First impressions from Antwerp Concours: supercars in super surrounding

The Antwerp Concours d’Elegance was one of the first events in Europe after nearly two years of deconfinement. In fact, it was the very first event we covered since the Retro Classics Stuttgart 2020, the last major car event on Earth, until now.

In September, we officially finally entered the post-apocalyptic era, and after the first event, we loved it! This Concours offered a great start, and a few days later, we also visited IAA Munich, but that is a story for another post.

The Antwerp Concours was a great start for the autumn season, also thanks to the superb weather. This small but prestigious event has over 15 years of history, showcasing rare and exotic sports- and luxury cars, pre-war cars, racecars and one-offs from all European countries. Initially, it was launched in 2005 in the heart of Antwerp but moved to more fitting castle settings throughout the years (for more background, check out their website).

The Belvédère Castle in Wijnegem hosted the event for the 11^th time, and as usual, the event sported an astonishing fleet. I counted dozens of absolute A-listers like the Ferrari 250 SWB (one of my all-time personal favourites), Pegaso Z102 (familiar from Rétromobile’s 2020 Bonhams auction), the brand new Maserati MC20, a rare Isdera Spyder, and a 1931 Bugatti T54 Grand Prix race car.

But that is just the tip of the iceberg (often not even the winning ones in their respective category), with specimens like a Chiron or a Testarossa not even worth mentioning (oh, but I will still post about them, very soon, don’t worry 🙂 ).

The castle is located between Antwerp and Brussels in a well-kept area, very much fitting for high-end cars. Passing by the official parking lot, I had to park in the neighbouring streets filled with impressive car boxes towed by top-of-the-line SUVs.

The official car park opposite the chateau was reserved for classics and high-end cars, and this selection provided a lovely introduction to the event.

The cars parked could still make it as a stand-alone cars-and-coffee event, with quite a few dream cars. I saw a roaring E-Type and a Ferrari 348, but also veterans like a 1939 Ford driven by an elderly monsieur of the same age as the car (maybe even a bit older : ) ).

At the same time, I saw quite a few expensive but bland cars turned away from the entrance to keep the car park exclusive. I refer again to the photo taken in the neighbouring street with the car boxes towed by Porsche SUVs: ) ). Thus the bar was set rather high…

Entering the domain of the castle, the event is divided into various categories. This post will focus on contemporary supercars and modern classic supercars.

The modern classics start off with a silver DeTomaso Pantera GTS, followed by an iconic Porsche Turbo (of the first generation from 1976).

In case you were wondering that you will never see a Porsche 924 on a featured podium, the red 1981 Porsche 924 GTS will undoubtedly change your mind.

The brown Renault 5 Turbo had the unthankful role in leading over to the most impossible car of the show, the Isdera Spyder.

For the record, Isdera stands for Engineering Company for Styling, Design and Racing in German (Ingenieurbüro für Styling, Design und Racing, the name of a small production exotic car company.

They earned a considerable reputation during the ‘80s with a modern reinterpretation of a Gullwing Mercedes, the Imperator 108i. This car realised the CW311 concept, equipped with a Mercedes V8 and iconic gullwing doors in the spirit of the brilliant C111.

Two years later, the Imperator received a younger brother, originally equipped with the 2.3 four-cylinder engine, later replaced with a V6 also from Mercedes complemented by a top-of-the-range 3.6 AMG V6.

This 1986 Isdera Spyder 036i is a beautiful specimen, despite the small engine, much more elaborated than the red Spyder showcased in Autoworld.

The line-up follows with an iconic Ferrari F40, one of the first hypercars. For those curious about what makes a hypercar, I recommend revisiting our report on Ferrari’s own hypercar exhibition (from the 288GTO to the FXX-K Evo).

Next up is a Honda NSX, the masterpiece of Honda that taught that Japanese manufacturers can be competitive in every segment.

The classic modern line-up received a worthy conclusion with a Lamborghini Diablo.

The contemporary segment was just as diverse as the other category with a wide variation of size, power and drivetrain.

One of the absolute highlights was a brand new Maserati MC20, the company’s first real supercar.

Relying on the best of what the FCA group has to offer (including a V6 bi-turbo engine), the car will steal the show at every event, especially with this dark colour.

The Alpine A110 is a special guest in this group, priced at about half of most other supercars. At the same time, it is listed very high among the future classics, and its parade at various Concours seems to reinforce that expectation.

Next up, there is a line-up of contemporary sports cars and supercars, with rare celebrities like the black Aston Martin Vantage and Ferrari Roma through a Mercedes AMG down to the BMW 4 coupé.

One particular car I would like to highlight is the Polestar 1, the luxury hybrid coupé spawned from Volvo’s large-car platform.

Out of this segment, there was a Volvo tent on the other side of the garden showcasing another Polestar 1, along with the brand-new electric Polestar 2 (and a few other premium brands).

In another corner, there was a Bugatti Chiron in an exquisite polished silver finish. Well, I take it most Chirons has a birthright to be elegant.

So much for the first part of our report. We will take a rhetorical break now to continue in a few days with the mind-boggling classics that this event had to offer. Stay tuned!

And for an overview of this years car events, check the Egzostive’s ultimate European automotive bucket list!