Each year, one of Britain’s most beautiful historic royal palaces is transformed into a living museum of automotive excellence for the annual Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court Palace. It’s a place where the world’s rarest cars, many of which have never been displayed in the UK before, are showcased to the public across three days of celebration. Among those cars, and nestled among the centuries-old Yew trees of the Great Fountain Gardens of the Palace, H.R. Owen was in attendance with a display of some of its most spectacular cars as well as a lounge and display area for its customers.
The opening day of the show, Friday 30 August, began with the Grand Arrival of the cars set to be displayed in the Palace grounds throughout the weekend. From the pure elegance of two Talbot Lago T150 ‘Teardrop’ models to the ultimate rarity of the one-of-one Ferrari SP-8, it’s a cavalcade of the finest creations of well over a century of automotive development. Arranged in classes down the avenues of the Garden, visitors could not only admire these historic rarities but also a display of H.R. Owen customer cars in the H.R. Owen Paddock. Uniquely, our customers weren’t just visitors to the show, but they became part of it.
Each year, H.R. Owen takes the opportunity of these regal surroundings to create a stunning lounge and display space for some of the jewels from across the Group’s portfolio. Taking pride of place was the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport, a technological marvel that exemplifies the pinnacle of contemporary Bugatti performance and engineering. In the year that an all-new era of Bugatti was revealed, with the Tourbillon, it’s the perfect reminder of how the Veyron completely revolutionized the world of automotive performance when it was introduced in 2005.
From Maranello, the spotlight was shared by the elegantly stunning Ferrari Roma Spider, a car that epitomizes the brand’s mastery in combining beauty with blistering performance. It’s design is inspired by many of the elegant creations of Ferrari in the ‘70s, including the 250 GT SWB – two of examples of which were on display at the Concours. Lamborghini enthusiasts were treated to the all-new Revuelto, ushering in a new era of plug-in hybrid performance for Lamborghini’s flagship V12-powered models.
In the very British surroundings of the Palace, our collection was completed by three members of British automotive royalty: the new Bentley Continental GT Speed, the cutting-edge electrified Lotus Eletre S and a pre-owned example of the stately Rolls-Royce Cullinan.
As it would happen, the Concours of Elegance Best in Show would also go to a Rolls-Royce. A sublime 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Convertible by Inskip. The Phantom III was the last large Rolls-Royce launched before World War II and marked the final car with significant input from Henry Royce. Out of 727 Phantom IIIs produced, only a few were made in the USA, including the victorious car, 3CP18, a unique convertible coupé designed by JS Inskip.
