Young Enthusiasts Shine at the Hampton Court Concours of Elegance
The future of old cars is in good hands. That’s if the turnout for the 30 Under 30 class at the Hampton Court 2024 Concours of Elegance is anything to go by.
Alongside hundreds of other classics at the prestigious event, held at King Henry VIII’s historic Hampton Court Palace, was a truly eclectic collection that proves how younger classic car fans are every bit as passionate as their parents’ generation.
The category was only open to enthusiasts under the age of 30 who own a car built from 1900 to the early 2000s, with the oldest machine on show a Lagonda from 1930 and the youngest a 2003 Ferrari 360 Modena.
A Bugatti Type 35 may well have been the rarest of the 30 entrants, while it was surprising to see no less than three Rolls-Royces represented, with the youngest owner just 25 years of age.
Everyone had a story to tell, from Alfie Munkenbeck and his beautifully patinated 1954 Citroen 2CV which he says he will “never paint,” to the highly-commended 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB which Aidan de Cadenet inherited from his late father, racing driver Alain de Cadenet. Gregory Fulford was also praised for his 1989 Jaguar XJ-S, largely because he converted it to a manual transmission himself.
Concours presenter Richard Charlesworth commented, “We believe that celebrating young collectors into our industry is very important. It’s not just an old person’s club, it’s a young person’s club as well.”
After much deliberation, the judges awarded their top prize to the 1958 Austin-Healey Sprite of Max Authers. Max had only just finished getting the historic rally car back on the road, including fettling its original supercharged engine. “I literally bolted the driver’s seat in yesterday,” he said.
Max is a self-confessed Spridget (Sprite and Midget) lover, who bought his first MG at the age of 15, and got hold of the rally Sprite after it had been neglected for 12 years. It took a further three years to get it ready. All the work is under the skin, however, and it still proudly wears the dirt from its decade in a barn. “I don’t intend to wash it,” Max said, although he does plan to compete in autotests and take it on European tours.
Max, we salute you and all the other young fans who bring hope for our hobby.
The trouble is not that there are no young enthusiast. There will always be a number of kids interested in the hobby.
The trouble is the over all numbers or younger people interested are much smaller than they ever were.
In School you either were a car guy or you knew enough that you had some interest even if you did not have a car. Hot Rod was in your stack of books and the library car magazines were always gone.
Today there are some out there but they are small in number. Also A number of them are involved in events that hurt the hobby like street take overs.
The greatest issue is most just can’t afford a automotive life style. The prices have gone off track, and kids just can’t hardly afford to fix up modern day cars. Back coming out of High School I had up to three muscle cars in good condition because they were easy to buy and modify.
My son is a good example He would love to have a play car but he knows it would be very expensive and he would rather buy a house now he is out of school. I can’t even let him drive my cars due to the insurance restriction of age. He is nearing that date and I hope to go for rides with him and see how he likes the cars I have.
I agree cost is an issue, especially for those young but they are finding low cost alternatives to get into cars. They are likely cars we would take a pass on but to them it’s new and exciting.
How wonderful to see that these young folks are carrying on the passion for the automobile hobby and that there is an event to encourage and recognize them.
My 16 year old grandson, Tucker, is working two jobs while maintaining straight A grades in his (mostly) AP classes. When he has a minute, he surfs the internet looking for a decent BMW 3 series in the $5 to 6K range. He is determined to buy HIS car on HIS terms. He recently completed Tire Rack Street Survival class which vastly improved his driving confidence and car handling skills.
I have never owned any car other than a BMW, so that may have effected his thinking, although I take him to all the car shows and showrooms I can so he’ll develop an interest in all cars. I think it helps when we involve our kids/grandkids in our passions.
How ironic for Hagerty, a collector car insurance broker, to pretend to encourage young car enthusiasts when collector car insurance in the Province of Ontario precludes anyone under the age of 28 from driving my old cars. My kids were long gone from home by that age, so they have zero interest in old cars and, spoiler alert for Hagerty, they have zero interest in paying any collector car insurance premiums after I stop paying those premiums.