For the 26th time, British vehicles gathered in the St. Moritz area from July 5 to 7, 2019 for the annual British Classic Car Meeting. Despite the already considerable tradition, some things were different in 2019.
Not only had the organization of the meeting been handed over to new hands, there were also some other innovations, although the classic elements, a drive on Saturday and a beauty contest on Sunday, were retained.
Open to all British automobiles
While the vehicles taking part in previous BCCM editions were predominantly from Aston Martin, Austin-Healey, Bentley, Jaguar and Rolls-Royce, the rules were relaxed considerably for the 26th edition. Vehicles from all British manufacturers were welcome, which meant that sports cars and limousines from Riley, Lagonda, Invicta, MG, AC, Triumph, Jensen, Morris, Rover, Jensen, etc. could be seen in St. Moritz.
Although these brands were still underrepresented compared to the large contingents of Aston Martin, Bentley, Jaguar, Rolls-Royce and Co, they made the meeting more colorful and diverse. If cars from Lotus, Singer, TVR or Marcos join them in the future, the event will certainly become even more diverse. In any case, the start was a success.
Sunny drive over five mountain passes
After a relaxed get-together on Friday, the traditional drive, known as the Stelvio Rally, was on the agenda for Saturday. From 7:30 a.m., the first cars, largely sorted by year of manufacture, set off on the approximately 200 km long route, which led via the Ofen Pass, Umbrail and Stilser Joch to Bormio, before ending back in St. Moritz via the Bernina Pass in the afternoon.
A number of special tests with light barriers and hoses had to be passed along the way, which, together with adherence to the driving times, counted towards the classification. For the classic car crews who simply wanted to drive freely according to the road book, the "Mountain Classic" class was introduced without a classification.
However, those who wanted to measure themselves against the "competition" registered in the "Sports Classic". For the first time, the BCCM introduced an evaluation coefficient that made older cars more competitive than younger ones. For example, a car built in 1900 would have been awarded twice as many penalty points as a car built in 2000.
Nevertheless, none of the oldest cars won, but an MG C from 1968 with Markus Rudin at the wheel.
Eichard Engler took second place in a 1956 Jaguar XK 140 SE, followed by a 1975 Aston Martin V8 Saloon Series 3 with Alexander Gehrig at the wheel.
In fifth place came the first pre-war classic car, the 1932 Invicta Type S Low Chassis with Hans Füglistaler at the wheel.
Relatively warm weather, a few traffic jams and narrow mountain pass roads demanded a lot from the rally participants. Not all cars were up to the strain and had to abandon the journey, in extreme cases even being towed away or pushed onto the trailer.
Rainy beauties
As in the past, Sunday was dedicated to the "Concorso d'Eleganza". From around 09:00, a total of around 120 cars lined up in the center of St. Moritz. They were carefully positioned to create interesting combinations in the many winding squares, such as a group of Jaguar XK sports cars.
While visitors and tourists were able to view the cars, a jury, which was completely reorganized for 2019, evaluated the individual vehicles according to the criteria of "style", "significance" and "Britishness". For example, the presentation on site played just as important a role as the importance for the manufacturer or the car itself.
"Her Majesty's Ambassador" for Switzerland, Jane Owen, paid particular attention to how British the cars felt. The cars were judged in three separate classes, i.e. pre-war vehicles, post-war classics up to 1980/1 and youngtimers/neoclassics.
The winner's trophy for the pre-war vehicles went to the 1927 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Dual Cowl Tourer by Edward Summers. Coincidentally, the car was the oldest and bore the starting number 1. Summers was visibly delighted with the unexpected prize and thanked his wife for never asking about the service bills for the mighty Rolls-Royce.
Philipp Husistein's black S.S. 90 took second place in the pre-war classics category, followed by Hans Füglistaler's Invicta Type S Low Chassis.
Urs Wyler's 1952 Aston Martin DB2 topped the list of post-war classics. The car, which has not yet been restored, was largely presented in its original paintwork and can look back on a proud history of ownership that also includes Max Heidegger, the well-known BMW tuner.
Second place went to Christine Centner's 1966 Jaguar E-Type, while third place went to Vic Jacob's Austin-Healey 100S. This name is well known to long-time BCCM participants, as Vic was the organizer of the event for many years.
The newer cars from 1981 onwards were won by the 2004 Aston Martin DB7 Zagato driven by Hans Limbach, followed by the 1987 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante driven by Christopher Eskdale and the 2016 Jaguar F-Type Project 7 driven by Yannick Holliger.
The pre-war Rolls-Royce was chosen as "Best of Show" from the three class winners.
Not only luxury cars
The opening of the event also meant that cars that were once almost popular but are now very rare came to St. Moritz.
The Riley Elf, basically a Mini with an attached trunk, was very popular with visitors and spectators, as was the Morris 1300 GT, which is rarely seen today.
These cars, among others, rightly received special prizes.
The "Best Dressed" participants were also honored. A special jury of experts met to evaluate the particularly tastefully and appropriately dressed vehicle crews.
The weather on Sunday was not quite so summery, but it only really started to rain during the prize-giving ceremony.
In the end, however, it was not only the prize-winners who went home satisfied, but also all the participants, who had spent a special weekend at one of the oldest winter health resorts in the world. The culinary delights that participants were able to enjoy, such as the "Kitchen Party" in the Badrutts Palace kitchen or the gala dinner with a "James Bond" theme at Survetta House, will also be unforgettable.
In addition to the main gallery for this article, there is an additional picture gallery showing almost all of the participating vehicles in over 250 pictures.
