Salon Privé · HICONIUM

The fixture

Blenheim Palace lends Salon Privé its stage: a garden-party concours in the grounds of a World Heritage estate, with hypercar debuts on the lawn beside pre-war coachwork classes.

It is Britain’s luxury-first fixture — smaller than Goodwood, quieter than Monterey, and deliberately so. The Chubb Insurance Best of Show ranks among Europe’s most respected awards.

The English autumn’s quality reading — small fields, high condition, clean data.

The HICONIUM lens

Dates: September 2–6, 2026
Venue: Blenheim Palace
Place: Woodstock, Oxfordshire (GB)
Type: Concours
Dated from: salonpriveconcours.com

salonpriveconcours.com

Results from this fixture feed the ledger — record sales, class wins and documented outings land in the affected cars’ files.

The origin

2006

Andrew and David Bagley founded Salon Privé at London’s Hurlingham Club in 2006, after research trips to Amelia Island, Monterey Week and the Villa d’Este Concorso d’Eleganza. David Bagley later said they aimed to combine a motor-show exhibition with a concours, an arrangement they considered absent in Britain. The event moved to Syon Park after five years and to Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, for its tenth edition in 2015.

How it runs

Five-day week: Salon Privé runs Wednesday to Sunday, 2–6 September 2026, at Blenheim Palace. The Concours by Aviva Private Clients is judged on the South Lawn on Wednesday and Thursday, which concludes with the awards parade. Friday is Ladies’ Day by Boodles; Saturday is Supercar and Club Trophy Day by Lockton; Sunday is Supercar and Lifestyle Clubs Day.
Professional jury: Salon Privé says it is the UK’s sole multi-marque concours judged by a professional jury of marque specialists. Class prizes are presented in Thursday’s awards parade; the two 2026 Best of Show trophies go to Concours d’Élégance for classics to 2000 and Concours d’Excellence for modern collector cars at the Gala Dinner.
Debuts and cavalcade: Manufacturers present new models beside the concours. The programme schedules supercar parades from Wednesday through Saturday, while Max Girardo presents Wednesday’s Concours Cavalcade. A Best of Show winner represents Salon Privé at the Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Awards; for 2026, organisers may select either winner.
Weekend club lawns: Saturday uses the North and South Lawns for the Lockton Club Trophy and displays of more than 1,500 privately owned sports, super and hypercars. Club Trophy judging is on the North Lawn; winning cars then go to the South Lawn for the afternoon parade. Sunday uses both lawns again for more than 1,000 cars and club displays.

On the record

2015
In its first Blenheim Palace edition, Kurt Engelhorn’s JD Classics-restored 1952 Jaguar XK120 ‘Jabbeke’ won Best of Show. The inaugural Pirelli Performance and Prestige Competition brought eleven Paganis, led by Horacio Pagani, to the Great Court.
2018
Bob Bishop’s unrestored 1933 Bugatti Type 55 Roadster, chassis 55234, won Best of Show at the Chubb Insurance Concours. Salon Privé was then invited to join the Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award as a partner concours.
2022
David and Ginny Sydorick’s 1956 Ferrari 250 GT TdF Berlinetta by Zagato, chassis 0515GT, won Best of Show in the Aviva-presented Concours. It was one of five long-wheelbase Ferrari 250 GT chassis designed by Zagato.
2024
American entrant Brian Ross’s 1957 Ferrari 335 S, chassis 0674, won Best of Show. The car raced for Scuderia Ferrari in 1957, then passed to Luigi Chinetti and later Pierre Bardinon; Lord Bamford’s 1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II finished second.
2025
The Auriga Collection’s 1936 Mercedes-Benz 500 K Spezial Roadster by Sindelfingen, chassis 123763, won Best of Show after being absent from public view since its 1997 Pebble Beach class win. Anne Brockinton Lee’s 1956 Ferrari 410 Superamerica “Super Fast” Prototype won People’s Choice.

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