The 1978 Ferrari 308 GTS owned by Ian Barkaway won the Lockton Club Trophy at this year's Salon Privé. Ian runs a well-regarded restoration business and the 308 has been his personal project for several years, often working on the car once work on customers' project has finished.
It's also one of the highest-level restorations seen on the iconic “baby” Ferrari of the 70s and 80s, with almost 3,500 hours of labour (and love) expended. Ian kindly displayed the car outside our pavilion on Sunday and the level of interest was incredible.
For the award, each club attending selects vehicles for entry. These are judged by the judges representing the car club and the manufacturer during the morning and compete for the Chairman and Manufacturer trophies in each club. The two winning cars are then put forward for the overall Club Trophy, which is judged during Saturday afternoon.
The final judging panel includes some of our team. It's a task we genuinely enjoy, although the entrants always manage to make it a tough job due to the sheer quality of their cars. Lockton has been involved with Salon Privé since their first event sixteen years ago and as gold sponsor since 2020.
Last year's Lockton Club Trophy winner – the beautiful 1953 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith, was also on display again this year. We extend our sincere thanks to Steven and Mia.
Lockton were delighted to also present the Shurlock Collection for the first three days, this comprises the five Ferrari “F-Cars”, ranging from 288 GTO to La Ferrari, showcasing the best in Ferrari road car technology and performance across a thirty-year span.
The collection was very well received by everyone who visited the Lockton Drivers' Lounge and fitted perfectly with the central theme of the event, which celebrated Ferrari's 75th anniversary.
Our lounge was once again located directly adjacent to the main stage, giving guests some of the best seats in the house from which to see the action unfold. We entertained almost 120 guests across the first three days. This included clients, car club officials from our partner clubs and introducers from a wide range of sectors. We were also joined by colleagues and their guests from other parts of Lockton, including our real estate and global professional risks divisions.
Our guests were able to marvel at the sheer quality of cars on display – Ferrari's birthday being ably celebrated with not only a 250 GTO, but a 275 NART Spyder, 330 P4 and 250 GT SWB. The very first Ferrari was also on display – the 1947 125 S. This was shown by Ferrari next to their latest offering, the hybrid 296GTS.
It's testament to how well-regarded Salon Privé is amongst the world's car collectors that the lawns this year were again visited by numerous Concours winners from both Pebble Beach and Villa D'Este, with all classes fiercely fought and the stunning 1956 Ferrari 250 Gt TdF Berlinetta by Zagato eventually lifting the coveted Best of Show trophy for its owners David and Ginny Sydorick, who were woken in California on Friday to be told the good news.
More of the world's best motor cars, manufacturer launches, and luxury assets were showcased with the stunning backdrop of the Blenheim palace and grounds and our guests were treated to live music and fine food and drink throughout the first part of the event.
As ever, Salon Privé celebrated the motor car from its beginnings through to the very latest sports, luxury, super and hypercars. You could find almost any special car you could think of – and a few that you may not have come across before.
The centrepiece to this year's display was the Platinum Collection. Designed to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen's jubilee, the assembled cars were all presented in paint shades resembling the precious metal and included a pair of McLaren F1s, Porsche 959, Jaguar E Types and a stunning one-off Ferrari Testarossa convertible made for Gianni Agnelli.
Manufacturer launches included Rolls Royce's Ghost Zenith, the Superformance Roush Shelby Cobra, Hennessey's Venom F5 Roadster and the frankly insane Engler Desat Superquad.
Sunday marked the final day of Salon Privé 2022 and it saw the multi marque car clubs arrive, with over 750 sports and classic cars of almost every type, colour and noise arriving at the palace.
Lockton hosted SCC Private Members' Club in our pavilion. Lockton is the exclusive insurance broker to their members, and we entertained almost 150 car enthusiasts, having travelled in convoy to Blenheim in what is now fast becoming their renowned colour coded formation. Their paddock on the north lawn of the palace resembled a rainbow of sports and super cars.
Hosting Brad, his team and members was a fantastic way to finish this year's Salon Privé.
Lockton would like to thank our guests, team and David & Andrew Bagley and the Salon Privé team for putting on another great event, raising the bar once again and reinforcing that this is the UK's premier Concours D'Elegance and luxury asset and lifestyle showcase.
We also extend our thanks to His Grace, the 12th Duke of Marlborough for his hospitality.
Lockton will return to Blenheim in 2023 and plans are already underway to take our display to the next level. Watch this space!