The Philadelphia area’s signature concours d’elegance returns to Radnor Hunt Club for its 25th anniversary on the weekend of September 9th through 11th. The three-day festival of classic automobiles and motorcycles kicks off Friday evening with a Welcome BBQ for event participants. Saturday’s activities kick off with the Bill O’Connell Memorial Road Rally and end with a black tie formal gala in the evening.
The main event on Sunday is the Concours d’Elegance. Featured automotive classes include Cadillac, cars from the Derham Body Company, Porsche 4 Cylinder 4 Cam Cars, Cars of Honoree Chuck Cantwell, and a Ferrari 75th Anniversary Display. Featured motorcycles classes this year include BSA and Motorcycles Made In America.
The Radnor Hunt Concours benefits Thorncroft Equestrian Center in Chester County, PA.
Of all the prestigious shows and concours we attend, few are as highly regarded as those of the Antique Automobile Club of America, or AACA. This is in part due to the rigorous judging standards the organization has set, but it also its tiered award system that requires a vehicle to win at numerous increasingly difficult events before it can be crowned with the grand prize. Documented AACA wins are so important they can add significantly to a vehicle’s value based on how high it achieves.
Over the May 19-21 weekend we represented a past Ragtops & Roadsters restoration at the AACA Grand National show in Virginia Beach. The car was a 1938 SS100 Jaguar, a model from what was then the Swallow Sidecar company, or SS, before the company wisely renamed itself Jaguar in the aftermath of WWII. One of just 90 examples ever built with the 3.5-liter six-cylinder engine. it’s also the only one to have been built with a high-compression 10.0:1 cylinder head built by John Heath HWM Jaguar fame, capable of achieving 100 mph, as its name implies.
It’s not a stretch to say that in classic Jaguar circles, this particular example is kind of a big deal. In the days before WWII, it competed in RAC rallies at Blackpool and Edinburgh, and its post-war years was raced at Brands Hatch and Brighton speed trials. The car was considered the fastest SS100 in the UK.
Our Perkasie team gave it a mechanical refresh starting in 2017, followed by a bare-metal repaint of the car by our Pottstown team completed in 2018. Later than year it earned 100 points at the Jaguar Club of North America (JCNA) Concours, “Most Outstanding Jaguar” at the Greenwich Concours d’ Elegance, and “Best in Class” at the Radnor Hunt Concours. In 2019, the SS100 won its first AACA award – its “First Junior” – at Fall Hershey and it returned in 2020 to win its “First Senior” recognition.
With its owner on hand to present the car, we prepared he SS 100 for its next challenge, a first attempt at a Grand National award. Winning at the lower level AACA events does not guarantee a Grand National win, so critical details could not be ignored at this stage. The vehicle’s presentation on for judging included its complete original tool kit, side curtains, and jack as well as many other original accessories. The judging team looked over the Jaguar throughly several times before walking away in silence.
The owner of the gorgeous car, our client Chris, discovered when he got home from Virginia a couple days later that his car had, in fact, won its Junior Grand National, a triumph that required receiving a minimum of 385 points out of a possible 400 to be considered. He couldn’t have been happier when got the news.
“Kuddos to the team at Ragtops & Roadsters for bringing this car back to its original beauty,” said Chris when we shared the results with him. “Let’s see if we can get the Senior Grand National next.”
Since its founding in 1996, the Greenwich Concours has become one of the top concours d’elegance in the world. Acquired by Hagerty in 2019, the weekend continues its traditions as a world-class event while embracing the future of the car collector and enthusiast hobby. Located just outside of New York City, the concours takes place on scenic Greenwich Harbor within sight of the Long Island Sound.
Cars and Motorcycles of England at the historic Hope Lodge features an all-British, marque-judged motorcar and motorcycle concours, and a nationally sanctioned Jaguar Concours d’Elegance. The combined show fields represent one of the largest British motoring shows on the East Coast with over 250 cars and motorcycles participating in each of the last four years in which this event was held. The show field opens at 8:30 AM and Judging begins at 10:00 AM. Prizes will be awarded beginning at 2:30PM.
Delaware Valley Triumphs sponsors the All-British show. Our show field includes the following marques: Aston Martin, Austin, Austin Healey, Bentley, Daimler, Jaguar, Lanchester, Lotus, MG, Mini, Morgan, Peerless, Rolls Royce, Rover, Sunbeam, and, of course, Triumph. Motorcycles included BSA, Norton, and Triumph. In 2022 there will be nearly 40 award classes for automobiles and four for motorcycles. Special awards will also be given for “Diamond in the Rough”, the “Best of Show – Participants’ Choice” and the “Best of Show – Judge’s Choice”.
The first major concours of the event season, formerly the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, is now known simply as The Amelia. The change in name comes with new owners, as founder Bill Warner sold his successful event to Hagerty, the classic car insurance company and lifestyle curator. As in the past, auctions and other activities will take place from Thursday through Saturday of the long weekend, while the main event will happen on Sunday.
