The Antwerp Concours was a truly remarkable event last year. It was not just an excellent start for the post-pandemic period but also proved to be a surprise for an event with many years of history so close to our HQ.
Antwerp Concours satisfied fans of all epochs, and we already covered modern supercars and pre-war classics.
Now it’s time to present the pre-war masterpieces. The fleet was so diverse that we won’t try to establish ranks between cars like a showroom shine Packard Eight and a seemingly unmolested Hispano Suiza. This is just a simple car spotting post, where we share our impressions after wandering around the event, casually dropping anchor next to the cars and sometimes dropping even our jaws.
The first car in the frontline is a blue 1936 Delahaye 135 S, with a streamlined body built for the 1936 Le Mans 24 Hours. After that, the car participated in many races before the war broke out in 1939.
The two French blue cars are separated by a Red 1931 Alfa Romeo 6c 1750 GS Spider with a chassis coachbuilt by Zagato.
The 6C 1750 Gran Sport Zagato was aimed at the wealthy Gentlemen drivers of the ’30s. It was a genuine sports car that combined its lightweight with brilliant performances for its day, resulting in numerous racing successes. In 1929, it won every major racing event it entered, including the Grands Prix of Belgium, Spain, Tunis and Monza, and the Mille Miglia.
The blue 1931 Bugatti Type 54 is a prototype that follows the Formule Libre specification, a Group B of its era. Or even beyond, this group entailed a no holds barred league of top cars, where this evolution had to fight Alfa Romeo and Maserati, and ultimately the purpose-built and dominant cars from the state-supported Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union.
The Type 54 Type combined a Type 45 chassis with an eight-cylinder engine from the Type 50. Out of the two cars built, this Type 54 was handed to Achille Varzi as Bugatti’s factory driver. At the Monza GP in 1930, Varzi secured third place and won at Avus in 1933.
The following green car is a 1931 Talbot AV105 named after its 105 PS 3-litre engine. The car had a complete racing history with legendary sites like Le Mans and Brooklands.
The yellow Mercedes 630K is from 1927. 630 stands for a 6.3-litre engine and K for the shortened chassis. Affordable by only the wealthiest, the 630K was produced in strictly limited numbers, only 150 being completed between 1926 and May 1929.
Next up, is a car, that could have come from the Great Gatsby movie. The 1930 Packard Eight 740 / 412 transpires the roaring twenties. Its massive 6.3 litres engine enlists 105 horses in its stables. The showroom shine car also won the best restoration prize of the Concours.
Another winner is the red 1938 BMW 328 roadster bagging the pre-war open category prize.
The red line-up continues with the sporty1926 Minerva AD20PK with Roadster body coachbuilt at Parkward.
The 1926 Minerva AD16PK continues with both red colour and award, winning the pre-war closed category.
The 1933 Lagonda M45 ST34 seemed like a car in original condition, but the best preservation award went to the 1926 Hispano Suiza H6B convertible Nr11392.
We also liked the Blue 1936 Alvis Speed 25 Drophead coupé with its elegant lining and a 3.6-litre six-cylinder engine.
There was also a green corner with three British cars. The 1933 Aston Martin Le Mans is an entry-level sports car of the brand made between 1932 and 1934. The 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine helped it to reach a top speed of over130 kms per hour.
In addition to the light green MG in the middle, a 1934 Riley MPH with grid number 6 and open bonnet completed the trio.
