Salon Prive Blenheim Palace Was the Upper-Crust Place to Be Last Week

Salon Prive Blenheim Palace has really come into its own in this, its 19th year. Now spread over a full five days of activities, from champagne-sparkled concours on lawns to a drive through the neighboring village of Woodstock where the cars parade before local residents for free, Salon Prive can be all things to everyone.

“Just like Royal Ascot, the Henley Regatta, or a posh game of polo in the park, this is yet another Pimms-fueled garden party where people come together to celebrate the finer things in life,” said Loyd & Townsend Rose, facilitators of "Exceptional Castle Experiences.” (We must point out that Pommery Champagne is the official bubbly of this year’s Salon.)

Many of the activities are similar to those at Monterey Car Week. For instance, everything started this year on Tuesday, August 27, with the Tour Prive, like The Tour at Pebble, where entrants from the week’s various car-centric events went on a drive through the lovely English countryside outside Blenheim Palace, which is itself just outside Oxford, which is about an hour and a half or so northwest of London (helicopter service from London Heliport is available, don’t you know).

Tuesday night was the new-this-year Salon Prive MotorAvia at nearby London Oxford Airport, very much like Monterey’s MotorLux, where the well-heeled peruse the latest private jets and helicopters. Those include models from Citation, King Air, Cessna, and Boeing Business Jets, along with Bell helicopters.

The next day was called Concours Wednesday, which started with a parade of supercars, followed by champagne service, then another parade of concours entries going before judges and the public. At 2:00 pm class awards were handed out. At 4:00 pm it was tea time. Quite.

Concours Thursday once again saw more parades on the palace grounds.

“A further opportunity for guests to admire the host of superlative entries, resplendent both on the lawns and on parade, whilst our judges, internationally recognized for their expertise, make their final deliberations,” said Salon Prive.

Thursday was also the day they handed out Best of Show, which this year went to an exquisite 1957 Ferrari 335 S owned by American Brian Ross.

The car had been driven by some of the best pilotes of its day, including Peter Collins and Maurice Trintignant, who drove it to sixth place at Sebring that year, and Wolfgang “Taffy” von Trips, who took it to a fine second place finish in the ’57 Mille Miglia.

After those drives it went back to the factory for a bore and a stroke to 4.1-liters and off it went to Le Mans with Mike Hawthorn and Luigi Musso at the wheel. Unfortunately, it failed to finish then, but won handily at Blenheim Palace.

It beat a 1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II that belonged to Anthony Bamford, aka Lord Bamford, chairman of the multi-billion-dollar construction and agricultural equipment manufacturer JCB.

Third place went to a 1927 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8AS Fleetwood Roadster that looked like a pre-Depression era rich man’s high boy hot rod. Indeed, it was ordered by no less a luminary than Rudolph Valentino, with coachwork designed by LeBaron and assembled by Fleetwood.

“We are truly delighted with this year’s Best of Show Ferrari 335 S by Scaglietti,” said Andrew Bagley, Chairman of the Salon Privé Concours along with brother and co-founder David.

“You only have to look at the great names who raced it to realize how significant a sports car it was and appreciate what a cherished place it holds in Ferrari history. This beautiful Ferrari competed in a golden period for sports-car racing, and we all now look forward to its entry into the Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award.”

The Best of the Best, just delivered last week to a Duesenberg btw, is selected from eight global concours, of which Salon Prive is rightfully one of the select.

This year’s Salon Privé Concours, presented by Aviva Private Clients, was the largest and most prestigious to date, organizers said, with 72 cars entered across 14 different classes. They ranged from pre-war celebrations of Bugatti, Rolls-Royce and Ferrari, to fan favorites like a Silk Cut Jaguar XJR 8/9, an Alitalia Lancia Stratos HF, and a 555 Subaru Impreza WRC97—while a new class for 2024 honored the 60th anniversary of the Ferrari 275.

The night of Thursday August 29, the cars paraded once again into the nearby village of Woodstock, where anyone who wanted to, regardless of peerage, could see the cars. But that wasn’t all.

The next day was Style Friday, formerly called Ladies Day, where “style and sophistication take centre stage.” The day featured a competition called “Boodles Best Hat.” Boodles is a British luxury jewelry company that sells fine baubles and watches.

“A Best Hat competition was held at Salon Prive in the UK last weekend, with Leonora Smee emerging as the winner with her Vivien Sheriff Helter Skelter Hat, claiming a Boodles pendant, a £1,000 LK Bennett London voucher, a £1,000 Gatineau Paris skincare voucher, and 6 bottles of Pommery's finest Cuvée Louise 2005,” salon organizers said, before wondering, “Will an American take the top spot next year?” Come on American ladies, start designing now for next year’s headgear! I’m thinking a Bass Pro Shops-style international orange camo theme with ear flaps and a bug net for year-round versatility.

The final event of this car-studded week was Supercar Saturday, with over 1,500 privately owned sports, super- and hypercars on the grounds of the palace vying for glory.

You can plan now to attend next year, about a week or two after Pebble. Let’s meet up for champagne, shall we? Cheers!