Britain’s best boutique concours takes place this weekend in a setting unrivalled for its picturesque beauty. After a tour on Friday the Heveningham Concours is open to the public all weekend (29-30 June) with just 50 astonishing cars teased out of some of the world’s finest collections.
This year the concours celebrates excellence in design and entrants will include two Ferrari F1 cars. They are an ex-Gerhard Berger 1989 Ferrari 640 F1 (chassis #110, the first F1 car with semi-automatic transmission) plus the only Tipo 639 in private hands.
The unique setting for the Suffolk event is Grade 1 listed Palladian mansion Heveningham Hall, about 10 miles north of Saxmundham. The estate’s parkland was designed by the revered Capability Brown, but the terraced lawn where the cars are displayed behind Heveningham Hall was a vision realised by renowned landscape architect Kim Wilkie.
One of the hardest working star attractions will be the Sunbeam Tiger (below) that on Sunday (23 June) completed HERO-ERA’s Peking to Paris Motor Challenge driven by Touring Car hero Patrick Watts. He’ll probably need to give it a quick wash.
A team of well-known judges will select the winners for just three key awards, best pre- and post-war car plus best supercar. Last year’s winners were a Touring-bodied Alfa 8C 2300 Le Mans tourer, a Porsche 911 Carrera RSR and a Ferrari Daytona SP3 respectively.
Traditionally some of the concours cars also take part in the other main motoring event – a very short (1/8th of a mile) blast up Heveningham’s Horsepower Hill. Quickest sprinter last year was a Ferrari 488 Pista Spider.
Another attraction of the concours is its aviation element, which not only has a concours for aircraft judged by world experts, but also has a massive fly-in of other vintage aircraft. The 2023 Hanna Aviation Trophy was won by a 1943 Spitfire MkIX.
Adjacent to the concours is the Heveningham Country Fair with everything from great local catering to pig-racing, classic car displays and classic and vintage farm machinery.
Every penny raised by Heveningham Concours goes to local charities and towards a scholarship for a youngster to study car design at the Royal College of Art.
Lois Hunt, head of the organising committee, said: ‘This year, we’ve come up with an even more eclectic and fascinating collection of cars than ever, and we’re delighted to welcome back our panel of judges who have truly written the story of automotive design. Style and design is at the very heart of what we do, which is why the Heveningham Concours is like no other event in the world of cars.
‘We are privileged to welcome some incredibly special guests this year from all over the world, such as Pebble Beach Chairman and Executive Director Sandra Button, and Prodrive Chairman David Richards. Hosting the top manufacturers, sporting organisations, and media in the automotive space, Heveningham is the destination of choice for those who really know and love cars from every era.’
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