Salon Privé has become the must-attend event for car launches – it’s unrivalled as an opportunity to meet the manufacturers and inspect the industry’s latest designs and groundbreaking innovations up close.
Opening day is invariably a keenly anticipated feast of model debuts from the world’s leading luxury marques, delighting an appreciative and discerning audience as well as 200 accredited members of press across print, digital and broadcast media.
At Salon Privé, specialist retailer Clive Sutton unveiled a highly specified 560HP Roush-engined Superformance MkIII finished in Ferrari Grigio Silver. In honour of Carroll Shelby’s 100th birthday, Clive Sutton specified the powerful, custom-built Roush motor for the MkIII.
Making its UK debut, the all-new, all-electric DEUS Automobiles Vayanne hypercar brought cutting-edge technology to Salon Privé, hot on the heels of its appearance at Monterey Car Week and Pebble Beach. Providing hypercar-level performance but with luxury sensibilities, such as comfort, practical storage, and daily usability – a first in the competitive hypercar class – the 2,200 bhp, pure electric Vayanne has been named as the most powerful pure electric hypercar in the world.
The global debut of the new Engler Desat, the dramatic evolution of the Slovakian company’s Superquad concept, also took place on the opening day of Salon Privé. With a unique livery and jaw-dropping performance, the new 2022 Engler Desat was unveiled to press and media. Starting with a unique vision, combined with 30-years’ experience, the result is the world’s only Superquad vehicle – a ground-breaking machine with uncompromising performance and dynamics.
Fresh from its reveal in California, the Hennessey Venom F5 Roadster made its European debut at Salon Privé Blenheim Palace. The car is based on the Hennessey Venom F5 Coupe, but is designed to offer unparalleled performance and the world’s most exhilarating open-air driving experience. Mid-mounted in the carbon fibre monocoque chassis is Hennessey’s twin-turbocharged, 6.6-litre ‘Fury’ engine, rated at an astonishing 1,817 bhp. Hennessey confidently predicts that the Venom F5 Roadster will surpass the company’s own ‘world’s fastest convertible’ record – 265.6 mph – currently held by the Hennessey Venom GT Spyder.
Reimagining the only sports car to ever win the hallowed Car of the Year title, the Nardone Automotive Porsche 928 at Blenheim Palace is the French company’s first vehicle and elevates the oft-overlooked two-door to hero status. Released earlier this year, Nardone’s mission is to realise the full potential of the 45-year-old design, building something fit for the 21st century, which combines comfort, performance and contemporary luxury.
With a shared passion for exhilarating motorsport experiences, Salon Privé was the perfect setting for Radical Motorsports to showcase its latest models. The British company showed the SR10 and SR3 XX models, and discussed the brand-new Cockpit Safety Structure – available as an option for the first time. The newly developed halo-inspired safety structure improves the safety of occupants, maximises strength without a major weight gain, and minimises aerodynamic drag to boost fuel efficiency and overall performance.
The perfect place for the Phantom Series II to make its UK public debut, Blenheim Palace hosted Rolls-Royce’s magnum opus in what is considered the pinnacle of the marque’s design, engineering, and craftsmanship. Occupying a unique position, at the apex of the luxury world, the Phantom Series II is a new expression of the eighth generation model which has seen Rolls-Royce designers and engineers guided by clients. Requested not to make major changes to the already iconic motor car, they’ve made the lightest of design touches, embellishments and adaptations as part of an intense process focussing on what should be preserved and protected.
Also unveiled on opening day, the spectacular Prodrive Legends feature on the South Lawn at Blenheim Palace paid tribute to almost 40 years of competition success for the Oxfordshire-based company. At the centre to the Prodrive Legends display was the revolutionary Hunter – the world’s first all-terrain hypercar, developed from the Bahrain Raid Xtreme competition, driven by Sébastien Loeb on the world’s toughest motorsport event: the Dakar. The brand-new Prodrive Racing Simulator made its public debut at Salon Privé, developed with design house CALLUM to blend cutting-edge computer technology with clean, elegant styling. A birch canopy surrounds a carbon fibre monocoque, with the intention to create a simulator that would have the aesthetic appeal of a piece of fine furniture rather than something hidden away in a corner.
The world’s first hydrogen hypercar, the Apricale, made its Salon Privé debut this year. A showcase of hydrogen technology, it’s been styled by Pininfarina but developed by Viritech. The FCEV hydrogen powertrain delivers 1,000 bhp in a hypercar weighing under 1,000kg and production is starting in 2024, with a limited run of only 25 cars. The ambition to overcome all the compromises of zero-emission vehicles required Viritech’s engineers to completely reconsider how fuel cells and batteries function together. The car itself represents a revolution, as the only hypercar with a zero-emissions powertrain whose weight is the same as a petrol-powered equivalent. This means it’s half of the weight of some battery electric vehicle equivalents.
