Written by Rosemarijn Atalante Veenenbos
You probably know that petrol heads can talk for hours… I became just the same in less than a year. Today the final part of my Interclassics adventure. I hope my reports made you enjoy the event, especially if you weren’t there. Or that you can now look back at this event to remember what made it so nice.
I was sad to leave without completing my to-do-list, but at 8.00 pm it was time to close the doors for the crowds. Of course we left a bit later as it was too cosy at the stand of LMB… Adventurer, world traveller, Bentley driver, Bugattist, and so on… Kjeld Jessen told me all about the Barnato family history, and the Blue Train story. As you know, I recently wrote about this on CHB. There are however some corrections that should be made following Kjeld’s explanations, but that’s not to be ashamed of. This was quite a blooper, talking to a Bentley connoisseur, but luckily Kjeld is a most charming man. Everybody who knows him will confirm. Click here to see this great Danish/Dutch personality. What I learned from Kjeld is that the Barnato story has so many versions that it is hard to tell which is the correct one. Only ghosts can tell us perhaps, or the sea…
To come back to the LMB stand, this was a great place, showing a 1927 Excelsior Albert I, only one of two still existent (rewarded as best prewar car of Interclassics), a 1934 Lagonda 3 Litre, a Jaguar E-Type engine block, and best of all, which you can see in the vid above… The 1925 electrically driven Briggs and Stratton Flyer. Ettore Bugatti and Leopold III loved to drive one and so does Kjeld. In the middle of the LMB stand there was a huge Special, based on a Lagonda LG6 from 1938. This striking beast had become quite famous already, because it is on the cover of the ICONS of Elegance magazine. It is a tough car to drive, and can bring you easily to 220+ km/h plus a 0-100 in 4 seconds! As an adrenalin junkie, I put a ride in this car on my bucket-list. Soon more about LMB, the new home of my CGS ‘Amillion’. I have a little quiz for you as well, try to find two things on the Excelsior Albert I that are very remarkable…
The neighbor of LMB was the prestigious Concours d’Elégance Paleis het Loo. As you might know, every edition of the concours they make a poster featuring the last Best of Show winner. The poster for the upcoming concours is capturing the absolutely magnificent 1929 Hispano-Suiza H6B with Hibbard et Darrin Cabriolet de Ville coachwork that won Best of Show in 2014. Proud owner Hans Hulsbergen won awards with this amazing automobile at the most prestigious concours, among which Pebble Beach, and the car also participated in the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. This Hispano is very special to me. In my opinion it is so beautiful that there are no words to describe it.
For a short commercial break… Hans, who lives Switzerland, has a famous vineyard in the beautiful Chianti region in Tuscany, where his top class wines, Villa Trasqua, come from. They have received top awards worldwide. This wine was also served on the stand of the luxurious brand Top-Shops Holland and TopMobiel. The well attended party was hosted by Danielle and Jack Braam Ruben and Philippe Mulders of Fine Automobiles. That’s where the square meters with probably the most people on it were, not to forget the great Bugatti T57 Ventoux and the BMW 3.0 CSL Heidegger Group 2, which are for sale next to some other fine Bugs. At the opening night of the Top-Shops/Topmobiel stand, the owner, Jack Braam Ruben and assistant Philippe Mulders brought the show girl singer to the stage in this special BMW 3.0 CSL. Shortly back to the Concours d’Elégance stand, I finally met Bas Jansen there. He he does truly amazing work. Please check his site by clicking here.
Since it was the party hall I was now in, the party BMW was here too. BMW was celebrating their 100th anniversary by displaying several of their iconic BMWs, like for example the cute Isetta and the wannahave 507 roadster. Here I also saw the weirdest BMW I have ever seen… I will tell you more about it tomorrow when my article about that is posted on PostWarClassic.
Sadly I was not able to visit Herbert Billen of the ICONS of Elegance Magazine, Car Cave, and many more. Next time I put those stands on top of my to-do-list. And I will make sure to plan a visit to Jean Prick’s ‘living room’ as well. Oh, and of course all the great companies that gave me their business card, I will visit them all, so luckily a busy year to come!
Because we love cars, I have some classic icons, and specials for you in store as well. The Lambo Espada seems to be a classic that is rising from its obscurity status, definitely an iconic classic car that I appreciate. The other classic icon I really must mention is the Corvette Stingray, especially the split window model with its air scoop in the bonnet. Corvette also knew how to design wheels… its Miura like tires are fine jewelry!
I saved the best to the end of my report. The best is my GREAT dad of course. I always enjoy visiting the most wonderful places with him to see the finest automobiles, and their owners. Without my dad, my life would not be as exciting as it is now. He once gave me the name Atalante, because he hoped that I would become one. I am well on my way, and work hard to meet this expectation. This is a good moment to thank my dad, and put him in the spotlight. Thanks dad, you are the best! I hope we will chase many more wonderful cars, and visit countless great events. The events can be great themselves, but it is also the people around you who make this all such a wonderful experience!
Tomorrow we continue with the Barnato history, time to accelerate at Brooklands and Le Mans!
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