Our Top 10 Cars from Salon Prive 2021

We attended Salon Privé on Thursday 2nd September 2021. We’ve attended Salon Privé since it’s inception and the show continues to grow and get bigger year by year. Normally the show starts on a Thursday and runs to the Sunday, now the show is running from the Wednesday to the Sunday, and they’ve announced that they will also be doing a Salon Privé in the spring of 2022 in London. This year they also had many of the cars featuring at the show drive into Woodstock at the end of the day which I thought was a great idea as the show continued into the early evening and gave lots of the locals a chance to see the cars. So the show continues to go from strength to strength which is all credit to the Bagley Brothers and those involved in this wonderful event.

As at previous shows we have attended we have compiled our favourite top 10 cars from the show. I have chosen the cars in priority order of which car I would most like to own/ drive and admire. I hope you enjoy our top 10 and do let me know in the comments below which is your favourite car and why?

McLaren F1 GTR

Just so so want to drive this.

The McLaren F1 GTR is a racing variant of the McLaren F1 sports car first produced in 1995 for grand touring style racing, such as the BPR Global GT Series, FIA GT Championship, JGTC, and British GT Championship. It was powered by the naturally aspirated BMW S70/2 V12 engine. It is most famous for its overall victory at the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans where it won against faster purpose-built prototypes in very wet conditions. The F1 GTR raced internationally until 2005 when the final race chassis was retired.

What a wonderful car.

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1962 Ferrari 250 GTO

What’s not already been said about the most expensive car in the world? It’s a lovely looking car, and in this green and yellow is unique looking.

The 250 GTO was built to race but was also a road car—GTO stands for Gran Turismo Omologato, or Grand Touring Homologated. The body was essentially a 250 Testa Rossa and had a 3-liter V12 engine capable of 300hp.

Just 36 of the 250 GTOs were manufactured between 1962 and 1964. This includes 33 cars with 1962-63 bodywork (Series I) and three with 1964 (Series II) bodywork similar to the Ferrari 250 LM. Four of the older 1962-1963 (Series I) cars were updated in 1964 with Series II bodies.

When new, the 250 GTO cost $18,000 in the United States, with buyers personally approved by Enzo Ferrari himself and his dealer for North America, Luigi Chinetti. This model has since become highly desired by automobile collectors and sales have repeatedly set price records. The current record for world’s most expensive car was set in June 2018 when a 1963 250 GTO (chassis 4153GT) was sold in a private sale for $70 million.

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1990 Ferrari F40

People that follow me, will know that I love the Ferrari F40, so yep it’s featured in my top 10 AGAIN. This car featured in the Red Collection, a new feature for Salon Prive in 2021.

This superb Ferrari F40 example was delivered new to Switzerland in February 1990 and is the collector’s preference specification being both ‘non-cat’ and ‘non-adjust’. Used incredibly sparingly, the car had covered just 1,700km by the time of its second owner in 2004. At that time, it was imported into the UK and since then has enjoyed a very thorough history and annual maintenance schedule, which helps authenticate its low mileage. The file contains many invoices and statements regarding its originality and the paintwork presents extremely well. Today this extraordinary example has covered just 2,371km from new and this F40 presents on the button. ‘Red Book’ Classiche certification was also recently awarded by the factory.

LOVE IT.

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2021 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport

You’ll need to come up with £3m (€3.5 million/ $3.89 million) if you want to buy one. How bonkers is that. Only 30 cars are scheduled for production. The near-production version of the Chiron Super Sport set a speed record in August 2019 as the first hypercar to break 300 mph. It reached a top speed of 490.484 km/h (304.773 mph) on Volkswagen’s 13-mile loop Ehra-Lessien test track in Germany.

This car has a 1,578-horsepower quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter W16 engine that has been nicknamed Thor. The car has 99 horsepower more than the standard Chiron and the same output as the Bugatti Centodieci. It will have a seven-speed, dual-clutch all-wheel-drive system. It’s expected to go from 0-to-60 mph in less than 2.4 seconds, the same as the Centodieci. Just bonkers.

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1965 Ford GT40 Mk1

What can be said that has not already been said about this car?

Built to take on, and beat, Ferrari in endurance racing, the GT40 is one of the greatest ever Fords.

n the cold light of day Ford’s decision to compete in, and crucially, win the Le Mans 24 Hours was a completely bonkers idea. The company had been devoid of any official motorsport competition for over five years thanks to the American Automobile Association’s ban on factory participation in motor racing, yet it felt confident enough to take on the cream of the European manufacturers in their own backyard.

Ferrari was the dominant force at Le Mans, winning it six years on the bounce between 1960 and 1965, and initially it looked like the easiest route for Ford to win at La Sarthe would have been for Ford to buy Ferrari and pop a blue oval on one of its racers. It nearly came to fruition before Enzo Ferrari famously pulled out of the deal at the eleventh hour. This so incensed Henry Ford II that he decided to beat Ferrari at its own game. Thus, a separate Ford Advanced Vehicles (FAV) division was set up and the Ford GT40 was born.

In a typical fairy tale the story would be that Ford immediately went out and blew the doors off the contemporary Ferraris, but success wasn’t immediate. GT40s straight out of the box proved to be fast but fragile, and at its first Le Mans in 1964 all three cars retired – one with afire, the other two with gearbox failures. While Ferrari completed a clean sweep of the podium there were some positive signs for Ford – Phil Hill set a lap record and a GT40 did lead for the first hour or so.

Much work was done on the GT40 for the 1965 season, but it wasn’t enough. Despite running one-two in the early stages the six Fords had all retired by the sixth hour, leaving Ferrari to once again lock out the podium. In 1966 it was a different story…

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1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabrolet Sindelfingen

Together with its predecessor the 500K, the magnificent Mercedes-Benz 540K was arguably the most noteworthy production model offered by the Stuttgart firm during the 1930s. A development of the 500K, whose independently suspended chassis it shared, the 540K was powered by a 5.4-liter supercharged straight-eight engine. It featured the company’s Roots-type supercharger system, in which pressing the accelerator to the end of its travel would engage the compressor and close off the atmospheric intake.

Launched at the Paris Salon in October 1936, the 540K developed 155 hp un-supercharged, or 180 hp with the supercharger engaged. The gearbox was a four-speed, but with direct final drive, unlike the overdrive in the 500K. With the supercharger engaged, the 540K’s top speed approached 110 mph, matched by servo-assisted brakes. 

Tested by Britain’s Motor magazine, the 540K was judged to have lighter steering and handling than its predecessor and a more comfortable ride. The test car turned 102 mph in the quarter with the blower engaged and 85 mph without. Such performance was not without cost, and it recorded 11 mpg.

In May 1938, the 540K was tested at Brooklands race track by Autocar and proved the fastest car tested to date, recording 104.65 with three passengers. Although the 500K and 540K attracted custom coachbuilders, it was hard to top the company’s own Sindelfingen coachwork.

The manufacturing record of the 540K reveals its exclusive nature. A total of 97 were made in 1936, 145 in 1937, 95 in 1938, 69 in 1939 and three more before production ended in 1942. Such rarity, style, and performance makes for one of the most sought-after classic cars. As a representative of the best money could buy.

We love it.

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2021 Pininfarina Battista Anniversario

A 1,900bhp hyper GT, costing Euros 2.6 million. The Anniversario is a special edition of the Battista, an electric luxury hyper GT, with which Pininfarina celebrates its 90th anniversary. Only five Battista Anniversarios will be built. 

Most supercars can get to 62mph in about three seconds – the Battista does it in 1.9s, that’s faster than a contemporary F1 car. The development team claims that it can accelerate to 186mph in less than 12 seconds, and then cruise along at 217 mph.

We really dig this car, it’s just shame about the price.

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1955 Ferrari 750 Monza Spider

White a260 bhp, 2,999 cc DOHC inline four-cylinder engine with two Weber 58 DCO/A3 carburetors, five-speed manual transaxle, independent front suspension with coil spring, De Dion rear axle with parallel trailing arms and semi-elliptical leaf springs, four-wheel drum brakes, and a tubular steel frame. Wheelbase: 88.5 in.

In the mid-1950s, sports car racing took America by storm. Almost every weekend at tracks around the country, both professional and gentleman drivers could be found pushing their machines to the limits, all for a chance to stand atop the podium. So often, these race cars were driven hard, put away wet, damaged in accidents, and often modified for the sake of performance, as their drivers sought to extract just one more race behind the wheel. It was extremely rare for a racing car to enter the crucible of motorsport and leave unscathed and unmolested.

It was even rarer for one of these racing cars to be retained by its racing driver after it retired from competition. Furthermore, it is almost unfathomable that one of these drivers would hold onto their cherished racer for the next 60 years. Yet, such is the story of this Ferrari 750 Monza. Just beautiful.

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1955 Pegaso Z-102B Coupe by Saoutchik

The Z-102 from Spanish manufacturer Pegaso is the most exotic car to come out of post-WWII Spain. The cars were built in Barcelona, but bodied by some of Europe’s finest coachbuilders, in this case by Saoutchik of Paris.

This Z-102 is powered by a 2.8-liter V-8 producing 170 horsepower. This Saoutchik Coupe was one of seven built (there was also a Cabriolet). It’s one of the most striking designs of 1950s sports cars – at the same time sexy and aggressive. We love the two tone paint work. Wonderful.

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2021 McLaren 765LT Spider

With 0-100km/h in 2.8 seconds (0-60mph is 2.7 seconds), with 0-200km/h (124mph) taking 7.2 seconds. The new LT Spider takes 10.0 seconds to cover 400m (¼ mile) from standstill and the car’s maximum speed is 330km/h (205mph). Totally nuts.

 “A McLaren ‘Longtail’ is engineered to deliver not only incredible performance but also the highest levels of driver engagement. The 765LT coupe set new benchmarks in maximising a driver’s connection with the car and the Spider builds on this, adding the additional engagement factor of open-air driving to give direct access to the scintillating sound of the titanium exhaust – a pleasure that thanks to the electrically operated rear window can also be enjoyed with the retractable roof in place.”
Jamie Corstorphine, Director of Product Strategy, McLaren Automotive

The most powerful McLaren convertible ever and the latest and most engaging addition to the brand’s Longtail lineage can be ordered now from McLaren retailers. Pricing is from £310, 500* and availability is limited to just 765 cars for customer order worldwide, with 2021 production already all sold.

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So there you have our top 10 cars from Salon Privé, we hoped you liked our choices. I missed out so many more cars that I could have put in this top 10, you can check out more Salon Privé pictures here and Salon Privé videos here.

Which car would you most like to drive or own?

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