Wheels at the Palace 2024
Having a Concours d’Elegance in the Netherlands at a great venue is a blessing for us Dutch. Over the years the organization went from Palace ‘t Loo to Palace Soestdijk and now they use the Mariënwaerdt Estate near the town of Beesd. The event itself gets better and better. It is a meeting point for each and everyone who’s involved in the classic car scene here. Business partners, suppliers, friends and clients all take their time to come bye. Together we enjoy looking at great automobiles, while discussing the current classic car market and cars in general.
For this event we brought several cars. The just-finished Jaguar E-type Series 1 was driven by its owner to the classic car parking. The Facel Vega FV3B was on display at the restoration shop who highlighted their craftsmanship on this project. The ex-Royal Dutch Family’s Land Rover Series III 88 took its spot on the lawn, next to its counterparts. Land Rovers from the Solihull facilities, but also Minerva and other specials were shown to the crowd, still celebrating 75 years of Land Rover. While arriving on the field with the first of our freshly imported New Defenders we instantly felt at home.
But the highlight for ourselves was driving the Maserati A6 1500 and Cisitalia 202 from Delft onto the lawn. The jury was taking its time to inspect all details on both cars. Especially the Cisitalia draw the attention of two senior and two junior members of the jury. Harm Lagaaij – renowned for his designs at Porsche – asked in-depth questions about the car’s significancy in the car design world. Geert explained him why and how this particular Italian sports car, coming from a humble manufacturer meant so much to car builders, designers and engineers for years to come. It was interesting to hear about the collaboration between Turin’s masters in design during an era just after WWII. In the end the Cisitalia was rewarded as second in class, almost head-to-head with the overall Concours winner, Ferrari 250 GT SWB Speciale Aerodinamica.
All photos by Niko Bloemendal; https://bloemendal-fotografie.nl