Lamborghini Miura P400 S and McLaren F1 crowned Best of Show at Salon Privé, making Concours history with two winners at Blenheim Palace
Salon Privé, the UK’s most prestigious luxury automotive event, has crowned two Best of Show winners making this the first ever double crowning moment in the Concours’ 21-year history. This year was the first time Salon Privé has evolved to include two distinct Best of Show awards recognising both the great classics of the past and the modern collector cars increasingly shaping the market today.
Shown as part of the Class aptly titled, The Italian Job – 60 Years of the Lamborghini Miura, the 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400 S, owned by Amir Ravan and the RLC Collection, scooped the coveted Concours d’Elégance award.
The second winner was Terry Bramall’s 1995 McLaren F1, which has made history as the first ever winner of Salon Privé’s new Best of Show Concours d’Excellence award. Competing in a dedicated class celebrating early supercars, titled Poster Cars – Icons from Our Youth, the F1 was selected as the finest modern collector car on the lawns. The top honour was created specifically for entrants into Salon Privé’s new limited-edition supercar and hypercar classes, in recognition of the growing importance of contemporary performance cars within the international collector market.
Andrew Bagley, co-founder and Chairman of Salon Privé, said: “The standard of cars on the competition field this year has been incredible, and I think our two winners demonstrate just how much the collector car world has evolved.
“Introducing the Concours d’Excellence Award was a big step for us this year. The great classics will always be at the heart of the Salon Privé Concours, but there’s no question that modern supercars and hypercars are now hugely important to collectors too, and they deserve to be recognised in their own right.
“We’ve had some staggering motors come through the gates at Blenheim Palace this week, and the quality across all classes was outstanding. The Miura is one of the great automotive designs – a car whose presence and proportions remain as captivating today as they were when it was first unveiled. A tremendous amount of care has gone into preserving and presenting this example, and that was ultimately recognised with the highest honour by the judges here at Salon Privé.
“The McLaren F1 is a landmark in the history of the supercar, and a very fitting recipient of our inaugural Concours d’Excellence. In an exceptional field, this particular F1 stood out as a superb example of a car that fundamentally changed our understanding of what a road-going supercar could be.”
Speaking about his Concours d’Elégance win, Amir Ravan from the RLC Collection said: “For me, the Miura represents a genuine turning point in automotive history. The engineering, the proportions and Gandini’s extraordinary design came together to create something that still feels remarkably special nearly sixty years later.
“As a collector, you become very conscious that you’re really a custodian of these cars, and a great deal of thought and care has gone into ensuring this example was presented as it should be. True credit goes to Tom Hartley Junior and his team for their meticulous attention to detail with restoring this car over four years. To have my Miura recognised with Best of Show at Salon Privé, among cars of the highest calibre is enormously rewarding and a real privilege. It is an honour to share this reward with Tom.”
While winner Terry Bramall, said: “I am so thrilled and overwhelmed to have won the inaugural Salon Privé Concours d’Excellence at such a prestigious event. The F1 is such a fabulous car and a testimony to its designer Gordon Murray and its restorers Lanzante.”
One of these two Best of Show cars will go on to compete as a finalist in the Peninsula Classics Best of the Best in January 2027, against winners of other global Concours, including Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, Cavallino Classic and The Quail.
Both Concours champions were crowned after two days of competition, which began on Wednesday 2nd September with a team of international judges, led by Chief Judge Nigel Matthews and Assistant Chief Judge Chris Kramer, using the M100 judging system. Developed specifically for contemporary collector cars, the internationally recognised 100-point system replaces traditional originality-based judging with an approach suited to today’s engineering and design, with a balanced framework for judging the world’s most advanced performance cars.
Runner Up in the Concours d’Elégance went to Billy Hibbs’ Maserati 3500GT Spyder Prototipo by Vignale, while Gregor Piech’s Porsche 918 Coupé Sonderwunsch was also named runner up in the Concours d’Excellence.
Other notables wins from the competition included The Chairman’s Award, which went to a stunning Porsche Pre-A Speedster by Reutter, shown by Jane Dyke, while Most Exceptional Coachwork went to the crowd-pleasing Duesenberg SJ Speedster by Gurney Nutting, shown by Bill & Nichole Lyon.
Among the 70 exceptional cars that competed for the Salon Privé Concours by Aviva Private Clients Best of Show was an Armstrong-Siddeley Special Six, Maserati 8C 3000, Alfa Romeo Sprint Berlinetta, a very early Porsche 356 Split Window Coupé, Aston Martin DB3S, Bizzarrini 5300GT, Ferrari 250 GT Series 1 Cabriolet, Bugatti EB110 Prototype, Aston Martin Valiant Prototype and the extraordinary Bugatti Bolide, one of just 40 produced worldwide.
Further significant entries included the 2025 Rimac Nevera Time Attack, which became the first fully electric car to compete in the Salon Privé Concours’ 21-year history, alongside the historically significant Lamborghini Sián FKP 37 Prototype 1.
The competing cars ran across 12 classes and spanned almost a century of motoring, including, Grace and Elegance – The Golden Age of Motoring, Design in Motion – 100 Years of Carrozzeria Touring, La Dolce Vita, and Passione Ferrari – Masterpieces of Maranello.
Salon Privé 2026 continues at Blenheim Palace until Sunday 6th September, with an action-packed events programme and must-see displays across the weekend. The competition continues with the event’s unique Concours de Vente, which culminates on Supercar Sunday and Lifestyle Club Day, which will see Richard Hammond return as a judge.
For more information and to purchase tickets to Salon Privé visit www.salonpriveconcours.com
Event Images: Salon Privé Best of Show 2026