In the Oxfordshire sunlight, where the lawns of Blenheim Palace slope away like green silk, the quiet hum of V12s and polished laughter returns for another summer. Salon Privé, Britain’s most genteel automotive gathering, marks its 20th anniversary this year, not with noise, but with the orchestration of spectacle.
It has always been a curious collision: the geometry of supercars parked in front of Baroque architecture; collectors in navy blazers swapping restoration tips over champagne. This year, however, there is a new wrinkle in the layout, one that says much about how the world of motoring is evolving.
Richard Hammond, once the excitable middle act of Top Gear, will judge the newly launched Concours de Vente and the inaugural Lifestyle Club Trophy on what is being called Supercar Sunday. If the name sounds like a high-octane version of a village fête, that may not be far off the mark. The event is open not only to elite marques and curated clubs but also to those who simply turn up in something worth glancing at twice.
Hammond’s presence is fitting. His trajectory, from TV personality to owner of a classic car restoration business, and now a small-batch distiller of gin and whisky, mirrors the Salon’s shift from high-sheen exclusivity to something more textured. Less spectacle, more story.
The Concours de Vente is an intriguing addition. Unlike a traditional concours d’élégance, which rewards perfection in preservation, this one showcases cars for sale—vehicles in motion, not museum pieces. It’s less about provenance and more about possibility. What you see, you can take home. That exchange of passion, ambition, and often large sums of money plays out beneath the towers of one of Britain’s most storied estates.
And yet, the real charm may not lie in the awards or the engine notes, but in the spaces between them. Blenheim offers a grandeur that feels both cinematic and intimate, where rare cars are softened by the absurd normality of birdsong and English clouds. Sunday is open to owners of classics, supercars, hypercars, anyone who arrives with the quiet confidence that their car has something to say, even when it’s parked.
Hammond, who will also showcase his new spirits label alongside his media platform DriveTribe, brings something else to the event: relatability. His public enthusiasm for cars has always been more pub chat than concours etiquette. At Blenheim, he’ll bridge worlds, the polished chrome of collector culture and the more human love of a good drive on a Sunday morning.
What’s taking shape at Salon Privé is a broader rethinking of car culture in Britain. Less top-down, more horizontal. Less emphasis on ownership as a barrier to entry, more on the shared curiosity that cars provoke. At its best, this version of Supercar Sunday feels like a conversation, not a contest.
And that may be what matters most. In a time when mobility is being redefined, electrified, automated, reimagined, the gathering at Blenheim reminds us that sometimes the real joy isn’t in moving quickly, but in pausing long enough to admire how far we’ve come.
