Concours of Elegance Hampton Court Palace, London: SplendidAutoweekMark VaughnThu, September 10, 2026 at 6:20 PM UTCAdd us on GoogleConcours of Elegance Hampton Court Palace—SplendidCharlieBPhotographyYou can't just throw around words like "splendid" nowadays, especially if you don't want to dilute the lexicon. But truly, the Concours of Elegance Hampton Court Palace London fit the definition.First, consider the grounds on which the Concours was held. Hampton Court Palace is a historic royal residence located on the Thames in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The palace was originally built in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, King Henry VIII's chief minister. When Wolsey fell from favor in 1529, as everybody in the King's cabinet did back then, Henry VIII took over the property and transformed it into one of his favorite and most lavish residences, according to the British website Historic Royal Palaces. In the 1690s, William and Mary hired architect Sir Christopher Wren to rebuild large parts of the palace in the Baroque style to rival the Palace of Versailles.CharlieBPhotographyIt was on these grounds that the Concours of Elegance was held.AdvertisementAdvertisementParked there were "80 of the world's rarest and most historically significant collector cars," according to organizers, "...more than a century of automotive excellence." Among those were a 1929 Mercedes-Benz SSK Roadster, 1937 Bugatti Type 57 Atalante, 1955 Aston Martin DB3S, and a 1963 Maserati 3500 Vignale Spyder, to name just four.In addition to those were representatives of England's best car clubs, which were recognized with the Club Trophy for the finest car presented by participating clubs.Bugatti Type 35CharlieBPhotographyAnd while Pebble Beach has Dawn Patrol, the Concours of Elegance has the Grand Arrival and Grand Depart, where attendees can see the cars come and go. There were also State Apartments tours, Fortnum & Mason Picnics available, and Champagne by Charles Heidsieck.It was all rather fancy.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Best of Show award went to a red 1928 Mercedes-Benz 710 SSK Rennwagen, or race car. The SSK stands for Super Sport Kurz, with kurz meaning the equivalent of "short wheelbase." According to concours organizers, the car was developed from Ferdinand Porsche's Model S chassis, with its wheelbase shortened from 3,400 mm (134 inches) to 2,950 mm (116 inches) to create a shorter, lighter, and more agile competition machine.The Best of Show 1928 Mercedes-Benz 710 SSK Rennwagen.CharlieBPhotographyIt was powered by Mercedes-Benz's massive 7,065-cc M06 straight-six, fitted with a mechanically engaged Roots-type supercharger producing approximately 250 bhp in racing form.The car was originally delivered to Argentina, where it was raced by Julio Berndt and his brother-in-law Carlos Zatuszek. The pair entered it in the 1929 500 Miles of Argentina, while Zatuszek subsequently competed in the Córdoba Grand Prix and Argentina's Herbstpreis. Remarkably, the Mercedes continued competing in South America until 1958.The SSK was restored by Reifen-Wagner in 1995-96 and returned to its early racing configuration.Front view of the SSKCharlieBPhotography"Despite an international competition history and appearances at major events, the SSK had never previously appeared at an event in the UK," concours organizers said. "Its arrival at Hampton Court Palace therefore represented a significant new chapter in its near-century-long history, and one crowned with the ultimate Concours of Elegance honour."AdvertisementAdvertisementYou can make quite a grand tour if you start planning now: Go to Pebble Beach in mid-August, then hit both the Concours of Elegance and Salon Privé in the UK, followed by Chantilly and the Goodwood Revival, all within a little over a month.See you there.
