2019 Sydney harbour Concours d’Elegance
Words: Mike Ryan
Photos: Matt Hart
This past March, some of the world’s finest historic, classic and contemporary vehicles were presented at one of Sydney’s premier historic properties when the first ‘Sydney Harbour Concours d’Elegance’ was held at Lindesay on Sydney Harbour.
Powered by Ferrari, and with the support of the InterContinental Hotel Double Bay, Perrier Jouët Champagne, Martell Cognac, Bentley Motors, St Hugo Wines, D’Marge, and the Royal Automobile Club of Australia, the inaugural Sydney Harbour Concours d’Elegance was an exclusive, invitation-only event, created by international concours judge James Nicholls in the vein of similar prestige automobile gatherings in the USA, UK and Europe.
For an event with the ‘Haute-Automobilisme’ tag, Lindesay proved to be an ideal setting. The National Trust property is in a prime waterfront location on Darling Point, with beautifully presented grounds, an intimate feel and a history going back even further than the oldest automobile on display. The focus wasn’t entirely on Lindesay, though.
Special Evenings
The three-day Sydney Harbour Concours d’Elegance officially started with a special preview for media and concours entrants on 7 March, but the event really got underway at the InterContinental Hotel Double Bay the following evening, where a black-tie dinner saw 130 invited guests indulge in a Perrier Jouët Champagne Degustation, surrounded by a decadent indoor forest of 3.5 metre trees, with ambient LED lighting and DJ-produced forest sounds adding to the spectacle.
Special guest for the concours, David Brabham, conducted a Q & A session sharing stories and memories of his famous motor racing family, while also fielding questions about his new, headline-grabbing BT62 supercar which was amongst the display vehicles.
On the evening of 9 March, the palatial headquarters of the Royal Automobile Club of Australia in the Sydney CBD saw the Inaugural Trophy Gala held, where the Concours award recipients were celebrated and Brabham was announced as the event’s future patron.
Superb Days
As good as the evenings were, for many, the days were even better, where perfect Sydney summer weather allowed guests to pore over cars that included some of the finest of their breed, others with storied Australian or international histories, as well as automobiles rarely seen.
Enhancing the garden party atmosphere of the concours was an English-style High Tea luncheon each day and fountains overflowing with flowers.
Rarities amongst the haute-automobilisme included a 1971 Monteverdi 375L Highspeed, 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400, 1991 Ferrari F40 and a ’65 Jaguar E-Type enhanced by marque specialists Eagle.
Other highlights included the only McLaren F1 in Australia and the very first Bentley – a 1923 3-Litre, to be precise – to run at the first Le Mans 24 Hour Race.
While a 1904 De Dion Bouton was the oldest car entered, post-war automobiles dominated the concours field, with highlights including a 1965 Bentley continental S3 Flying Spur, Jaguar XK120 and XK150S DHC, 1968 Lancia Fulvia 1.3S Zagato and a 1962 Aston Martin DB4 Vantage.
Speaking of modern, the ‘Jocko’ Johnson streamliner looked like something out of the future, but was originally built in the late 1950s, with its creator a protégé of none other than kustom king George Barris.
While the focus of the concours was on the elite and the exclusive, there was room amongst the vehicles on show at Lindesay for more humble fare, including a 1964 Morris Cooper S and ’66 Mini Moke, celebrating 60 years of the iconic Mini.
On two wheels, some of the most significant motorcycles of the past century were represented by a 1951 Vincent Black Shadow and a 1959 Manx Norton.
Pointing to the future, one of the most popular vehicles on show was the newly-created Brabham BT62. The product of an Anglo-Australian effort led by David Brabham, the BT62 will be limited to just 70 units, but since its unveiling last year, a roadgoing version and endurance racing, including to the Le Mans 24 Hour, has been added to the car’s future programme. Some indication of the BT62’s potential can be gauged from the fact it recorded the fastest ever lap around Mount Panorama at Bathurst earlier this year.
At Lindesay, Brabham spent more time engaging with invited guests about the BT62 and came away from the concours both impressed by its debut and honoured to be its patron.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the celebration of fantastic motor cars and bikes at Lindesay,” the 2009 Le Mans winner said. “I believe in the vision that the team behind the Sydney Harbour Concours d’Elegance have, and I’m thrilled to be partnering with them to bring the next iteration of this event to life in 2020.”
Ferrari Special
The Ferrari connection for this event was an important one, seeing classics like a 1960 250 GT PF and ’63 250 GTE on show, but also allowing the presentation of a true rarity from the stable of the Prancing Horse in the form of the ‘Monza SP1’
As previously reported in JUST CARS, the Monza SP1 debuted last year, created alongside an SP2 companion under Ferrari’s ‘Icona’ programme.
Inspired by “legendary sports cars” in the company’s back catalogue, the SP1 and SP2 are being built in limited numbers, with each unit believed to carry a price tag in excess of $2 million.
As the ‘driver-only’ version of the two retro-styled creations, the SP1 uses the same running gear as the 812 Superfast, but pushes performance to just shy of 600kW and 720Nm, making it the most powerful roadgoing engine Ferrari’s ever built.
Flown out from Maranello especially for the Sydney Harbour Concours d’Elegance, the SP1 had pride of place, with its own display plinth and an appreciative audience all weekend.
British Best
In what was unquestionably a premier field of blue riband automobiles, picking a Best in Show winner was always going to be tough, but after no small amount of deliberation, the judging panel decided on a 1962 Aston Martin DB4 Vantage. A press car from the Aston works, the immaculate DB4 Vantage beat out the aforementioned Ferraris and other exotica, while the People’s Choice and Women’s Choice awards both went to the same car – a 1972 Ferrari Dino 246GTS.
A Stunning Debut
At the conclusion of the first Sydney Harbour Concours d’Elegance, event founder and director Nicholls was both satisfied with its outcome and confident for its future.
“Without question, the inaugural Sydney Harbour Concours d’Elegance was a success,” Nicholls enthused. “On the grounds of the stunning Lindesay, we were graced with a group of world class vehicles, and I am delighted that through this, we were able to introduce Australians to Concours culture and some of the country’s most magnificent motor cars and bikes.”
The date for the next Sydney Harbour Concours d’Elegance has been set for March, 2020. You can keep up to date on developments with the event website – sydneyharbourconcours.com
