Lockton is incredibly proud to continue its long-term partnership with Salon Privé, one of the most renowned events in the global automotive calendar. With a genuine passion for the motoring industry, Lockton Performance has been closely involved with Salon Privé since its inception 19 years ago. This year was no different, as Blenheim Palace hosted some of the world's most exclusive cars.
A breakdown of a week at Salon Privé
Salon Privé kicked off with Tour Privé. A group of around 40 cars left Blenheim – everything from a vintage Rolls Royce to a brand-new Aston Martin Vantage, loaned for the day. The convoy travelled through the Cotswolds before stopping for lunch at Waddesdon.
Next stop was Oxford Airport and Motoravia – a new concept designed as a VIP party to launch the concours and blending rows of special cars, quality food, luxury goods and business jets. We were joined by those who took part in the hypercar tour, meaning that the likes of the Aston Martin Valkyrie was sat next to a genuine Ferrari GTO.
The next three sun-soaked days saw our partner car clubs join for a day of networking. For the concours' close, almost 100 guests were entertained, with the Ferrari 335S taking deserved Best of Show honours.
Saturday: the biggest Club Trophy day yet
On Saturday, the Lockton team geared up for the biggest Club Trophy day yet. The North Lawn hosted a second display with vehicles from most of the 26 clubs in attendance. Undoubted star of the display was the GMA T.50, wowing visitors with its design details and bespoke Cosworth V12 engine.
Back on the South Lawn, judging for the Club Trophy was underway. This year, the judging was changed to reflect the effort made by those entering cars. Renowned Ferrari restorer Ian Barkaway headed our guest judging team, together with his son Ben, an ICJAG judge, 2023 winner Phil Kenworthy, AMOC concours judge Nic Barrow, and our very own YouTuber Petrol Ped with some excellent commentary on some of the cars.
We thank them all for their efforts and clearly the entrants made their job harder than ever as, for the first time, we had joint winners – the Aston Martin DB6 and menacing Noble M600 shared centre stage – representing the classic and modern genres.
Extended thanks for the best Salon Privé yet
Given the success of the event, we must firstly thank His Grace, the Duke of Marlborough, for his hospitality throughout the week. Also, to our clients who generously loaned us our three display stars this year as we celebrated Aston Martin – the DB5 Shooting Brake by Radford, Vantage Zagato Shooting Brake, and the Vulcan. We would also like to thank David and Andrew Bagley for raising the bar for European concours d 'elegance once again.
Lastly, to our team: our immediate associates who worked hard throughout the weekend, to our marketing colleagues, both internal and external, for their hard work behind the scenes and for some truly superb video content produced at the event.
We're already working out how we can improve for 2025 and we look forward to seeing you there.
Enjoy the highlights for 2024
