Concours Antwerp: from early oily-rags to unusual electric cars

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

The Antwerp Concours is a small, high-quality event at a lovely château in Belgium. For some years, we've been hearing about the positive experiences of participants, so when we found ourselves with some spare time this year, we left early on a Sunday morning with the 1900 Decauville to participate in this invitation-only concours.
We weren’t disappointed. Even though the temperature rose to a 'we just want to jump in a swimming pool' sort of level, the atmosphere was great. When arriving via the main entrance, the field was filled with original, unrestored cars from a brace of tourers comprised of a La Licorne and 1925 DFP, all the way to a flashy Bugatti Type 57. 

Veteran cars with a Belgium connection

In front of the Kasteel Belvédère, a selection of veteran cars were lined up. Beside the little vis-à-vis Decauville, there was an original De Dion Bouton with the same seating arrangement. Next to that were the two barn-finds discovered last year in a Belgian garage, which are now mechanically restored: the Type R De Dion Bouton and the mighty Pipe. The Pipe especially generated a lot of interest from the crowd and your editor fell in love with it. Another Belgian jewel was the relatively unknown Prunel, a French car wearing Belgian bodywork, which the owner intends to use in next year's London to Brighton Run. To finish, a little 1904 Minerva made the Belgium connection complete.

The stables

At the side of the château are the stables. Although not used for horses any more, the horsepower enthusiast would feel very much at home with the 1912 S.P.A. displayed there in wonderful restored condition. It was positioned side-by-side with the Talbot 90 'PL2', the original 1930 Le Mans racer. There was also a slightly over-restored but still interesting Nagant, a beautiful Lancia Astura, and a selection of early, unrestored motorcycles.

The gardens

Around the other side, there was a spread of mostly post-war cars but also a few pre-wars, like the 1937 Maserati 6CM which first raced in the 1938 German Grand Prix. 
A trio of electric cars were presented, which were rather different. One was a 1916 Detroit Electric, one a 1941 Peugeot Electric, and the third was an oily-rag Model A Ford which was converted to electric power during the war.

Besides the quality of the cars and the beautiful setting, it was the driving part that gave the event an extra dimension. Most of the cars drove in front of the building as a rolling exhibition, and you could sense the excitement as the fuel vapours found their way to people's noses and the roaring engines reached everyone’s ears. 
It was a pleasure for us to visit this small event, as it had an amazing atmosphere and delivered a very fine time. It was well worth the visit.

Aggiunga un commento...