Sydney Concours D'Elegance 2019
Last year I was lucky enough to be invited as a VIP guest to the Concours D’Elegance Sydney by Sam Movizio, which was held at the William Inglis Hotel in Warwick Farm on a beautiful sunny November day. The event itself is a spectacle which ranks amongst the top 20 of its kind worldwide, so it is no surprise that the automobiles on show were going to be of the highest calibre possible.
Supercar owners and collectors were urged to bring along their automotive art to have on display for those in attendance to be awe-inspired by. Classic car owners and members of car clubs were also called upon to join the display with their pride, joy and important piece of automotive history.
As much as this event was a celebration of automobile excellence of past and present it also had a point of difference showcasing the importance of style, fashion and elegance, making the day about more than just an automotive experience.
On arrival I was greeted by a live band playing music while others were having drinks and/or lunch. As my ears could hear the live music, my eyes couldn’t look away from some of the best kept and rarest cars in the country that were just ahead of me, alongside the very stylish horse stables.
The William Inglis Hotel is a celebration of “racing history and the thoroughbred industry” (David Criss - General Manager), once a motor racing circuit and now full of equine culture, but still celebrates both, which this day for me was proof that the Warwick Farm’s motor racing heritage has not been forgotten.
The cars on display for the day were very select and only their by personal invitation, cars such as; a 1904 Ford Model F, Lancia Delta Integrale, Lamborghini Jalpa, Diablo VT and Adventador SV, Jaguar E-Type’s along with an array of Bentley’s, Rolls Royce’s, Aston Martin's, Mercedes’, Maserati’s, BMW’s and Porsche's both rear engined and transaxle examples of course just to name a few.
On the other side of the stables there could be found a lot of old race cars, such as a Bathurst used Dodge Charger in its Hardie Ferodo 500 livery, A proper track setup Austin Healey and some very cool open wheeled Elfin and Hustler race cars.
After briefly viewing all the cars on show, it was time for lunch which was apart of my VIP guest experience. Lunch was brilliant with a duck entree, salmon main and cheesecake dessert. While the desserts were being served up we were all treated to a Q&A with three well known former Australian racing drivers; Kevin Bartlett, Spencer Martin and Sue Ransom being interviewed by David Berthon. It was this part of the day where I certainly listened intently and in doing so learnt a lot of new things.
For one, did you know that Australian mogul Kerry Packer once owned a Third Reich car from World War II? and not only that, it also turned out to have been owned by Adolf Eichmann who is known for being one of the major organisers of the Holocaust over in Germany and Austria. If you’re mind isn’t yet blown, this car more recently sold for $10.75 Million USD over in the United States at auction, showing how infamy still and probably always will maintain a high value.
Kerry Packer also in the 1970s had himself built a custom Jaguar E-Type with a twin-turbo’d version of the V12 it came with, this modified example boasted 840bhp and this is in the 1970s! absolute insanity! to show you how small this world really is, I was sitting next to the man responsible for the build during the entire lunch, he has many E-Type’s himself with a black convertible on display hiding a stroked out 7.0L V12 under the hood (picture earlier in the article). It’s also worth noting that he also told me he was very much involved in preparing the 1985 Jaguar XJS’ for the Bathurst 1000 that they won that year.
Moving on with the Q&A there was a lot of nostalgia to be shared from the 1960s, 70s and 80s Australian motor racing era. Tracks mentioned and discussed were the old Warwick Farm Raceway (closed in 1973) Catalina Park (closed in 1970) and the still very much utilised and well known tracks of Mount Panorama in Bathurst and Sandown Raceway down in Victoria, the drivers each had many stories about sliding sideways on corner exits and just having the time of their lives on each of these renowned circuits. Spencer Martin told a story about the 1979 Bathurst 1000, he was asked to drive a “242” and thinking that was some kind of Nissan he said yes. On the day the shipment was revealed to be a duo of Volvo 242’s to his surprise, each car stilling having A/C, a radio and was also running on radial tyres. Not to anyones surprise there wasn’t a victory that year.
Back on to the show itself, their were over 50 Million dollars worth of cars on display and they were all classed separately according to make and year model and awards were given to the best of each category, my Father placing second in the German Sports Car class with his 1989 Porsche 944 S2, placing closely behind Paul Muras with his equally immaculate 1989 Porsche 928 S4. The main prize of the day however was the ‘Best of Show” which this year went to a stunning 1972 Maserati Bora owned by Greg Gialouris. To win such a prize is an amazing feat after seeing the competition for this year, just some of the most sort after and spectacular automobiles to ever place a set of wheels on Australian soil.
For the few hours I was at the event I saw many incredible cars I’d never seen before and the ones I had been lucky enough to see before, I’d never seen in such pristine condition.
For anyone who wants a one of kind automotive experience here in Sydney, I recommend you check out the spectacle for yourself here in 2020. It is a niche event that favours quality over quantity and for that the exclusivity is at an all time high, so you’ll only be seeing the best automobiles and nothing but the best with the atmosphere being enhanced by the live music, equine scenery and gourmet foods.
This years Concours D’Elegance Sydney was one with an incomparable atmosphere. To be in attendance was to be apart of a one of a kind experience, a celebration of all that is automobile excellence.
