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Jaguars and Bearcats are on display but don’t expect to see wildlife at the Radnor Hunt. Instead, beautiful automobiles line up for the premier motor event in Malvern.
For the past 14 years, the Radnor Hunt Concours d’Elegance, true to its name, has been built on elegance and quality. The invitational show features classic, historic, racing, and performance cars.
The high-quality show stems from the classic French Concours d’Elegance, where the cars, people’s attire, and food were of the utmost quality.
Although most cars at the Radnor Hunt come from the early part of the 20th century, a wide range of automobiles are shown and even some coaches and carriages.
The invitational 100 Motor Cars is the main draw for the Concours d’Elegance partially due to the prestige that comes with receiving an invitation for your automobile.
Antique and classic car enthusiast Jerry Parnes has been to the Radnor Hunt five times bringing different cars.
His 1932 Cadillac Coupe convertible, 1937 Cadillac Sedan, 1953 El Durado convertible, 1931 Cadillac Roadster, and a 1955 Cadillac Deville convertible have all been invited to the show.
Parnes is a second-generation enthusiast who has been around antique cars since 1967 and started buying classic cars in 1984. He travels the country going to about 40 different car shows a year.
Of the Radnor Hunt, Parnes says, “It’s put on by local car enthusiasts on the upper-end of the hobby, who are knowledgeable and who get a balanced, well-distributed display.”
The Concours d”Elegance attracts car enthusiasts who attend many shows but it also draws those who are just curious about the cars. With only certain cars displayed, a committee carefully selects the highest-quality automobiles to present the best possible display of each car.
“The Radnor Hunt allows the general public to see cars out of private collections that they otherwise wouldn’t see,” says Parnes.
Each year the Radnor Hunt highlights a few brands or categories of automobiles.
For 2011, Jaguar, Stutz, Ducati Motorcycles, and the designs of Virgil Exner are on display.
Two featured guests are also on site for the show and are both sons of fathers prominently involved in automobiles.
Virgil M. Exner Jr.’s father designed many cars including Chryslers in the 1950s; Virgil Exner Sr. is well known for incorporating “fins” on his car designs.
David Hailwood is the son of Mike “The Bike” Hailwood, who is regarded as one of the greatest racers of all time. Mike Hailwood made his career racing motorcycles, and even went on to enter auto racing. Virgil Exner Jr. is also a designer and David Hailwood builds motorcycles at his shop in England.
The 100 Motor Cars may be the main event at the Radnor Hunt, but there are a few other attractions such as the road rally through the beautiful countryside of Malvern, the opening barbeque, and the elegant black tie dinner.
The Concours d”Elegance occurs over a weekend on September 9, 10, and 11 with the 100 Motor Cars on Sunday.
The Concours benefits the Joan Karnell Cancer Center and the Thorncroft Equestrian Center. The Joan Karnell Cancer Center works to provide services for patients and their families going through a cancer diagnosis.
The Thorncroft Equestrian Center is a non-profit organization that specializes in therapeutic horseback riding for mentally, emotionally, and physically disabled persons.
