Britain’s Concours of Elegance returns to Hampton Court Palace in 2017. The site of Henry VIII’s riverside retreat also hosted the automotive celebration in honor of Queen Elizabeth’s long reign in 2014.
Established in 2012, the concours features 60 cars posed on the grounds of one of England’s royal castles, with hundreds of other cars and activities staged elsewhere on the property. The concours is scheduled for September 1-3, 2017.
Hampton Court’s Fountain Garden will be the setting for the 60 selected vehicles. The judging of those cars is done by the car owners themselves. Concours organizers maintain that any car invited to be among the 60 showcased already is a winner.
However, there is a judging team, led by concours patron Prince Michael of Kent. That team surveys the hundreds of cars displayed in the various car club areas. The winner of the club trophy is invited to become one of the 60 concours cars the following year, which means the 1923 Aston Martin Clover Leaf that won the club trophy earlier this year at Windsor Castle qualifies for the main concours in 2017 at Hampton Court.
