Rome celebrates British motoring with REB Concours at Villa Wolkonsky

 ROME – The sixth edition of the REB Concours took place in Rome last Saturday, and this year it was entirely dedicated to British motoring and motorsport, in what was a fantastic spectacle of some of the most famous and classic vehicles that Britain has produced, reports Il Messaggero.

 The event, with the support of the Automobile Club of Rome, took place under the arches of the Neronian aqueduct of Villa Wolkonsky, the residence of the United Kingdom’s ambassador in Rome. On the five hectares of park on the Esquilino Hill, 30 different cars competed for the title, and to be labled as “Beautiful as Rome,” the victory of which was decreed by the owner of the house, S.E. Edward Lewellyn, and was awarded to the 1925 Bentley that was present.

 The jury was composed of journalists from the sector. There were many British rarities present at the event. Two Rolls Royces, to begin with. The first was the 1964 convertible Silver Cloud that Grace Kelly used for her trips around the Principality.

 The princess loved that type of car, so much so that to reach the altar on 19 April 1956, Prince Ranieri of Monaco used a convertible Rolls Royce donated for the occasion by the Monagasque citizens. The second Rolls had equally regal origins: it is the 25/30 that Queen Elizabeth II gave to King Faruk of Egypt on the occasion of his wedding to Princess Farida. Having been abandoned in the garage of an important hotel in the Capital it was restored after the slendours of the Dolve Vita in Rome of the soverign in exile, and now this month graced the city of Rome with its presence at the Concours.

 In order to demonstrate and show the incredible British sporting successes in the 1930s (five wins at Le Mans), there was also a Bentley three litre present, which infact won the top prize, and was built in 1925 in the warehouses of Pyms Lane in Crewe, which is still the headquarters of the Bentley brand.

 There was also a selection of Jaguars. The 1936 SS100, a 1950 XK 120 OTS and the 1961 XK150 coupe version. It was also expected that there would be a Triumph, an MG, an Austin Healy, a Daimler, a small but very fast Caterham and of course a Land Rover, and indeed, they did not disappoint when they arrived. Speaking of off-road, there was also room for a copy of the first series of the 1973 Range Rover.

 The ‘Queen of Malvern’ could not be missing from this “Tribute to British Cars,” and there were three fantsatic examples: an 4/4 1600 4 seater from 1968, the powerful Aero8 from 2003 (which was also the last one ever produced), and the Super Sport from 2025.

 There was also much talk about cinema at this 6^th edition of the REB Concours, thanks mainly to the presence of a very rare Lotus Esprit St. Tropez, whose coupe version has starred in three cult movies: two James Bond films (The Spy Who Loved Me and Only For Your Eyes), and one woth the beautiful Sharon Stone (Basic Instinct). Furthermore, within the Young Timer category, there were also two Aston Martins and a Lotus Evora present.

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