A familiar sight at Pebble Beach or Villa d’Este, the ex-Count Trossi 1930 710 SSK roadster wowed judges and spectators alike on the sweeping Cartier Lawn at Goodwood House.

The all-black car - the only one of its kind in the world - was competing in the ‘Supercharged Sensations’ class, a category exclusive to ‘blown’ coachbuilt Mercedes of the 20s and 30s. It is one of the most famous cars in the world and, despite not winning its class, took overall honours.

Every year, those in charge of the Style et Luxe concours are tasked with coming up with truly original themes and translating these into exquisite entries. Under the careful eye of Julius Thurgood and Lord March himself, the organisers once again excelled themselves.



Goodwood likes an anniversary so, 100 years of the first ‘people’s car’, the Model T Ford, was celebrated with entries such as Chris Andrews’ 1915 Hot Rod, while the 1948 Earls Court Motorshow was re-run with some superb entries representing the brave new world that was post-War British motoring.



The innovative, quirky, and super-successful German company Porsche is 60 years old this year. Included in the ‘Rear-Engined Revolution’ category dedicated to its models were two Porsche Museum entries, and the fantastically original 1949 Porsche 356 ‘Gmund Coupé' from Thomas Straumann – who duly won.

Trossi Mercedes apart, two of the most dramatic entries came in the more modern classes: the 1995 Ford GT90 (‘The Shape of Things that Never Came’) and the DayGlo 1970 Lancia Stratos HF Prototipo (‘Dawn of the Supercar’).



The members of the judging panel came from all areas of the creative world. TV and radio presenter Chris Evans joined architect Sir Norman Foster, renowned designers Jonathan Ive, Mark Newson and Frank Stephenson, musicians Roger Taylor and Kenney Jones, and Bond actress Maryam d’Abo.



The latter would, no doubt, have been impressed with the ‘For Your Eyes Only’ class, with its six entries familiar to all 007 enthusiasts, all accompanied by a selection of matching ‘Bond Girls’, too.

On Sunday, at the by-invitation-only reception on the Goodwood House croquet lawn, F1 stars past and present Lewis Hamilton and Sir Stirling Moss mixed with celebrities such as Bryan Ferry, Sir Rocco Forte and HRH Prince Michael of Kent. Over a superb lunch of mainly Goodwood Estate produce, Arnaud Bamberger, MD of Cartier UK, presented the prizes to the winners, each award accompanied by his usual heartfelt words of congratulation.



Results:

Class One: The Car that put the World on Wheels
1911 Ford Model T ‘The Golden Ford’ – Neil Tuckett

Class Two: Supercharged Sensations
1927 Mercedes-Benz 680 S Torpedo Roadster – Miguel Gonzalez

Class Three: The ‘Great Britons’ class of stars of the 1948 Earls Court Motor Show
1948 Land Rover Series 1 - Tim Dines

Class Four: Rear-Engined Revolution
1949 Porche 356 ‘Gmund Coupé - Thomas Straumann

Class Five: A New Perspective
1948 Tucker Torpedo - John Jackson

Class Six: For Your Eyes Only
1965 Aston Martin DB5 - The Louwman Collection

Class Seven: Dawn of the Supercar
1967 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 Stradale - Museo Storico Alfa Romeo

Class Eight: The Shape of Things that Never Came
1999 Bugatti Chiron 18.3 - Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S

BEST OF SHOW
1930 Mercedes-Benz 710 SSK ‘Trossi Roadster’ – Ralph Lauren



Editor's Note: Don't forget that Cartier will be hosting the first Cartier ‘Travel With Style’ Concours in India later this year. For further details, see the news article elsewhere on Classic Driver.

Text: Steve Wakefield
Photos: Cartier (James Mann / Tim Griffiths) / Goodwood - all strictly copyright