Douglas Hallawell | November 18, 2015

Special thanks to author Douglas Hallawell and the Morgan Sports Car Club (MSCC) for allowing us to reproduce this article.

Mix together a generous splash of Pebble Beach along with a healthy dose of Goodwood Revival & Villa d’Este, top it all off with bubbly & what kind of cocktail do you end up with?

Well, the answer resides in the title of this post, the second edition of which was held on the beautiful grounds of Chantilly’s prestigious chateau on September 6th. Located only forty kilometers north of Paris, the large domain is undeniably a choice setting for this category of venue. And Peter Auto is the organising body behind this event, as is the case for several other major ones like the Tour Auto held in spring. Parisians have long maintained the habit of fleeing ‘la capitale’ in July and August, which probably dictates the choice of date. With attendance at 13,500 visitors—a third more than last year—and no less than 850 classic cars on display, one can only wonder what 2016’s edition holds in store.

In similar fashion to Le Mans Classic, twenty-nine very exclusive cars —including a 2009 Swiss-registered Aeromax—were put up for auction on the Saturday. For Sunday, forty classic car clubs were solicited representing thirty European & US car marques, past and present. With the French club’s meagre quota for 2015 being seventeen Morgans, it’s little wonder then that nineteen actually made it past the main gates. For this, Jehan-Charles Pentenfenyo can be held partially responsible on account of trailering his 1934 Matchless-engined trike behind his 4/4! The organizers had indeed made it clear to all thirty clubs that they privilege a variety of models and years in their choice of cars—a criteria not easy to assume or fulfill. Given that some of the Morgan attendees had already taken part last year, it is likely that next year this tendency will increase, such was the success of this year’s edition.

In most events like Chantilly’s, you either have a concours d’etat or a concours d’elegance, the latter for judging both car and occupants. Chantilly hosted both! The programme was so rich that only the official website can do it justice. The “résumé” video even starts off with the nineteen Mogs on arrival: