Without doubt my favorite car of the event (and my wife’s favorite as well) was this this 1932 Alfa Romeo 1750 Supercharged Grand Sport with bodywork by Figoni of Paris, hence the Alfa Romeo Paris badge. The car was known in Paris prior to WWII before moving to the French Riviera during the conflict. It resided in Florida before being returned to the UK about 15 years ago. This was the first time the car had been publicly displayed in the UK.
Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
Heveningham Hall is a 5000 acre estate deep in the heart of rural Suffolk. The house or hall as it is described was mostly designed by Sir Robert Taylor in 1778 for Sir Gerrard Vanneck, a wealthy Dutch merchant.
The Vanneck family owned the hall until 1970 when the hall, which by then was in a poor state of repair, was handed over to the Department of Environment in lieu of death duties. In 1981 the house was sold to an Iraqi businessman who then commenced to repair and conserve the hall, but died before restoration was completed. It was then purchased in 1994 by the current custodian Mr and Mrs Jon Hunt, who then set about restoring the hall and the Capability Brown (18th century landscape artist) landscape to their former glory.
You may ask what this has this got to do with cars? For the past 20 years the estate has been home to an annual County Fair which has raised large sums of money for local charities. As 2016 was to be the 20th running of the fair, Mr and Mrs Hunt decided, very late in the year, to celebrate this event and also the Tercentenary of Capability Brown by hold their inaugural concours d’elegance. The event took place on July 2-3.
Built by Michelotto to and presented in its original 1990 livery, this Ferrari F40 Le Mans is the only Ecurie Pozzi team car in private hands. The car was driven in period by Hurley Haywood, Jacques Laffite and Jean Pierre Jabouille. The car finished on the podium at Mid Ohio and Mosport.
My understanding is that planning for this event did not begin in earnest until March of this year. Considering the very limited amount of time available to the family it was surprising the event took place at all, and yet the quality of the cars on display was amazing. Approximately fifty cars were displayed on the terraced lawn to the rear of the hall with sufficient space between each car to allow the viewer to full appreciate each exhibit.
On Saturday evening, the event entrants, my wife and I were treated to a cocktail party where the champagne flowed, the awards were presented and the band rocked into the night. The trophies presented were the work of the artist Laurence Edwards. The 1932 Figoni-bodied Alfa Romeo was awarded the prize in the pre-war category, the Jaguar D Type in the post-war category and the Ferrari F40 Le Mans as the best supercar.
Winner of the post-war catagory was this D Jag.
During the weekend one could enjoy the dog and duck show, the Shire horses or even the monster trucks at the County Fair. My wife and I must extend a huge thank you to Mr and Mrs Hunt and PR director Will Kitchener for the amazing hospitality they extended to the two of us over the weekend.
To learn more about the estate and the fantastic transformations that the family are carrying out to the natural environment of the estate and the buildings within please go to www.wildernessreserve.com
And for those with a passion for both medieval and WWII history, note that prior to our arrival at Heveningham Hall my wife and I visited the beautiful village of Lavenham in Suffolk; scroll down to see a glimpse of the famous Guildhall.
Alfa Figoni badge.
Interior of the Alfa.
This 42,000 miles-from new Aston Martin DBS V8 dates from 1971.
This 1936 Aston Martin Speed Model, now known as the Red Dragon, was one of two built for the 1936 Ulster TT especially for Richard Seaman. The car was sold for £500 in 1937 complete with a new engine to Dutchman Eddy Hertzberger and the car was then extensively modified and painted in the Dutch racing colors of bright orange before competing in the Mille Miglia. In 1947 it was sold to Dudley Croft Folland. The car finished third in the 1948 Montlhery 12 hour race. Folland drove the Aston at Le Mans in 1949.
1963 Shelby Cobra CSX2116 dates from 1963. The current custodian of the car acquired her in 2010 and set about preparing the car for the then new pre 1963 GT race series. The car is fitted with a race prepared 260 cubic inch Ford V8 to allow the car to conform to the specification of an early Cobra.
122 Daytona Spyders were built, this left hand drive example built in 1971 is believed to be the 18th example constructed.
The famous ex-James Coburn 1961 Ferrari 250 California Spyder. Coburn bought it new and owned up until 1987.
An achingly beautiful 1963 Ferrari 250 Lusso which had been owned by its previous owner for 40 years.
The ex-David Piper Ferrari 250 GTO, chassis 3767.
Delivered new to Mr Buzzi of Bologna in July 1962 this 250 SWB is a two-owner example and is believed to be one of the last produced.
Behind the 275 is my wife’s other favorite car. This 1951 Jaguar MK V drop head coupe was dispatched to Jaguar’s New York dealer Max Hoffman on the 13th April 1951. The MK5 sold alongside the XK120 sold in far greater numbers – around 5000 units per year. The 3.5 liter engine gave the car a top speed of over 90 mph.
Chassis 07797 is one of only 11 right hand drive six carburettor short nose 275 GTBs produced. Ordered new by Dr Richard Wilkins. It was Dr Wilkins who was responsible for Mike Parkes’ recovery following his horrific Belgium F1 Grand Prix accident. In 1973 the car was purchased by Eric Stewart of 10cc fame.
Finished in Azzurro Metallic with beige leather interior, a combination she still carries to this day this 275 GTS was completed in 1965.
The car that never raced. Whilst lacking the beautiful lines of its road going siblings this 1988 288 GTO Evoluzione certainly goes well with 650 bhp pushing around 940 kilograms. One of six examples built of this group B racer.
And here is the pretty sister car. Built in 1985 this 288 GTO is one of 272 examples constructed.
What a fine line up, Ferrari Daytona Spyder, Jaguar D Type, Ferrari F40 LM and an alloy bodied Mercedes 300 SL.
Yet another great line up; Ferrari F40 GT, Bugatti EB110 Super Sport and Ferrari 275 GTB.
In the hands of Patric Blakeney Edwards this chain drive 1928 Fraser Nash saloon is indecently rapid. It is known as the Owlet due to the two small porthole style windows in the tapered rear end. The original was built in response to the RAC announcing that it was reviving the Tourist Trophy race for catalog sports cars at the Ards in Northern Ireland. In 1946 the original chassis was used to construct a postwar special fitted with an Aston Martin engine. The car exists in that rebuilt form today.
A Country House in the middle of the Suffolk countryside and a 1935 Lagonda M45 saloon, what could be more British? Except that the Lagonda car company was founded in 1906 in Staines Middlesex by Wilber Gunn, an American from Ohio, who named the company after a river near his home in Springfield Ohio. This M45 is unusual as it still retains it original saloon body. Many example have been converted in to Le Mans replicas.
Another British icon. 1955 Jaguar D Type. This example however was exported new to New Zealand where it was race prepared for the 1957 New Zealand Grand Prix in which it finished first ahead of Jack Brabham in the sports car race, and 5th in the Grand Prix itself. XKD534 then passed through the hands of various local drivers, one of which used the D Type to round up his sheep. Returned to the UK in barn find condition in 2002 XKD534 has been the subject of a sympathetic restoration.
1957 Jaguar XKSS is one of 16 that survived the fire at the Browns Lane factory. They were constructed from unused D Type chassis following Jaguar’s withdrawal from competition in 1956.
Maserati 6C chassis number 1537. In the hands of Henri Louveau the car won the first recognized official race after the war on 9th September 1945, the Premier Grand Prix Automobile Du Bois De Boulogne for cars between 1500 cc and 2000 cc.
This 1955 Mercedes Benz 300 SL Gullwing Coupe is one of just 19 alloy bodied examples constructed. Order from the factory by Italian gentleman driver Alberico Cacciari, the car was delivered to Bologna in July 1955. With Cacciari driving this was the only alloy-bodied 300 SL to race in the Mille Miglia in 1956 and 1957.
This 1973 Porsche 911 2.8 RSR is one of only 57 examples built and is believed to be the only example supplied new in Gulf Racing Blue. The RSRs were factory built race cars rather than converted road cars.
This 1933 Rolls Royce Phantom II Continental Drop head coupe with coachwork by Park Ward is believed to be unique. She was completed in August 1933 to the order of WW Worthington of Lichfield in Staffordshire who owned the car for over 20 years before selling to HF Gower of London in 1954. The car left the shores of the UK for Ohio USA in 1958 when it was purchased by WB Fairclough of Ohio. The car was returned to the UK around 1999.
This 1953 Jaguar C Type NDU970 is a genuine works team car, and the reserve team car for the 1953 Le Mans 24 hour race though it was not used. Stirling Moss later drove the car to 7th place at the Silverstone International meeting. The car was also raced at Goodwood, Aintree, Dundrod and Rheims before being sold to Australia where her race career continued until 1963.
This is a Talbot 105AV, produced in the U.K. and designed by Swiss George Roesch. They were immensely success at both Le Mans and the Alpine Rally in the early 1930s. The 105s featured a 3 liter ohv six with staggered valves that improved breathing. The Rootes group dropped the Talbot line in 1937.
This 1904 Wolseley 8 hp is a rare survivor. The tonneau bodywork was fitted in January 1905 and the car was dispatched to Wolseley agent Sir HB Robertson of Corwen for his customer Lieutenant Colonel Frank Kane also of Corwen. The car had been part of the Patrick collection for around 30 years before being sold in 2012.
Of interest along the way
Prior to our arrival at Heveningham Hall my wife and I visited the beautifully medieval village of Lavenham in Suffolk. The village grew wealthy from the wool trade during Tudor times before being semi-abandoned when that trade died out. This means that the village is remarkably preserved. The building shown in the photograph is the guildhall of Corpus Christi, construction of which commenced around circa 1510.
Interior room, Lavenham. Whilst originally built as a religious meeting hall for wealth local Catholic wool merchants the Guildhall later became a Bridewell (Prison) a work house, a Pub and Chapel. During WWII the hall was used as a social/welcome club for the 487 Bombardment group (Heavy) of the 8th US Army air Force, who were based at station 137 Lavenham.
Attached to a wall just outside the Guildhall is this memorial to the 487 Bombardment Group (Heavy).
Just up the road from the Guildhall is the Swan Hotel. On one wall of the airman’s bar you will find hundreds of signatures of the airman and serviceman who drank in the bar and left their marks during WWII. On the wall opposite are the signatures of those airman who have since returned to the bar to relive their memories.
As far I can ascertain the boot in question is a beer glass shaped like a boot, and the boot record is the time taken to drink the boot full of ale.
Thank you for this marvelous report and exquisite images, as well as the stories of the buildings and life beyond the world of cars.
Thanks for the report and photos, indeed Suffolk is a county full of history and I would highly recommend anyone visiting England to go and explore. Less than two hours north-east from London, through Constable country around the Essex/Suffolk border and there are many old towns, villages and country houses worth seeking out.
At the risk of being a tad pedantic I would like to point out that the Talbot brand was not “dropped” by Rootes in 1937, rather it was merged with Sunbeam and the sporty Sunbeam-Talbot continued to sell well after WW2 until the Talbot name was finally deleted in 1955.
By this time of course it had nothing to do with the French Talbot company which was bought by Anthony Lago after the Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq combine was bought by Rootes in 1935.
After Chrysler Europe took over the Rootes Group, and then sold on the remaining brands to PSA Peugeot Citroën in 1978, the Talbot name was again revived and applied to some rather mediocre Simca designed models, although the Talbot Sunbeam did, like the Sunbeam Talbot of the 1950s achieve some rallying success.
I notice that at least two of the Ferraris have Joe Macari plates where the registration number should be, I wonder if this helps explain Mr Sharp’s observation that the Hunts managed to put on a fine display at short notice; maybe some of the high end dealers are happy to use the growing trend for upmarket ‘Concours’ as a free showroom to display their stock and get some free publicity?
Finally it is nice to see that modest Maserati 6C which can claim a very important place in racing history. It makes a welcome change to be reminded there is more to the Maserati racing story than just 250Fs and Birdcages, but can I suggest the Bois De Boulogne Grand Prix of September 1945 is a subject that deserves to be reported in full one day? I have been researching this myself recently as part of my ongoing fascination with the more obscure marginalia of French racing history.
Interested Pete?
This show, being new , well planned and wonderfully exhibited, is why the well informed car enthusiast should be there. Probably most people think Pebble Beach is the ultimate car show but a show like Heveningham makes Pebble look jaded. I know from 40 years of photographing Pebble. Regards, Steve Snyder, PhotoMedia
I had the the great pleasure of hosting the awards and evening reception and I can’t think of a better setting, stylish event that oozed prestige.