A few weeks ago we were lucky enough to be allowed to shoot photo’s at the owners and VIP Day of the 2021 Concours of Elegance, when some of the finest British cars descended on Hampton Court Palace. The main theme was the celebration of the Queen’s 95th birthday but that was just the tip of the giant chrome iceberg!
It being the only automotive event to be held at a Royal venue every year, the event boasts hundreds of classic cars which are transported from around the globe at the owner’s expense.
And we were there to witness some of the automotive world’s finest chrome congregate for the 2021 Concours of Elegance.
Shortly after we arrived, the event kicked off with a spectacular parade of the most iconic British cars, one from each year of the Queen’s life. We couldn’t believe our eyes seeing the magnificent Rolls Royces and Bentleys, from a 1926 Bentley 4 ½-litre to the 2021 all-electric Lotus Evija, Aston Martin, Jaguar, MG, Triumph and McLaren…
It is difficult to describe the exhilarating sound, sending shivers up our spine when Ms Jennie Taylor, owner and driver, fired up the engine of her 1932 Alfa Romeo P3. And then there was the Concours itself, spanning almost 100 years of automotive passion.
So many exquisite cars that one would normally only expect to see in a museum were out there to be admired in the very appropriate setting of the carefully manicured grounds of Hampton Court Palace, once the home of Henry VIII.
And a vivid testimony to how colourful cars once were. Bloody hell, when did we get so boring? When you look around on the road and in your neighbours’ driveways now, it feels more like the Model T days, of which Henry Ford wrote in his autobiography: “Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black” 🙂
Enjoy the photos and try not to get blinded by the sunlight reflecting off the chrome …
