Francisco Carrion
TEXT: FRANCISCO CARRIÓN / PHOTOS: UNAI ONA
El Chantilly Contest of Elegance It was held the first weekend of September in the gardens of the impressive Château de Chantilly (northwest of Paris), and we can say that participation is increasing edition after edition both in quality and quantity ... and maybe also in visitors, Well, the organizer encrypted this year up to 13.500 tickets sold, and that they are not cheap. However, paying the more than 50 euros is definitely worth it.
In addition to the classics contest itself, there are the "Concept cars", the space reserved for clubs, the auction ... and even various activities related to fashion and the main French designers, to the delight of the female public, we suppose.
Chantilly contest, the old-fashioned way
We must begin, even if only by glancing, with the selection of prototypes presented by various brands; in reality, it is a Contest like those of yesteryear, when what competed were the latest trends from bodybuilders and manufacturers. On this occasion Aston Martin, BMW, Bugatti, DS Automobiles, Lexus, McLaren, Mercedes-Benz and Rolls-Royce attended, with models “associated” with French haute couture firms.
The winner was DS E-TENSE, in our opinion not the most elegant or innovative, but you know ... the country pulls a lot, and Citroën is making great efforts to enter the world of luxury with its subsidiary DS.
Alfa Romeo. best-of-show
We now turn to what really concerns us: The Classic Car Elegance Contest, in which a hundred renowned pieces from England, Italy, Holland, France -of course- and even the United States, where they came from, entered precisely the winner of the trophy "Best Of Show" of this edition.
It was a spectacular Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Berlinetta 1938 bodied by Touring, owned by Jon Shirley. This car was the same car that had won the Best of Show award at Pebble Beach in 2008, and was in the category “Prewar Aerodynamics - Closed Bodies”.
Categories to give and give away ...
This was just one of the 21 categories, where you could find vehicles “for all tastes”. Missing English brands, Large travel limousines, Tour de France cars, Lamborghini Miura P400 1th anniversary, French bodywork, Zagato bodywork, Front-engine Formula XNUMX…. And even one for steaming steam vehicles!
These are just some of the categories present, and in addition, many of them were subdivided between closed bodies and convertibles or prewar and postwar models. Special mention deserves the category-tribute to the 50-year career of Jean Todd.
The current president of the International Automobile Federation was once a renowned rally driver and co-driver, as well as having been team leader at Peugeot and Ferrari. The award for "his" category went precisely to the Peugeot 504 Group 4 with which he achieved victory as co-driver in the 1979 Rally Argentina.
Each category formed a group, and each was scattered here or there in the vast gardens of the Château de Chantilly. There was more or less official participation brands such as Peugeot, Citroën or BMW, who came with some pieces from their museums and competed in different categories, as occurs in events such as Vila d´Este (Italy) or Pebble Beach (USA).
Chantilly and its classics in a state of use
However, contrary to what happens in these competitions, in Chantilly not all cars were pristine or in good condition. "Better than new". Many of the participants were proud to wear frequently their cars, and some of them had mud and dust from having gotten there on their own. And we could even see some detail that did not quite square with the originality, which indicated that some cars were in use after a restoration carried out many years ago.
And, since everything is a matter of fashion, now what seems to be worn -even in the most notable contests of elegance- they are well preserved cars in which the passage of the years is noticed, whenever its condition allows it. It was the case of Bugatti brescia that we already commented on these pages about a year ago, and that now has participated in the Chantilly Contest. Rather than having undergone a complete restoration, the non-original elements have been removed and the beautiful patina it had has been retained.
Clubs and auctions accompany the contest
Nor should we forget that surrounding the contest was the club area, where you could find pieces as interesting as those in the contest itself. The French clubs of brands such as Ferrari, Aston Martin, Bugatti, Rolls Royce or Delahaye threw the rest, but we must not forget the theme clubs such as the "Cycling Club of France", which also obtained the "Clubs Grand Prize". And in all of them, good champagne and a relaxed atmosphere among the partners.
To finish, it is necessary to comment the auction he held Bonhams in the heat of the Contest, as had happened in previous editions. This time only 28 cars of all kinds came with a small staff, of which 18 found a new buyer, curiously a number of sales exactly the same as the previous year.
Among them stood out a group of three imposing Horch from the 30s, or a whole Mercedes Benz 500 K roadster from 1935, which fetched no less than 5.290.000 euros, which was the highest price achieved in this auction.
In short, it is a high level event which seems to be destined to become one of the most important contests of elegance. It is worth doing the "kilometrada" from Spain for all the good things to see ... and because, although it hurts, in our country we are still a long way from seeing something not even similar.
