Steve Horne reports from the Hampton Court, Concours of Elegance; 4-6 September : For the AOC, I had requested the possibility to display a group of up to six Graber cars, to celebrate the Centenary of Hermann Graber Carosserie. Iain Campbell decided he had already sanctioned extensive Club car space to much larger Clubs, such as Aston Martin OC and Jaguar DC, so he offered me two spaces only for Alvis Graber cars in the RAC Inter-Club Trophy competition.
A remarkable second day (Saturday 5th September) at Hampton Court Palace saw some of the finest cars gathered for Concours of Elegance 2026 recognised with a series of prestigious awards, as the event continued its celebration of the very best in automotive history, design and craftsmanship. With 80 of the world’s rarest and most significant automobiles assembled within the historic Palace grounds, Saturday brought another full day of extraordinary cars, fascinating stories and some of the weekend’s most eagerly anticipated award presentations.
Alvis were represented by Christopher Wainwright’s TD 21 Series II Graber Cabriolet which has had much recent restoration work completed. The overall winner on Sunday was the 1928 Mercedes Benz 710 SSK Rennwagen.
The Chairman’s Award was presented to the magnificent 1930 Bentley Speed Six All-Weather Tourer by Gill – the only of its kind to have been delivered with Gill’s innovative coachwork – while the Jaguar Trophy went to Andrew Turk’s beautifully preserved 3.8-litre Jaguar E-Type Series 1.
For the RAC Club Trophy, we had a very wide range of cars, with some quite stunning examples of alloy bodied XK 120, Aston Martin DB2/4 and Italian designs of Bertone and Touring of Milan on Alfa Romeo and Maserati, respectively.
Our Carosserie Graber representation consisted of my TC 108 G Alvis Special Coupe, and Andrew Hallgarth’s TD 21, also a Special coupe.
It is aways difficult to interpret what the judges are looking for ; the judging is supposedly concentrated on elegance rather than d’Etat but they also take into consideration history, ownership and restoration or preservation. It was therefore surprising that the Trophy was awarded to Barry Coupe’s 1969 Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV Coupe, defined by the judges as a characterful example of one of Italy’s great sporting grand tourers. Styled by Bertone, the distinctive step-nose GTV combining a lively 1.8-litre twin-cam engine with the unmistakable character of Alfa Romeo’s classic four-cylinder cars. It defies logic that two early Touring-bodied Maserati 3500 GT coupes were overlooked. Two other cars were Highly Commended in the Club Trophy. Luciano Franchi’s 1970 Ferrari Dino Coupe was recognised for its timeless Pininfarina design and beautifully balanced mid-engined layout. Nigel Sandell’s 1936 Rolls-Royce 25/30 Touring Limousine was also Highly Commended: Part of Rolls-Royce’s 25/30 range, introduced in 1936 and represents the refined engineering and elegance for which the marque became renowned; It was a change to see a pre-war coachwork design being commended over most visually more elegant post-war designs.
And we have to remember , of course, that a Graber-bodied Aston Martin DB 2 actually won the Trophy last year and was therefore present again in 2026 , amongst the 80 most prestigeous vehicles selected.
Elsewhere, the Royal Bahrain Concours Award was presented to the 1933 Aston Martin Le Mans, while the Bahrain Tourism & Exhibitions Authority Award went to the remarkable 1939 Voisin C30 Saloon.
The Best Car Club Award, presented by Classic & Sports Car, was awarded to a 1983 Aston Martin Lagonda, while the Specialist Dealer Trophy saw an exceptional group of automobiles and machinery recognised.
The Specialist Dealer Trophy was won by Joe Macari’s 1953 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso, an exceptionally elegant example finished in Nero with a tan interior. Left-hand drive, matching numbers and comprehensively restored in 2022 by a renowned marque specialist, the car has spent the past 14 years in the ownership of Jay Kay, frontman of Jamiroquai.
Highly Commended in the Specialist Dealer Trophy was Frank Dale’s 1961 Bentley S2 Continental Coupé by H.J. Mulliner. Still presented in its original colour scheme of Capri Blue over blue leather, the car is number 43 of just 71 right-hand-drive examples built. Restored to show condition, approximately £500,000 has been invested in the car during its present ownership.
Our remaining events this year:
Wednesday 16 September Bowcliffe lunch
Saturday/Sunday 26/27 September – Graber Treffen, Safenwil
Wednesday 21 October Bowcliffe lunch
Wednesday 18 November Bowcliffe lunch
Wednesday 16 December Bowcliffe lunch
If you would like to take part in any events please ASK A QUESTION
or contact Chris Taylor WhatsApp 07890 414130
Sunday 9 August – Motor Cars at the Manor – West Ashby Manor LN9 5PY
Saturday 18th July enjoyed a respite from the heatwave earlier in the week and Northern Alvis Day attracted a fine selection of cars from 1932 to 1966. The venue was the Chasney family’s Goose Beck Vineyard near York so as well as the traditional Concours and Driving Tests, there were Vineyard tours and tastings for the participants. Click on any photo to start the gallery.
There were five entrants to the Driving tests which included some questions on the UK Highway code. The winner was Mike Hatton in the Speed 25.
The second Tuesday monthly lunchtime meeting at the Kings Head, Tealby in June attracted five Alvis among 42 folk in a diverse selection of Rileys, Rolls Royces, Bristol, Jaguar, Lotus, Lancia, Ford and Mini.
Larry and Christine Riches invited Alvis cars to attend their PICNIC IN THE PARK at West Ashby Manor LN9 5PY on Sunday August 10th 2025. Seven Alvis were among the 152 vehicles entered. Larry has agreed to make this an annual event, the second Sunday in August. Click on any photo to start the gallery.
Masters of Motoring 2025 – 31st July at Bowcliffe Hall
The former owner of Bowcliffe Hall was a serial Alvis owner, having three Speed 20s.
Our monthly meeting at the King’s Head, Tealby in the foot of the Lincolnshire Wolds saw the first appearance of Tim Perks’ 4.3 Charlesworth in June.
Larry Riches also attended with his Bentley, just returned from nearly 4,000 miles of European motoring, together with two of his RRs.
Our first event in April 2025 was “The Petwood Revival“. Starting over 25 years ago the Lincolnshire weekend was a regular event in the AOC calendar, in Lincoln, Woodhall Spa, Horncastle and Stamford.
Last held in 2019 at the Petwood Hotel in Woodhall Spa we returned there, staying for two nights from Sunday 27th April to coincide with “Drive It Day“.
Click on any photo to start the gallery.
Alvis Archive 