A Ford-powered De Tomaso Pantera in the wild. Photo by Jeff Koch.
The Radnor Hunt Concours d’Elegance, held on the grounds of America’s oldest fox-hunting club in Malvern, Pennsylvania, is celebrating its 18th year in 2014, and this year’s list of categories includes one particularly broad in scope. “Powered by Ford,” new for the 2014 event, aims to highlight classic vehicles with Blue-Oval brand engines, including Sunbeam Tigers, De Tomaso Panteras, Shelby Cobras, Iso Grifos and TVR Griffiths.
Ford engines, especially Ford V-8s, have found their way into some of the world’s most famous performance cars because of their reputation for high-performance, reliability, and bang-for-the-buck. Since Ford engines have seen duty in such a large population of vehicles, the Powered by Ford class should offer lots of variety, and there’s a good chance the category will feature more than just sports cars. According to concourse rules, there could even be crossover between the Powered by Ford class and the Formula One Grid class, as Ford’s long-term partnership with Cosworth (which stretched from 1966 until 2004) powered a multitude of Formula One cars over the years, delivering 176 Formula One victories.
Other featured classes for 2014 are Classic Chrysler and HRD Vincent Motorcycles, and expected entries include a 1962 Facel Vega Facel II, a 1936 Chrysler Imperial C-10 Airflow, a 1955 Chrysler Imperial convertible prototype, a LeBaron-bodied 1937 Chrysler C-15 Town Car built for Walter P. Chrysler’s wife, and a 1955 Chrysler Imperial convertible prototype built for Chrysler chairman K.T. Keller.
With an imposed limit of just 100 vehicles, the Radnor Hunt Concours d’Elegance certainly isn’t the largest event on the East Coast, but what the show lacks in quantity it makes up for in quality. As with most concours d’elegance events, proceeds go to benefit charity, in this case the Thorncroft Equestrian Center, which teaches horseback riding and develops therapeutic programs for those with special needs.
The Radnor Hunt Concours d’Elegance will take place on Sunday, September 14, on the grounds of Radnor Hunt in Malvern, Pennsylvania. Events are planned for the Friday and Saturday preceding the show as well; for complete details, visit RadnorConcours.org.