Salon Privé Concours 2024’s Sports Racer class is continuing to build with four iconic cars confirmed to join the gathering of Blenheim Palace. Legends from Jaguar, Lister, MG and Porsche will all be shipped to Oxfordshire for the spectacle held on 28-31 August.
A 1956 Lister Maserati, ‘MER 303’ is the sole surviving fruit of a famous partnership between driver Archie Scott-Brown and engineer Brian Lister. One of the most formidable motor racing teams of the 1950s, this small, lightweight and nimble sports racer was designed to house the new 2.0-litre Maserati A6GCS engine. The chassis bore the legendary identifier ‘BHL 1’.
The car took the 1956 British motorsport season by storm, winning four races outright, with Scott-Brown taking his first triumph at Snetterton in May. He also earned a brace of class wins across iconic circuits including Aintree, Goodwood and Silverstone. The car continued to race in 1957, 1958 and 1959, before following the familiar path of old racers, being passed from collector to collector. The car was known to be raced overseas in the 1990s and 2000s, before being imported back into the UK in 2017. Amateur racer Nick Riley bought the car, competing in the Goodwood Revival and Le Mans Classic, then finishing second overall at the 2018 Monaco Historic.
The only remaining works Lister that legendary Archie Scott-Brown raced, this remarkable car is one of the most original Listers in existence, and is described as a truly phenomenal racing car from a thrilling era of British motorsport. Salon Privé Concours guests will have a rare chance to see a much-loved and highly-competitive racing Lister up close.
The Porsche 906 Carrera 6 is an icon amongst enthusiasts of the Stuttgart brand. A landmark design, its development was overseen by a young Ferdinand Piëch, who created an ultra-lightweight car eligible to compete in the new FIA Group 4 Sports Car category. It placed sixth in its 1966 24 Hours of Daytona debut, and went on to score numerous victories in races around the world.
Austrian racer Rudi Lins was a Porsche regular, racing the 356 and 904 before switching to the Carrera 6. When he heard the Porsche racing department might be offering slightly damaged cars for sale, he made a few telephone calls, then drove to Stuttgart in a van. He was presented with an array of damaged cars, including this ex-Dieter Glemser and Hans Hermann works car, chassis number 906 111, which was damaged in the Targa Florio. He filled his van with motorsport cast-offs, also purchasing an early test car, chassis number 906 101. He then set to work, completing a build-up of 906 101 in early 1967 ready for a successful year in racing – he even won the European Hillclimb Championship. But in 1968, he crashed the car, leaving it severely damaged. Cue a switch to 906 111, finishing the season behind its wheel.
906 111 was then sold and raced by other drivers, before being rebuilt in the early 1980s, and has since been enjoyed by enthusiasts across Europe. A fascinating creation, it is coming over to Salon Privé Concours from Germany.
Back to Britain, and a first-time entrant for Salon Privé Concours is bringing an ultra-rare 1966 MGC GTS Lightweight, ‘MBL 546E’. The first of two such cars built by the BMC Competitions Department at Abingdon, it was created for international endurance racing and has a unique fully-riveted and welded aluminium body fitted to a lightened and strengthened floor-pan. MG enthusiasts, this is a very special car indeed.
It has a very special history, too. It was first raced in the 1967 Targa Florio by the legendary Paddy Hopkirk and Timo Makinen, achieving a third place in the Prototype Class. Paddy drove it again in the 1968 Sebring 12 Hours, alongside Andrew Hedges, again achieving third in class. After a few more endurance races, it was then used for promotional purposes, before being sold for just $4,000. Remarkably, two American owners used it as a fast road car, before it returned to the UK in 1973.
‘MBL’ was then used for both road and circuit work, with a full mechanical overhaul in the 1980s, before MG works car collector and racer Michael Darcey bought it to be reunited with sister car ‘RMO’. He successfully raced it in the MGCC Championship, before a further sale saw it go to California, where it was restored by Symbolic Motor Car Company between 2007-2011. The car returned to England in 2022 and the current owner purchased it earlier this year. The car is described as staggeringly original, and this is a rare opportunity to see a very special MG up close.
Another special entrant confirmed for Salon Privé Concours, a 1951 Jaguar XK120 OTS, is still being prepared by restorers Hilton & Moss, who promise this example of Jaguar’s first post-war sports car will be a model not to be missed.
Classic Yorkshire 