It was such a pleasure to play a prominent part in this year’s Salon Privé at Blenheim Palace, a top-tier event we’re proud to have supported for several years now. Once again, Max acted as Master of Ceremonies for both the Concours d’Elegance and Thursday evening’s parade through the nearby town of Woodstock.

Beyond the commentary duties, we were honoured to support two of our clients as they showed two of their very special ex-Works competition cars: the 1957 Ferrari 335 Sport and the 1975 Lancia Stratos HF Group IV.

When the owner of the Ferrari informed us he was planning to show the car at this year’s Salon Privé, we were only too pleased to lend him a helping hand, beginning with a place for the pride of his collection to stay on its English adventure.

Stirling Moss. Wolfgang von Trips. Mike Hawthorn. Piero Taruffi. Luigi Musso. They’re motorsport gladiators who all raced chassis number 0674. And with marked success. Von Trips actually finished second overall in the 1957 Mille Miglia driving this very car – the race immortalised in Michael Mann’s Ferrari last year.

Fun fact: this Ferrari was the first car to lap Le Mans at an average speed above 200kph. We suspect the pace was a somewhat more sedate on the roads of Oxfordshire during the preview  Salon Privé Tour d’Elegance.

We’re privileged to encounter many great Prancing Horses, but this car made a particularly strong impression. And the judges clearly agreed, for the 335 Sport was awarded ‘Best of Show’ in the prestigious Concours d’Elegance. We couldn’t be happier for the owner, who relished every moment of this wonderful event, from negotiating terrifyingly narrow country lanes on the tour to regaling the detail-obsessed judges with the car’s extraordinary history.

Elsewhere, a last-minute absence from a client meant Peter was tasked with presenting this fabulous Works Lancia Stratos HF Group IV to the judges at Blenheim Palace. 

It’s no secret that we’re fond of Lancia’s rally thoroughbreds of old and this Stratos is a particularly special car.

Chassis number  1637 is one of just 25 proper Works-built cars, which served as a factory test mule for the 1975 Safari Rally in Kenya. While the Stratos’ asphalt credentials were clear for the world to see, the wedge-shaped coupé was, until this point, unproven on grizzly terrain that characterised rallies like Safari.

During its African testing duties, this car was driven predominantly by ‘Il Drago’, the 1977 world champion Sandro Munari, and pioneered a number of essential modifications including structural bull-bars, a sand-proof air-filter system and the ‘Safari Setup’ long-travel suspension.

Sure enough, in the scorching Safari Rally proper in 1975, the Works Stratos’ of Munari and Björn Waldegård finished second and third, respectively. For those hard-fought sips of champagne, they owe this Lancia a debt of gratitude.

It’s fair to say the temperature was a little lower and the going was a touch easier on the lawn outside Blenheim Palace – though admittedly Peter did raise a glass of fizz in chassis 1637’s honour. Cin cin!

At Girardo & Co. we couldn’t be prouder to have exhibited at Concours of Elegance for the very first time. We strive to operate at the highest possible level in everything we do, from the quality of the historic road and competition cars we offer to the expert advice we are always happy to impart to our global network of clients.

That’s why Concours of Elegance is such a good fit – the UK’s highest-quality collector-car event, held at the most jaw-dropping of royal venues and attracting the very best collectors from around the world. We trust you were not disappointed with the three incredibly special machines with which we made the short trip from South Oxfordshire to Hampton Court Palace last weekend.

For our first Concours of Elegance as exhibitors we wanted to bring three cars that embody the breadth of machinery we’re privileged to encounter here at Girardo & Co., from historic competition cars to modern-day hypercars.

First up there was the 1972 Ferrari 365 GTC/4, a beautiful Rosso Nearco example of the underrated Prancing Horse, that’s had just four owners from new, the third of whom cherished it for 33 years. Next there was the UK road-registered 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder, one of just two finished in PTS Grand Prix White and showing a mere 1,565 miles on the odometer.

Last but not least there was the 1994 Ferrari F333 SP, a thoroughbred sports-racing prototype that’s won the 12 Hours of Sebring outright not once but twice. The car also happens to be certified by Ferrari Classiche.

After his ‘Best of Show’ win at Salon Privé, the owner of the aforementioned Ferrari 335 Sport sought to make it two out of two at Hampton Court Palace, where he showed his exceptional 1959 Ferrari 196 S Dino – one of only two Fantuzzi-bodied examples remaining, which was raced in period for the Works by the Mexican brothers Pedro and Ricardo Rodríguez (among a raft of other great names). We were, once again, only too happy to support him in showing the car, which garnered so much admiration over the course of the weekend. The second-in-class award was the perfect high on which to end what was an unforgettable week of events in the United Kingdom. Until Chantilly! 

Photos: Freddie Atkins / Charlie Brenninkmeijer / Tom Shaxson / Jonny Lau