Konkurs Elegancji 2023 – Classics at Rozalin Palace
WELL-BALANCED, HIGH-CLASS FINALE
The beginning of autumn usually marks the end of classic car season and to celebrate in style, automotive enthusiasts gathered at the seventh finale of Konkurs Elegancji – the Polish Concours of Elegance. Previously known as Varsopolis and organised in the heart of Warsaw, ever since 2020 the event is hosted at the picturesque and wholeheartedly welcoming premises of Palac Rozalin a dozen kilometres south of the Polish capital.
Year by year the event is improving and not without recognition. For the first time in its history, the competition has been approved by FIVA and included in their calendar. However, whilst the last edition was doubtlessly a stepping stone, with just a handful of stellar entrants the 1953 Fiat 8V Supersonic made it rather a single-sided competition. This year was different, as each of the three classes had plentiful of worthwhile title contetenders. Such a line-up kept the public in suspense until the very last moment, making the competition well balanced.
DIFFERENT TWIST ON A CONCOURS
I had an additional role to play this year at Konkurs Elegancji, as I was invited to be one of the members of the Jury. Led by Tomasz Jóźwiak, the committee counted seven people with various automotive backgrounds and who were presented with rather a challenging task. Choosing three class winners and crowning the overall Grand Prix is as much a privilege as it is a great responsibility.
Fortunately, mixing a great dose of everyone’s experience with a touch of curiosity, then sprinkling it all with plentiful of ambition to do a quality and just work turned out to be the perfect recipe. We evaluated not only the car’s style, elegance and timeless beauty, but also its condition, authenticity and rarity. Majority of the owners accompanied their cars during the inspection, complementing the show with curiosities about the restoration process or highlighting memorable moments from the vehicle’s history.
Given a vast array of vehicles in different conditions, as the jury we were observing a tight race for victory. There were cars scoring tops as beautiful and elegant, just to loose points seconds later lacking authenticity or being overpopulous. After five hours of what surprisingly turned out to be hard work, we met to conclude on our final verdict…
THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL
Before we find out, though, let us take a stroll through the palace front! Konkurs Elegancji is very much appreciated as the most prestigious classic cars event in Poland, but importantly, the Concours has attracted some international attention, too! Some cars – such as rare Lamborghini Jarama S – travelled as far as from Denmark and English chatter was omnipresent around the Palace’s garden. Indeed, there was a lot to discuss and the main subjects were subdivided in three classes.
Firstly there was Elegance, especially hard to judge as some cars’ grace was much different to the others’. Representing royal manners were three Rolls-Royces, including two Silver Clouds and one Silver Wraith. The distinguished lines were contrasted with more eccentric and imaginative curves of some of the Italian classics present. Three Ferraris were hard to miss on the lawn. In addition to the well respected 246 GTS Dino, unconventially, the remaining two were the 2+2 versions of the 365GT and 330GT. The former in silver rocked an all-original interior with beautiful patina, proudly presented by its owner, Graeme. The trophy, however, went to the black-on-red 1958 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider restored from ashes to its original specification.
Next class was much more balanced, yet by no means boring. Simply, the overarching theme of ‘Sport’ seems to have been similarly understood by manufacturers throughout the years – it was all about performance and aerodynamics. The premises of Rozalin Palace welcomed two NSX siblings badged by Honda and Acura. They were followed by two more red entrants from Arese, namely the Alfa Romeo Montreal and SZ. Even though the competition was sometimes as strong as Ferrari 512 Berlinetta Boxer, the winner could only be one… Lancia Stratos Stradale brought by a famous Polish collector showed how an immaculate example of this rally icon should look like. Painted in as unusual as perfectly fitting blue, the car has travelled just 8000 kilometres from new and has been in the same hands for around seventeen years. Given only 492 were made, what a rare sight it was!
Third class collected cars which were slightly more popular and by many are used as their daily drivers. Amongst others, entrants included Lancia Fulvia Sport Zagato and Beta Montecarlo, complemented by a true road cruiser by Maserati – the Quattroporte III. The winner was almost as rare as it could get – Jaguar XJ-S Lynx Eventer with the factory 5.3-litre powerhouse bored out to 6.1-litres is a one-off configuration of a wagon produced only in 67 units.
One additional prize was given to the best car on the parking lot and this award went to a Porsche 928. As it turned out, its owner spent a long time restoring it, but the configuration of gold over brown chequered interior truly deserved it. The fact that it has beaten a line-up of colorful Testarossas or a couple of Porsche 356 should speak for itself.
ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE – HERE MORE THAN ANYWHERE
Whenever I get to this part of any reportage I feel like I am playing it on repeat. People, however, are inseparable, dare I even say the most important part of any automotive gathering. Whilst one can admire a vehicle, it will not tell any story by itself nor it will not engage in an exciting conversation with anybody. At the Rozalin Palace, to me, people are more important that anywhere else.
From my perspective, Konkurs Elegancji is filled with friends. It is one of those yearly family-like events, when you travel to celebrate something special together. Just, instead of a birthday or holiday it is our automotive passion that brings and keeps us together. I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation with countless enthusiasts, met new people, engaged with those, whom I got to know online and fostered relationships which have been there for long. Chatter, laughter and discussions continued well after the official part has closed.
GRAND PRIX GALA’S GOODBYE
Couple of hours later an evening celebration was planned. Many used the short break to redress from their wetted outfit into an evening attire, getting ready for more automotive emotions to come. Indeed, the banquet opened up with the announcement of the Grand Prix award. This year’s Best of Show went to the 1953 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith. Allegedly once serving at the Buckingham Palace with the Royal Family, it was imported in 2005 and thoroughly restored by a Rolls Royce specialist. A noteworthy and noble winner, for Silver Wraiths have been used with the royalties around the world – Danish Royal Family still uses theirs!
Event Host Patryk Mikiciuk (left) with Chairman of the Jury Tomasz Jóźwiak (right) next to Grand Prix winner Rolls Royce Silver Wraith
No sooner had the verdict been announced than the guests headed into the palace to raise a toast for the day. There was delicious food all around, serving as a great companion to continuous conversations and live music. Despite a surprising tiredness from the decision making, I enjoyed the party with my friends until midnight.
ONWARDS AND UPWARDS
When the smoke has come down, I can certainly second what some have already expressed during the event - Konkurs Elegancji is headed in the right direction, persistently improving with each and every edition.
Whilst I was initially worried there was no superstar of a classic car matching last year’s edition, it was only for the better. Great majority of the cars were worthy title contenders, the judging process was much improved compared to previous editions and there were plentiful of attractions for visitors throughout the day… and night.
Watching closely the evolution of the Concours over the years and knowing the enthusiasm of the people behind it – now equipped with even more lessons-learnt – I am nearly certain the next edition will raise the bar even higher. Congratulations Konkurs Elegancji, as in spite of all the pressure, you have done great!
Text & Photos: Adam Pekala ©
