50 Porsche Turbo's & £17m Vintage Bentley's: Salon Privé London
For the third year running, Salon Privé London hosted a standout selection of cars, set against the glorious backdrop of the Royal Hospital Chelsea. This intimate and captivating event orchestrated celebrations for a number of iconic marques. Standouts included a parade of 50 Porsche Turbo's, the world's largest gathering of Aston Martin Valkyries, and the ultimate collection of vintage Bentley's. This year’s Concours de Vente also saw more than 50 cars displayed, all of which were for sale...
50 Years of the Porsche Turbo
To celebrate 50 years since the introduction of the Porsche Turbo at the Paris Auto Show 1974, 911 Turbos from every generation descended upon the manicured lawns. One of the stars of the show was an ultra-rare Porsche 911 964 Turbo S Leichtbau. This was the first ever lightweight Turbo to be produced by Porsche and is one of only 11 in right-hand drive. The example presented was chassis number 86, and incredibly had covered only 260 recorded miles from new. Finished in stunning Grand Prix White with Flamenco Red interior, purple wheel centres and gold brake callipers, it was not to be missed.
Other standouts included....
World's Largest Gathering of Valkyries
A parade of 14 Aston Martin Valkyries also made quite the impression on spectators, and if that wasn't enough, they were accompanied by two Aston Martin One-77's, an Aston Martin Vulcan and Aston Martin V12 Speedster. The collection was overseen and inspected by none other than Adrian Newey himself, the legendary Red Bull Racing designer who inspired the Valkyrie.
Show director David Bagley commented, “It’s been a delight to work with the AMV Owners Club and bring so many owners together in their incredible cars, and everyone who witnessed it is certain it’s going to go down in history as one to remember."
Credit: Archie Hill & Salon Privé London
The Ultimate Vintage Bentley Collection
William Medcalf of Vintage Bentley presented a once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire five of the most historically significant vintage Bentley's in one sale. The collection was carefully curated to represent the significance of Bentley's pre-war history and included a 1934 Barnato Hassan, 1925 Supersports, 1925 Team Car, 1930 Speed Six Close Couple Coupe and a 1930 4 1/2 Litre Tourer.
The Barnato Hassan was built for the Ex-Chairman of Bentley Motors, Woolf Barnato, by the legendary Bentley Engineer Wally Hassan. Its sole purpose was to take the fastest outer circuit lap record at Brooklands. It was developed and raced from 1934 till 1938 and competed in 25 races, breaking the circuit record several times, ultimately with an unofficial lap of 143.11 mph in September 1938, before moving into storage for the War.
Credit: Archie Hill
The 1930 Speed Six won the Prix d’Honneur award, and is one of only two close couple coupés and the only surviving example, delivered new to Viscount Mandeville the 10th Duke of Manchester, and has been part of the Medcalf family for over 40 years. The meticulous restoration was to the exact standard of the Bentley factory. The crowd-pleasing Bentley also scooped the Class 3 winner for cars costing over £1 million.
William Medcalf with his wife (right), accepting the Prix d’Honneur award for his 1930 Speed Six (left) // Credit: Salon Privé London
Standouts from the Concours de Vente
The Class 1 winner, for cars up to £250,000, was a 1972 BWM E9 3.0 CSL from The Octane Collection. The Class 2 winner, for cars between £250,000 and £1 million, was a 1983 Lamborghini Countach 5000S from Furlonger Specialist Cars. With just 1,780 miles on the clock, this stunning black model formed part of the ‘Yin and Yang’ line up with a sister Countach in white. A 1990 Ferrari F40 GT from Joe Macari was named the People’s Choice winner.
Special Shoutout - 512 BB Koenig Special
One of our favourites was this rare 512 BB 'Koenig Special'. It was delivered new to Germany before being upgraded by the iconic German tuning house. This particular car was built to the ultimate Koenig configuration, and boasts 450 BHP, race cams, forged pistons, 13% longer gear ratios, a high performance exhaust system, uprated carburettors and more! It even has a period telephone and pager.
Credit: Archie Hill
Salon Privé at Blenheim Palace will take place between 28th & 31st August 2024.
