathering also welcomed Bonhams as
the club’s official auction partner, with sponsorship of the gala
dinner on the Saturday evening, and plans for a more high profile
role at next year’s event.
The venue for the event was a magnificent stately home, which
has been turned into a luxury hotel, Stapleford Park, which is set
deep in the Leicestershire countryside near Melton Mowbray, the
town famous for its pork pies! The majestic property formed a
beautiful backdrop to proceedings, and visitors could not only
enjoy the hotel amenities, but also the 500 acres of Capability
Brown designed landscaped grounds, formal gardens and
woodland, plus the 18 hole golf course, and even the estate’s own
church, St Mary Magadalene, although this is no longer in regular
use, it still retains all its original features.
Although the concours was on the Sunday, there was plenty of
activity on the Saturday as attendees and concours entrants
arrived, ready to prepare their steeds for the judging process the
following day. There was also the opportunity for test drives on the
Saturday, courtesy of official dealer, Graypaul Ferrari of
Nottingham, who had a California T, FF and F12 available to
interested parties, along with a selection of their pre-owned stock
on display.
Whereas Saturday was a beautiful day with abundant sunshine
and high ambient temperatures, rain swept through overnight, and
Sunday dawned damp and overcast, although initially at least it
was dry. During the judging process the rain returned
intermittently, although fortunately it wasn’t too heavy, and by
midday the sun was creeping through again, to give a glorious
afternoon for the presentations, and for entrants to wind down
after the rigours of preparation had almost been thwarted by the
weather.
As is the case at most classic car gatherings these days,
unfortunately people seem reluctant to bring out the rarer Ferraris,
due to the rise in values over recent years, and the fear of damage
occurring to a valuable asset. Thus it is, that modern, or should I
say relatively modern, higher volume production models that
seem to be the mainstay of any gathering. This was
predominantly the case at the concours, although there were
some gems, both on the concours field and in the EFG Special
Car Display. The latter group included a 268 SP sports racing
model, chassis # 0798, owned by Bernie Carl in the USA, which
Terry Hoyle showed on his behalf, a 250 GT S1 PF Cabriolet,
chassis # 1475GT, and 500 Superfast, chassis # 6659SF,
courtesy of Talacrest Ltd. There was a “Moderns & Specials”
group in this display, which included a F40, F50, Enzo, 550
Barchetta, 599 GTO and 599 SA Aperta.
The concours field also had some nice early examples, including
a 166 Inter Touring Coupe, chassis # 017 S, a 212/225 Inter
Vignale Coupe, chassis # 0237 EU, a 250 GT SWB Berlinetta,
chassis # 3367GT, a pair of 330 GTC models, chassis #s 9039
and 11329, along with an example of the very rare 365 GTS,
chassis # 12307, one of only twenty produced, a 250 GT Lusso,
chassis # 5441GT, and a trio of “Daytona” models, a “Plexi”
example, chassis # 13421, a “Pop-up”, chassis # 16737 and an
original Spider in black, chassis # 15417. Amongst the more
modern variants, there was a rare in the UK, 208 Turbo, a F40,
F50 and a pair of black Boxers, a 365 GT4BB and a 512 BB.
There were a total of thirteen classes, the winners of which were
brought forward to a central display area on the main lawn to
receive their awards, with the final award being the Best of Show,
which went to the 250 GT SWB Berlinetta, chassis 3367GT, of
Nigel Allen.
Keith Bluemel
07/2015
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