The Concours d’Elegance is a traditional highlight of the Zoute GP week. The Golf Club in Knokke Heist hosts dozens of timeless classics competing under a particular theme.
In a few categories, the selection honoured a collector representing their cherished masterpieces or cars that used to belong to them once.
This year’s Zoute Concours honoured deceased automotive titans and celebrity collectors. 2020 saw many great cultural icons and sportsmen passing away, and the Zoute Concours honoured three of them.
A fine selection of diverse classics to honour a Belgian baron
The exhibition’s first stage (actually the only physically constructed podium) paid homage to Baron Roland D’Ieteren. His son Baron Nicolas D’Ieteren selected five cars out of his late father s collection that, for various reasons, meant a lot to him. These cars were presented on a special display podium to honour his memory.
The selection of cars ensures a great diversity, from prewar Bugatti through Italian classics to modern sportscars.
Mr D’Ieteren was a Belgian industrialist whose name is printed on the number plate frames of most Volkswagens sold in the country. Accordingly, a 1934 Bugatti and a Porsche Boxster represented the VW Group.
He was also instrumental in revitalising the coachbuilding activity of Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera, and he personally supported the dedicated Touring display of the 2019 Zoute Concours.
The 1962 Maserati 5000 GT Coupé Touring and the modern 2008 Touring Superleggera Disco Volante keep memories of that cooperation.
These models were also featured in the last Concours, albeit not exactly the same cars.
This year, the Baron was honoured in other events, such as the Antwerp Concours showcasing a few exquisite and rare cars, like a Chiron. His collection must be truly impressive, as none of the Antwerp cars was here.
The Ferrarix of Uderzo brought together an exquisite set of modern Ferraris
Another sad loss of 2020 was the departure of Albert Uderzo, the famous cartoonist of the Asterix comic books. For those who never heard of Asterix, he was like the Stan Lee of the Asterix franchise, Europe’s best-known comic, cartoon and movie series. Many of us grew up with his comics that translated contemporary political finesse and humour into a roman antic setting with Britons taking tea breaks during battle, Gauls on strike and Romans running an unsurmountable labyrinth of administration. His comics were popular on both sides of the Iron Curtain and overseas. Some of the movies proved to be true blockbusters, grossing well beyond 100 Million.
As one of the wealthiest French artists with Italian origins, he was a true petrolhead and Ferrari nerd and one of the most faithful customers of Enzo Ferrari. The Zoute Concours 2021 honoured him with five cars from his collection.
The 1981 Ferrari 308 GTB was the first Ferrari 308 Gr. 4 built by Micholotto to compete in international rallying. This Ferrari 308 GTB Gr. 4 won the Rally of Monza in 1979 before it received its charming blue Pioneer livery.
Then it also won the 1981 Hunsrück Rally, Targa Florio Rally and Rally Costa Brava. After the 1981 season, it was sold to Uderzo, who kept the car until 1998.
The following 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO is a holy grail of hypercar enthusiasts. In fact, even the Scuderia factory dates its hypercar bloodline from this model.
The Ferrari 288 GTO was presented in 1984 at the Geneva Motor Show as a homologated GT car. The acronym GTO stands for Gran Turismo Omologato and rose to fame with the 275 GTO, the Ferrari model that broke most auction records.
Unlike the iconic F40, the 288 GTO is a rare sight, as Ferrari produced merely 272 units between 1984 and 1987. The car is pure race tech as a hypercar should be. To reduce weight, the wings were made of fibreglass composite and the doors of aluminium. The roof was a combination of carbon fibre and Kevlar. The supercharged V8 engine produces 400 bhp.
At the same time, the Italians did not forget about some luxury (well, by Ferrari standards): the interior had leather seats as standard, and even air conditioning, electric windows were offered as an option.
Albert Uderzo bought this car in 1985 and kept it until 2008. However, the new owners never registered the vehicle, so technically, it still has its original Carte Grise from Albert Uderzo as the first and only official owner.
The blue 1987 Ferrari 412 was Uderzo’s daily drive. The model is an actual family car, at least by Ferrari’s standards: a luxurious 2+2 Coupe, with a three-speed automatic transmission as an option. At the same time, it is powered by a Ferrari V12 and could reach 240 km/h.
The next car needs no introduction, as the F40 is probably the most iconic Ferrari road car ever produced. An 80’s design icon and technological masterpiece, one had to be a long time Ferrari customer to get one (that is, to be allowed to order one).
This 1988 Ferrari F40 was exhibited at the Paris Car Show, and Uderzo took delivery a few weeks later. With a special ceremony to celebrate the delivery of the first “customer” F40’s.
As one of the very first F40’s, the interior and the carbon fibre has a much more prototype look than later cars, making these very early Ferrari’s F40 very sought after. Uderzo drove his Ferrari F40 extensively from 1988 to 1996, accumulating 20.000 km until he received his F50. The current owner acquired this Ferrari F40 in 2008.
The last car in the line is the above mentioned yellow 1995 Ferrari F50. The model name honoured the 50th anniversary of the Commendatore, even if the model was unveiled two years earlier.
Hypercars are road cars with extensive use of race tech, but the F50 is a race car in disguise. Its race-bred 5 litres, 520 hp V12 engine uses state of the art F1 technology, and its composite monocoque weighs only 102 kg.
For the records, it seems that this car is not the exact one, as Uderzo ordered a red one.
The Jean Blaton exhibition celebrated a Belgian gentleman driver
Jean Blaton was a Belgian racing driver competing in GT racing series, specialising in endurance challenges. He was also known by the nickname Beurlys, and he was well embedded into the Belgian racing scene. Even his father was racing, and also his brother. His niece Catherine married Belgian racing legend Jacky Ickx.
His racing career spanned between 1957 and 1979, mainly driving Ferraris, even if Zoute showed a comprehensive selection. He entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans 14 times between 1958 and 1979, ranking 9 times in the top twelve, with 5 podiums. In 1979 he finished 12th at the Le Mans, at the age of 50, and from 1975, he also led a team at Le Mans as team manager four times.
The first car in the lineup is a 1961 Chevrolet Corvette delivered as new to the father of Jean Blaton. The Blaton family was well known in the motor racing world. The brothers Armand ‘Blary’ and Jean ‘Beurlys’ Blaton both were successful racers. This Corvette was ordered and registered in the name of Armand Blaton Sr. but mainly used by his sons Armand and Jean.
The car was delivered with the 245bhp V8 engine, and the original sales contract lists several desirable options. These included electric power windows, hardtop, four-speed manual gearbox, twin four-barrel carburettors, heavy-duty brakes, safety belts, and a limited-slip differential. The Blatons were keen to experiment with this car, and the Corvette remained in the Blaton family for its entire life. Today, this 90.000 km Corvette is presented in highly original condition.
The tiny yellow GT40 P/1079 was delivered new to Blaton as one of the few privately entered lightweight built racing cars by Ford Advanced Vehicles. Beurlys raced it at Monza, Spa and Le Mans, where it was crashed at high speed.
It was restored later and is participating in classic car races like Tour Auto events and Goodwood Revival.
The modest British racing green Series 3 Jaguar E-Type fits very well to the celebration year of the model. This birthday is also commemorated in the Concours by a selection of E-types in the neighbouring field.
This specimen was sold as new to Jean Blaton, as his personal Jaguar Е-Type, delivered with sunroof and a four-speed manual gearbox. This car could still reach 0-100 km/u in 6,4 s and a top speed of 230 km/h even with road-legal specs.
The Kremer brothers from Cologne prepared the colourful 1976 Porsche 934 Turbo to enter at Le Mans. Both him and his successors in the following years failed to classify at Le Mans with this car.
From here onward comes a series Ferrari of Ferrari race cars, starting with a 1977 Ferrari 512 BB Group 5. This car is the earliest Ferrari built 512 BB LM car. Prepared and entered by Ecurie Francorchamps for the 24 Hours of Le Mans of 1978, Blaton, Teddy Pilette and Frenchman Raymond Touroul retired after just 39 laps due to gearbox failure.
Blaton did not race the car again but kept it for several years before being sold to Germany. Its current owner restored the car and ran again at Le Mans Classic and Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The next Ferrari was the last of a limited series of 25 Ferrari’s 512 BВ LM. Blaton bought this car for fun, to enter in Ferrari Club events until he sold it to the US. Its current owner brought it back to Belgium, and since then, the 512BB was entered in several Classic Endurance Racing Series and the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The Ferrari of this lineup is a fascinating one. The yellow 1989 JB Racing Barchetta Burleys Special started its life as a Ferrari F40 LM. In 1993 Blaton bought a slightly worn down Ferrari F40LM IMSA race car to play with. He wanted to build something special for personal use and recommissioned the tired F40 LM to create his personal vision on a long distance race car, named “Barchetta Beurlys Special”.
Its steel frame has been replaced by a roofless carbon fibre monocoque altered to make it suitable for long-distance racing. The result is a 760hp, 800 kg cruise missile with a top speed of 370km/u and a 0-100 km/u sprint in 3,1 s.
Ferrari protested and insisted all Ferrari and F40 signs were removed and demanded that the rebuilt car not be named Ferrari anymore. Beurlys used the vehicle during selected track days before trying to sell it in 2005.
Without success… The present owner had the Barchetta Beurlys Special completely restored to race-ready condition. The car is now used for track days mainly (and stealing the show at car events).
The special display brings up three totally different cars with one thing in common
This category was not a homage but a diverse selection of three cars not competing in a class or celebrating an anniversary. The vehicles also relate to the above topics in one way or another. What they have in common is that they are specially commissioned coachbuilt cars.
The oldest of the trio is a 1981 Porsche 935 DP, whereby DB stands for Desing Plastic, a company making polyester car body parts. The owner, Ekkerhard Zimmerman, was responsible for the aerodynamics of the race-winning Kremer 935’s winning at Le Mans in 1979. He came up with the idea of making a Porsche 911with a 935 look.
This white 930 Turbo was modded into a 935 DP right after it came from the factory. The front wings are made of polyester, as are the front spoiler, the rear wheel arches, the sideboards and the rear bumper.
The rear wheel arches are broader than those of a 930 Turbo. One of the particularities of this car is that back in the day, there were only two cars with 345 tires on the back, the 935 DP and the Lamborghini Countach. The car was painted white with the typical Kremer 935 striping. The engine was tuned to squeeze out some 420 bhp.
The next car is the modern reinterpretation of the above vehicle, a 2018 Porsche 935 with Martini livery. The Porsche 935 was unveiled during the Rennsport Reunion at Laguna Seca in 2018 as a birthday gift from Porsche Motorsport to commemorate the 70 birthday of Porsche. The original idea was to build 70 cars, but in the ned, a total of 77 cars were assembled.
The 935’s were all delivered in the carbon black look without any decoration, and the owner of this car chose the Martini livery.
The car is based on the 991 GT 2 RS with its 700 bhp twin-turbo engine, but it’s coachbuilt with an individual chassis. The 935 has much more downforce than the GT 2 RS due to the massive rear spoiler and a rear diffusor. The 935 is a track-only car with no possibility of road licensing.
The newest of the special display trio was a 2021 Touring Superleggera Arese RH 95. This car was built by Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera and was designed by Belgian Louis de Fabribeckers.
The Arese RH 95 is named after Via per Arese, the birthplace of Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera. 95 stands for the upcoming 95th anniversary of Touring. The Arese RH95 will be the cornerstone of the Aero range alongside the Disco Volante (see above) and AERO 3 (exhibited in Zoute’s Prado tent).
Specially constructed and hand-built according to the customer’s instructions, each Touring Arese RH 95 is unique and takes about 5000 hours to build. The ARESE RH 95 is powered by a 760 bhp Ferrari engine from the F8.
Here we take a rhetorical, as this was about 20% of the Concours’ fleet. There will be plenty of sights to come…
For an overview of the Zoute GP, have a look at the landing article with link to all our reports:
And for an overview of this years car events, check out Egzostive’s ultimate European automotive bucket list!
