Aurora Concours
Up to this point, Sweden wasn’t famous for any serious classic car event, but I always felt that there is a huge potential in this country. Streets of Stockholm may be full of boring gray or black estate cars, but there are treasures hidden behind this facade made of modesty. It’s enough to visit one of the weekly tires kicking meetings in Stockholm’s Årstaviken, to encounter a few surprising jewels. I was wondering what would happen if someone would really make an effort to pull those unique machines out of their hides and gather them in a nice place.
We don’t need to wonder anymore because someone actually did it! Was it as good as I predicted? Oh, yes! It’s hard to say how much it exceeded my, and others’ expectations.
A nice little local classic car event: this was my thought when I first learned about the event from my Instagram. But with every new post on their Instagram account, showing what is coming to the show, I knew, that it’s going to be big. And it was. I didn’t have to wait long to experience it. Just after going through the gates of Norrvikens Trädgårdar, I had the honor to be greeted by no one else but ex Formula 1 driver Stefan Johansson. A brief conversation was a great starter of the day.
While walking between the cars, and through the crowds gathered in the picturesque garden, I was a bit confused. My senses were telling me that I’m at the Lake Como, only the background chatter in Swedish was reminding me that the action is taking place a few thousand kilometers north from Italy.
Many factors were adding to this Mediterranean vibe, and sunny weather wasn’t even one of the most important ones. Firstly, the place that first comes to mind when I think about the world’s unique classic cars is Villa d’Este. And who is one of the most charismatic collectors present at every edition of this event? Corrado Lopresto! The sight of him and a few cars from his incredible collection was so familiar. One of the highlights of the Aurora Concours was a 1955 Lancia Florida Coupe, which I remember very well from the last Concorso d’Eleganza I visited.
Were there any other features that reminded me of Como? The host of the talk sessions and presentations: J. Philip Rathgen, better known as JP, host of Classic Heart BMW Classic podcast and member of the jury on Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. But Villa d’Este is not the only place to see cars at the Lake Como. The incredible roaring of the racing 12-cylinder boxer engine of the Ferrari 512 BB LM, that was tearing the Nordic air, was previously presented at the Fuori Concorso in Villa Grumello.
It was also not possible to miss the involvement of BMW. Not only guests were welcomed by the sight of a brand-new Rolls-Royce Spectre, but there was also an opportunity to take a look at some classic and new models from Munich. But for me, the most interesting was a little pavilion where two concept cars were presented. The Vision Neue Klasse and Vision Neue Klasse X. Those cars pay tribute to the model from 1962, which set a design language for BMW for the next decades. The latest models from this manufacturer are characterized by a very polarizing design. The look at the Neue Klasse concepts was a nice reminder that designers from Munich are aware of the fact that not all cars need to be huge and vulgar.
Don’t get the impression, that Aurora Concours was trying to be a copy of the established Italian events. Definitely not! It brought a lot of fresh air to the conservative recipe for a concorso-type event. The mix of classic cars and the latest hypercars was very original. Some may say that futuristic carbon fiber bodies don’t belong to concorso events. But let’s think a bit about the very beginning of these types of events. They started to be organized in the first half of the 20th century and were dedicated to the latest creations from the coach builders. Hand-built, bespoke and setting trends for the future – this description matches both the 100-year-old award-winning machines and the latest hypercars.
It is not surprising that one brand was especially visible in Norrvikens Trädgårdar. It’s only 30 km long trip south from Båstad to get to Ängelholm: the city of Koenigsegg. No wonder that they had a huge impact on their almost local event. Every car from this manufacturer is special, but some are even more: like the Chimera, which had its premiere here. This car is a mix of the best ingredients Koenigsegg has at hand. Body from Agera RS, engine from Jesko and simulated manual gearbox from CC850.
One of the stars of the show was obviously Mr. Koenigsegg himself. There were not only a few opportunities to listen to him during the talking sessions, but also to look at the status he has among the crowds following him and asking for autographs. And if after looking at those machines you would like to purchase something with the distinctive ghost logo, but you don’t want to wait a few years for the delivery of a brand-new car, a new series of Koenigsegg branded car cosmetics was revealed.
It is not possible to talk about the Aurora Concours and not mention the Motikon. The CEO and Founder of it, Filip Larsson, is also the main person behind the Aurora. Not surprisingly, Motikon brought a huge selection of cars from their offer.
The list of other exhibitors was long, too. I particularly like the Chromecars Black & Gold Collection, with 7 F1 Lotus cars from the 1970s and 1980s. This year is also the anniversary of the Ferrari Testarossa. Present at the event was one of the absolutely first production examples. The car was introduced in the famous Lido nightclub on the Champs Elysees in Paris. Days before the official introduction at the Auto Salon in Paris.
I also must mention a few other machines that struck me the most. One of them was the Lamborghini LM002 Station Wagon, previously owned by the Sultan of Brunei. It was, however, exposed in a very unfortunate place with many tent supporting lines around, so it was hard to really enjoy its view. Much luckier was a Porsche 962, in classic Rothmans livery, which was parked in the area closest to the palace. Its owner gave the audience the opportunity to enjoy the sound of the performance engine which allowed this car to enjoy so many victories in the past.
On the other side of the power and size spectrum was the AC Ace Bristol Roadster from 1956. On one hand this car looked familiar, but on the other, somehow too gentle and humble. The reason is that it was the car that was used by Carol Shelby to build the famous Cobra. But here in its original British form. As an enthusiast of 1980s hi-fi systems, I couldn’t just walk past the BMW M1 which previously belonged to Frank Farian, the man behind bands like Boney M or La Bouche. Unsurprisingly, the car was equipped with a special audio system with a beautiful control unit. I wish I could get inside and play with these stylish buttons.
I’m not able to mention all the fantastic people that visited the event, and I will not even try to list all the interesting machines. I hope that what I mentioned above is enough to leave an impression of how the event looked. What matters is that the Aurora Concours made a huge impact on the classic car scene. It’s hard to believe that it was only their first try. In the following years, it will not only be mentioned as one of the world’s greatest automotive events, but will also set trends that will affect other, well-established players.
