Automotive Jewels from the 1960s to Dazzle at Hampton Court Palace Later This Month
The Concours of Elegance is delighted to announce that this year’s show will feature an extraordinary display of ultra-rare sports cars from the 1960s – cars that combined achingly beautiful styling with supreme performance. These machines, all drawn from the world’s leading private collections, will go on show later this month, from the 30th of August to the 1st to September in the glorious grounds of Hampton Court Palace in west London as part of a display of over 60 of the rarest and most significant motor cars.
1962 Ferrari 250GT SWB Aerodinamico
The world-class concours field will feature this very special Ferrari at its centre. The Ferrari 250GT SWB Aerodinamico was a custom order – one of four Aerodinamicas built on the sporting 250 GT SWB chassis in the early 1960s. It featured a hand built Pininfarina body, with advanced aerodynamics and a super sleek profile – in fact, its design influence can be traced through to the hallowed GTO. The Aerodinamico delivered exceptional luxury in a lightweight two-seater body. Powered by a 3.0L Colombo V12 engine, it had a top speed of in 170mph+ thanks to its slippery shape.
Originally ordered by Ferdinando Gatta, the Torino Lancia concessionaire and son-in-law of Adele Lancia, chassis 3615 GT was repainted by Pininfarina in the striking Grigio Marrone Italver paint, before it was delivered to Gatta. Since then, the car spent a number of years in the United States, before being brought back to Europe more recently, when it was treated to a complete restoration. During this process it was repainted in its original ‘Marrone’ metallic bronze paint. This breathtakingly beautiful, one-off Ferrari – perhaps the most exclusive Ferrari ever to be designed by Pininfarina – is ready to dazzle on British soil at Hampton Court Palace.
1962 Ferrari 250GT SWB Berlinetta
The show will also feature the Ferrari 250GT SWB that acted as the basis for the Aerodinamico, in its original form: the highly-strung, lightweight Berlinetta. This example that will be on display, chassis number 3695GT, was originally sold in July of 1962 by Garage La Rotonda in Florence. Also powered by the venerable 3.0-litre Colombo V12, the lightweight SWB was designed with competition in mind. While most were used on track – this example had a wilder existence than most, competing in the final, and ultimately fastest, edition of the ‘Cannonball Run’ in 1979, racing across the United States, finishing with a time of just 40 hours and 11 minutes. When pulled over by the police at one point, the SWB’s owners managed to talk their way out of arrest, bribing the police with home-baked cookies. In more recent years this car has benefitted from a near two-year restoration, which was completed in March 2023. Now Classiche certified, it is an exceptional example of this most iconic Ferrari.
1961 Ferrari 250GT SWB Comp SEFAC Hot Rod
Another highlight from the show later this month will be the 1961 Ferrari 250GT SWB Comp ‘SEFAC Hot Rod’. This model was an evolved, competition iteration of the 250GT SWB, equipped with a highly-tuned version of the Colombo 3.0L V12 engine, delivering 280bhp horsepower and featuring numerous weight-saving modifications. The SEFAC Hot Rod was developed for the Scuderia Ferrari (SEFAC) racing team and achieved significant success in endurance racing. Its combination of power and lightweight construction made it one of the most formidable Ferraris of its era, and it was raced by numerous great drivers including Sir Stirling Moss. With only 20 cars originally produced, these highly-tuned Ferraris are understandably coveted by collectors the world over.
1965 Lamborghini 350 GT
The 350 GT stands out as a seminal motor car: it was the first ever Lamborghini production car, and the machine with which the marque would take on the established sports car order including the Aston Martin DB5, Jaguar E-type and of course, Ferrari, with its 330GT. Unveiled at Geneva in 1964, the 350 GT featured a design that was both bold and elegant, setting the mould for future Lamborghini models and showcasing the brand’s pioneering spirit. It offered a compelling cocktail of ingredients: a 3.5 litre V12 engine designed by Giotto Bizzarrini, a chassis by Giampaolo Dallara and curvaceous Superleggera bodywork styled by Touring. With 280 horsepower, a top speed of 158 mph and independent suspension all-round, the 350 GT marked Lamborghini’s impressive debut in the high-performance car market. The example that will be on display at Hampton Court is an earlier, more desirable car, one of 50 or so bodied by Carrozzeria Touring, featuring lightweight aluminium bodywork, rather than the steel of the later cars.
1960 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato
As if Aston Martin’s DB4GT wasn’t already beautiful, Italian styling house Zagato took it to another level – creating one of the most coveted classics of all, and the ‘holy grail’ for Aston Martin aficionados.
Zagato designer Ercole Spada revised the DB4, making it smaller, sleeker and more aerodynamic, while also shedding more than 100lbs in weight. Various steel components were swapped for lightweight aluminium ones, the windows were replaced with Perspex versions, and anything deemed non-essential, such as the bumpers, was dispensed with.
Meanwhile, increasing the compression ratio on the Aston’s 3,670cc double-overhead-cam straight-six engine upped power to 314bhp. On the road, Zagato’s attentions saw the car able to accelerate to 60mph from a standstill in just 6.1 seconds, and charge on to a top speed of 154mph. Only 19 cars were built in period, so this show will offer a rare opportunity to pore over one of the most desirable British cars ever made.