Concours Categories
Our Concours d’Elegance is a competitive celebration of the finest automobiles in fascinating and contrasting classes, with an additional section exclusively for motorcycles. A panel of expert judges will select winners in each category, as well as a Best-in-Show award – and everyone will be invited to vote for a People’s Choice.
Grand Tourers: There and Back
Travelling at speed across continents in style and comfort is the definition of a Grand Touring or GT car, an experience made more thrilling by the sense of exclusivity, power and faint hint of danger such a vehicle imparts. Packing all that into a single car has been a challenge since the 1930s, and became a bygone pleasure once motorways criss-crossed the western world. This class showcases the great GT cars from the late 1930s into the 1960s.
Riviera: Great Rays of Sunshine
A sparkling sea, a sun-dappled road and all the time in the world… Welcome to the Riviera, the playground of the rich, where to travel by car means open-top cruising. To see and be seen are the primary requirements; that and a car whose elegance and beauty reflects the world around it. But there’s a lighter element too, on those lazy days somewhere between Nice and Monte Carlo.
Mille Miglia: 1000 Miles on the Clock
Considered to be the greatest race on public roads the world has ever known, the Mille Miglia followed a figure-of-eight course from Brescia to Rome and back, a distance of 1000 Roman miles. The original race was run for 30 years from 1927 to ’57, but it was revived in 1977. The Club’s tribute to this gruelling marathon is for genuine cars that have tackled the whole course across the two eras, and we expect every one on display to have a few tales to tell, expressed through its appearance, provenance, and perhaps the odd genuine battle scar.
Coachbuilder’s Art: Handmade Perfection
This class is for impressive one-off cars from the 1920s to the 1950s, all sharing a crucial similarity: the gleaming coachwork was painstakingly crafted and finished – by hand – for individuals. A separate chassis is a must, therefore, and the coachbuilt body will be a wonderful expression of the artisan’s work.
Limousines: The ‘Being Driven’ Big Beasts
Home James! Well, in this case home will be Woodcote Park with a stretch as we celebrate the luxury limo, a class of sumptuous and impressive cars far surpassing the accepted definition of the term and once characterised by cars including the Mercedes 600, considered by many experts to be the greatest luxury limo ever made, and the Citroën SM Landaulet. We are hoping to have red-carpet specials from marques such as Rolls-Royce, Daimler, Mercedes-Benz… and a few surprises.
Brighton: RM Sotheby’s London to Brighton Veteran Cars
For 128 years the world’s veteran cars have converged each November for the annual pilgrimage from the capital to the coast. This class will celebrate the very best of them in, just for a change, a wonderful summer setting, but they’ll all be in working order and rude health. Revel in the very beginnings of motoring in all its glory: these cars are older than the Woodcote Park clubhouse itself!
Looks a Pillion Dollars: The Club’s Most Beautiful Motorbikes
The Club has some discerning motorbike aficionados, with many wonderful collections, and a very large number of ‘old faithfuls’. In this class, we are looking for the cream of this diverse in-house crop. They will be any age or size of machines – British, European, Japanese or American – and we are chasing that elusive X-factor. All they need are two wheels, an engine, a saddle and the promise of the open road. Treasured Club members’ motorbikes will assemble, creating a vibrant display spanning over 100 years.