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With the end of summer - for many also of the holidays - and the beginning of autumn, a barrage of events. These months there is a frenzy of activity: club outings, rallies, fairs, competitions ... Among these events, in recent years elegance contests have proliferated, especially in autumn. The contest Chantilly, for example, it is in its third edition.
At the end of August we received the news of High Motors Lounge, a new event that, taking the automotive world as its central axis, is dedicated to the world of luxury. Wineries, travel agencies, haute couture, jewelry, real estate and, since the show took the engine as its main axis, the exhibition of cars from prestigious brands such as Porsche, Lexus, Infiniti, Maserati, Audi, Bentley and Mustang could not be missed. ; and Ducati and Triumph brand motorcycles.
In the incomparable setting of the Tower of Loizaga de Galdames, a few kilometers from Bilbao, the first edition of this show was held, which even included a elegance contest by Bonhams. To get you started on the first day, its engine director, Jamie Knight, gave some talks on the current classic car market.
On this occasion I was not going to see the show only as a spectator: A friend asked me to accompany him so that he could present two cars from his collection to the competition; my friend would drive an impressive Mercedes-Benz 300D better known as adenauer, late 1961, and me a nice Jaguar XK150. So with the nerves of the first time, The suitcase with all the photographic equipment, great enthusiasm and a full tank, we headed to the Torre de Loizaga on Saturday morning.
I had never driven a classic of these features on such a long journey and was pleasantly surprised by the smoothness of the ride and handling.
The two High Motors clubs
Among all the participants of the show, it is worth highlighting the presence of two clubs that with their cars selflessly supported this first edition of the event.
El Euskadi Club car (ACE) displaced no less than a dozen vehicles of its partners. Half of them were presented to the contest and the other half were simply for exhibition; Of the first, three cars were awarded: the Mercedes 300 SL as the best of the contest, the Ferrari 328 GTB and the Triumph TR · 3A.
On the other hand, the Basque-Navarre subsidiary of Porsche club filed a good number of 911s, starting with the Porch 911T from the club coordinator Esteban Gª Campijo, who was very attentive to everyone present and acted as a perfect host, up to different versions of the 911 such as the 964, 993 and 996. All the drivers were great enthusiasts of the brand and used their cars habitually.
Another Porsche that entered the contest but did not belong to the club was a very rare Porsche 911 version 930 Turbo Slantnose, that it did not have the retractable headlights. It was one of the first models to leave the factory with the headlights in the lower part of the bumper like the 935 that competed in LeMans. From what its owner told me, he came expressly from Barcelona to compete, he has the history of the car that certifies that it is one of the few units with this type of headlights built by hand in the factory ...
Elegance Contest in Torre Loizaga
They also had to travel many kilometers to attend the Alfa Romeo showroom 6C Freccia d'Oro Super Sport and the Mercedes Benz 600 Pullman presented by the Pueche family of Madrid. The first of them belonged to a good collector from the downtown area for many years and we have seen him in other elegance contests; For its part, the Pullman appears to have been owned by a noble family.
Mid afternoon on saturday the parade started of the participants before the jury and between a corridor formed by the attending public. Each of the participants discussed the main characteristics of our vehicles; the only one that could not parade was the Mercedes 600 Pullman, due to its long battle.
After the parade, the jury took time to give its verdict and immediately the winners were called for a second parade. and the awards ceremony. The overall winner of the contest was the Mercedes 300SL also known as Seagull Wings; apart from the premios, there was also a special mention for the spectacular Rolls Royce Phantom II Convertible with polished aluminum bodywork, one of the stars of the Miguel de la Vía collection.
In short, a new show that is organized in our country and of which we hope it has continuity. The place for the celebration is spectacular and fits perfectly with the philosophy of the event; it is only necessary to encourage the owners to remove the jewels from the garage so that we can enjoy them.
