In it’s 2nd edition only, the Chantilly Arts & Elegance succeeded in gaining 35% more visitors compared to last year at the inaugural edition. 13.500 visitors came and admired the approximately 850 cars present. I guess many events are quite jealous when they see those figures. And figures become even more impressive when you know that the competition was strong with no less than 2 comparable events in the United Kingdom.
The jury honors the greatest of The Most Beautiful Cars in the World in each of the class and then elects ‘The Best of Show’. The different classes were :
The Untouched Open Cars from the Interwar Period
• The Untouched Closed Cars from the Interwar Period
• Tribute to Bugatti: the Racing cars
• The Iconoclastic Interiors
• The Famous Ladies’ Cars
• European Chassis & American Engine (Open Cars)
• European Chassis & American Engine (Closed Cars)
• Open Grand Touring cars: From the city to the track
• Closed Grand Touring cars: From the city to the track from 1948 to 1956
• Closed Grand Touring cars: From the city to the track from 1957 to 1973
• Formula One Grand Prix Cars from 1966 to 1972
Dozens of amazing cars entered, but ofcourse our eyes were attracted by the 3 Zuffenhausen origined cars : a rare Porsche 356 Carrera 2 and a stunning 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS , both in the “ Closed Grand Touring cars: From the city to the track from 1957 to 1973” class. In the “ Open Grand Touring cars: From the city to the track” we noticed a beautiful 1958 Porsche 356 Speedster.
Unforunately none of these 3 cars could convince the jury to declare them the winner, but seen the competition that’s no offense to these cars at all, on the contrary.
While these were the top-end cars of the show, next to the Concours d’Elegance ofcourse that had a selection of the latest concept cars like the ALPINE Celebration – 2015 , the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R – 2015 or the McLAREN 570S by McLaren Special Operations – 2015, the crowd enjoyed the hundreds of cars at the club parkings.
Many of the visitors were dressed period-style, sometimes making one feel as if he stepped back in time. Ok, this may be a little bit ‘Goodwood Revival’-ish but it is always a great addition to the atmosphere, so no hard feelings about that.
Among the clubs, the Porsche 356 Club of France had a strong delegation at the event, pleasing the Porsche aficionados as ourselves. Walking between the dozens of cars just made the audience smile… and looking for the 2016 edition.
Text : Tim Havermans
Pictures : Wilfried Geerts & Ronny Demeulenaere
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