Chantilly Arts & Elegance is one of Europe’s greatest concurs d’elegance, and this year’s edition certainly lived up to our expectations. The Show offered something for every petrolhead: timeless classics, expensive exotics, supercars and concepts.
Chantilly returned after 2022 following the elaborated schedule of the French Peter Auto organisation. It alternates with Le Mans Classic, which really stole the show last year with its 100th anniversary. Chantilly celebrated its tenth anniversary this year, and participants and organisers did their best to honour this tradition.
As in previous years, the event was hosted at the Château de Chantilly, which is one of the finest jewels in the crown of France’s cultural heritage. In its hay days, it was home to Henri d’Orléans, the son of the last King of France. The site now functions as a museum, providing a perfect venue for the Concours. Its elegant garden park offered a stylish setting, and the neighbouring five-star Hotel served as a VIP lounge, press centre and organisational headquarters.
When it comes to family entertainment, the event really upped its game this year. We saw lots of activities for families with kids of every possible age. The smallest ones can take a ride on a pony or an electric toy car or get a papillon makeup in the castle garden.
Bigger ones could go for a ride in soapbox car or take one of the dozen sailing boats if they get tired of machines.
Adults who wish to look for something completely different from automotive could find solace in the truly French amateur theatre, but even bumped into a dancing class.
We also spotted a giant chess board among the Ferrari Club members while classic games were made available at almost every corner of the garden (like pétanque). If you feel concerned about excessive horsepower, there was a horse riding show that will certainly not exceed 1 horsepower per “vehicle”…
We deliberately left out the Art corner from the above list, as art pieces were all highly focussed on cars. Extensive catering was also provided by a dozen food trucks.
We did not include activities from the programmes we could not photograph, like the hot air balloon ride or the fencing show. With all these add-ons, Chantilly became a family-friendly celebration of automotive culture, akin to the Goodwood Festival of Speed, albeit with French accents.
Even the VIP parking was a spectacle with cars from every epoch. The VIP cars lined up by the main entrance offered a perfect complement to the elegant Chateau.
Almost every single square metre around the Chateau was occupied by car clubs. The car clubs gathering in the front and the backyard of the Chateau competed for the Grand Prix of Car Clubs award. According to the rules of the game, the club members strive to achieve the most elegant possible presentation, including the choice of their cars and the picnic they offer.
The front yard by the main entrance was dedicated to Italian brands. The Maserati club was flashing a series of Quattroportes (the silver one won the class dedicated to Marcelo Gandini two weeks earlier at the Antwerp Concours).
The special place is also justified by the efforts made by these brands: Alfa Romeo was present with a large Pavillion and also brand new test cars (ordered in Trikolore), as did attend Lancia as well, while Maserati participated in the Concours of concept cars (more on those a bit later).
The backyard is populated by various car clubs dedicated to models, brands, a region or just plain lifestyle. The sheer amount of two dozen Facel Vegas lined up speaks for itself, but we also loved the exclusive selection of Delahaye grand touring cars.
Some clubs followed stricter rules, like the Porsche 928 club or the lineup of Morgans. For the first one, we have to highlight the globetrotter 928 belonging to Philippe Delaporte.
He is an honorary member of the Porsche Club 928 France, and his Porsche was prepared for long-range expeditions. The car was an honorary guest at the 2018 Paris Motor Show, and it has been around the world since then (the latest addition was a short trip to Iceland, but it had already completed a road trip to Iran and another trio to Tokyo, through Siberia).
Other clubs appeared fairly lose in defining their membership rules, pairing cars from various decades and continents. We really enjoyed the colourful diversity, from Honda CRX through US hot rods to Porsche 356 specimens.
As in previous years, several brands built pavilions showcasing some of their finest products. Their approach differs from the usual presence at the Paris Car Show, but their efforts seem to deliver maximum impact here.
Most brands brought rarities and concepts to highlight their presence and also to unveil their future design directions. It helps that most of the brands represent smaller high end manufacturers, but even companies like Lancia brought historical cars and concepts to make the headlines. Some smaller manufacturers were punching above their weight, especially considering, that some passed on the Paris Car Show last year.
Since the inaugural edition in 2014, Bugatti has been attending the Chantilly Arts & Elegance, and they usually build the most serious pavilion with luxurious programmes.
The high-end event proved to be a perfect venue for the first live appearance of Bugatti’s brand-new Tourbillon. This hypercar was displayed in the open, arguably attracting the largest crowd. Our only chance to finally photograph it was the catwalk in the concept car section.
This was not the only spectacle, as the Bugatti Pavilion was also guarded by the Bugatti Bolide, the track-focused Bugatti honouring the brand’s incredible heritage in motor racing. This also marked the 100th anniversary of the Type 35, a car with an unmatched racing success.
The 100 ans de la Bugatti Type 35 category was created to celebrate the centenary of the Type 35 but also to honour the late Peter Mullin, a longtime friend and collector of the brand.
DS Automobiles is a longtime star of Chantilly Arts & Elegance. They showcased from its beginning in 2014, and took home several trophies from Chantilly, including the best concept car in 2016. This year, DS unveiled the SM Tribute to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Chantilly and, of course, to steal the show.
The SM Tribute concept was parked in a stylish pavilion alongside an original SM, and on Sunday afternoon, it was moved out to take its catwalk in the high-end concept category of the Concours d’Elegance.
Renault also prepared a few jaw-droppers for Chantilly; the main spectacle was arguably the R17 Electric Restomod x Ora Ïto. This car is a new and unique restomod show car, developed in collaboration with French designer Ora Ïto. The vehicle is based on the iconic Renault 17 sports coupé, as a sculptural retake on the model launched in 1971. The R17 electric restomod x Ora Ïto was unveiled on 4 September at Maison5 in Paris and is scheduled to be showcased on the Renault stand at the Paris Motor Show.
Small high-end Franch participants included Quarkus and the AGZT, a modern day Alpine prepared by Italian coachbuilder Zagato.
Alfa Romeo displayed three headline cars in its pavilion. The centrepiece was the road-legal brand-new Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale, the high-end manifesto of the Italian brand’s capabilities recalling the style and driving experience of the iconic Alfa 33, a cherished piece of the factory museum that some still consider one of the first supercars.
The new 33 was escorted by the 1971 33 Spider Cuneo concept from the vaults of the Alfa Romeo History Museum in Arese and the brand-new Junior, the new hopeful of the Italian brand.
Lamborghini presented its current offering on a small podium, while McLaren built an entire Pavilion. They both delegated a car to the Concours d’Elegance as well.
In addition to contemporary McLaren supercars, there was also a thematic exhibition dedicated to the glorious F1 History of McLaren.
The best part of the event was still the traditional beauty contest with several dedicated topics, like the above-mentioned 100th anniversary of Bugatti Type 35 or Porsche classics with four-cylinder engines.
The Concours d’Élégance saw the most recent concept cars taking a catwalk, charmingly escorted by models from the leading fashion houses. During the tours around the fountain, the lead designer is called to the podium to explain his lining.
The Concours d’état was the traditional classic car competition, bringing together some of the most elite cars in the world in a two-stage showdown.
First, a contender was chosen in each class, and then, from these winners, three vehicles were selected for Best of Show awards: one best prewar, one best postwar and the special prize awarded to the concepts. We will come back to the winners in a later post.
The finalists and winners were showcased in the afternoon, making their catwalk around the fountain. At the end of the day, the three winners (Concept, prewar and postwar) were crowned and posed for the photographers. More on that in our next article.
