Ten Years of Concours of Elegance

TIM SCOTT / FLUID IMAGES

ABOVE The defining features of the Concours of Elegance for the past decade have been its royal venues and its magnificent cars.

Ten years of the Concours of Elegance

IN 2012, THE CONCOURS of Elegance was born with a collector car showcase that transformed the automotive landscape in the UK. Never before had there been a concours d’elegance with the calibre of venue and quality of automotive displays to sit shoulder-toshoulder with the likes of Concorso d’Eleganza at Villa d’Este or the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

In honour of Her Majesty The Queen’s 60 years on the throne, 60 very special cars were selected for display in the Quadrangle within the walls of Windsor Castle, the first time such an event had ever taken place there. More cars were displayed on The Long Walk leading to the Castle.

The Concours of Elegance continued its association with Royal Palaces and jewels of the car world when over the subsequent years it took place at St James’s Palace, the Palace of Holyroodhouse and Hampton Court Palace’s Fountain Gardens, where it has been held since 2017.

Our Steering Committee of motoring experts, who each year invite cars and owners to the Concours of Elegance, agreed from the outset that once a car was displayed at the event it couldn’t be seen again for another 10 years. However, for the tenth anniversary, an exception has been made, inviting winners of all previous editions to the main concours line-up (see overleaf). In honour of the event’s royal Patron, this is called The Prince Michael of Kent Class.

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