Estoril Classics Week Coverage – Part 2/3 – Visitors’ Rides and Car Clubs

For part II of our Estoril Classics Week coverage, we’re focusing on some of the best visitor’s cars and club rides which showed up to the event, both at the Concours and track areas. Outside the main action but still a huge focus of interest for any enthusiast, the parking lots and main accesses are always packed with gems and surprises which are a joy to discover. These were our favorites.

Starting with Porsches, the first thing to catch our eye was a flawless 3.6 964 Turbo just outside the Concours d’Elegance area. Later on at the track, very good examples of the 930 Turbo and 993 Turbo (and Turbo S) would also make an appearance, as well as a 50th anniversary edition 991 which got its fair share of attention

Some older 911s also showed up to strut their timeless elegance. Among these, a very early 901 (1964?), a green 911S featured on the 2016 ACP Concours and still looking perfect today, as well as a couple of 2.4s – S and T, and a T Targa

Another always welcome addition to this kind of event are E-Types. We’re featuring our favorites, a couple of 4.2 Series 1 roadsters, one of which fitted with a stylish factory hardtop. And since we’re talking Jags, it would be impossible not to show some love to a gorgeous, brown XJ6 Series II. People are still sleeping on the XJ6 but it won’t be like this forever and prices will reflect that change

There was a lot to see from Italian manufacturers as well. Starting with Alfa Romeo and one of the coolest things ever made: the Montreal. A perfect car, in perfect condition and in a perfect color, this Montreal was simply the best surprise that the ECW had to offer and all we could do was bask in the magnificence of its presence. Also noteworthy from Alfa, the wonderfully nuts and unreliable Giulia Quadrifoglio, a beautiful little Giulietta Spider and a nice Series 2 Spider

Lancia was well represented too with an extremely impressive yellow Delta HF Integrale Evo II, some regular Fulvias (we picked one of several as an example), a Fulvia Sport Zagato – the top of the range 1.3S version no less – which is always a treat to check out and a true survivor: a Beta Spider

Classic Ferrari owners seems to have decided en masse to skip the ECW 2018. However, we have to point out the welcome appearance of at least a noteworthy Dino

Nearby, another Italian icon: the Fiat Abarth 124 Rally, a fabulous homologation special looking sharp in Corsa red

As far as Lotus sightings, there were a couple of Evoras, one of which a 400, as well as Series 1 and Series 2 Elises. But the really interesting Lotus addition to the event was a cool little S1 Esprit, the undisputed king of 70’s wedge design

As far as classic Mercedes Benz stuff, it was a surprisingly light presence at the event’s parking lots. Other than a couple of Pagodas and Heckflosses (one redone in this fantastic, rich plum purple and the other a wagon conversion we’ve featured in past posts regarding the ACP Concours), it was slim pickings. With more modern examples the situation was the same, being noteworthy an SLS convertible with some…bold aesthetic options and a gorgeous beast of an SL65

The Morgan meet brought an army of Plus 8s to the event, but the really fun stuff was a little 3 Wheeler, Brooklands Edition and an Aeromax. Regardless of how you feel about the Aeromax’s looks, this thing is an attention grabber. In a sea of interesting cars, people make a bee line for this without thinking twice. The “here I am, deal with me” attitude that the Aeromax carries with it has undeniable appeal

With old British luxury, we barely had the chance to snap a pic of two great looking Bentleys, a T1 and an S2. A true shame there wasn’t the opportunity for more. We had better luck with Rolls Royce, having spent a few minutes checking out a spotless Silver Spur and a fetching Corniche (with bonus Lotus 7 for scale).

BMW goodness showed up in the form of an iconic 850i and a drop dead gorgeous topaz blue metallic Z8, a rare car in a rare color

Still regarding classics, last but for sure not least we loved a 66 Mustang Convertible and an intriguing 1951 Chevrolet Deluxe station wagon. Intriguing because the rear is completely different from what these wagons normally have, so perhaps a conversion? A special production model? Let us know if you’ve got info on it. Another sighting that had us wondering was a Range Rover with a very particular front grill, maybe a Vantagefield or more likely, a Wood & Pickett item; in any case, pretty uncommon and we’d love to know more about it as well.

Finally, for some modern goodies. Worth mentioning, a neat ZL1 – a rare sight in Europe and a very respectable Camaro in terms or horsepower and performance. Besides the Concours d’Elegance special Aston Martin lawn, a couple of visitors/participants in the event showed up with Astons as well. We barely managed to catch an achingly beautiful DB7 Vantage, but there was also a 2017 (2018 registered) Vantage AMR – an emotional sight, since this is the model’s swan song – and a perfect DBS (a big thank you to the owner of Feathers Motor Sport for being so accommodating and just the nicest person we’ve had the pleasure of meeting at the event). The DBS ended up getting together with a few buddies later on

Those DBS buddies we mentioned before were a truly good looking bunch. Between a Ferrari 360 and a 430, an F-Type R, a 997 Turbo, an amazing AMG GT-R and a show stopper McLaren 720S, this small parking area got a whole lot of attention.

Focusing on the last 2 models, the GT-R is the kind of ride that you feel might be too much, too over the top but then you see it live and everything just works. The proportions are right, the bodywork changes look good, the carbon fiber bits and pieces give that little extra something…aesthetically it’s just a very successfully pulled together car. Extremely impressive, fantastic presence, a real treat to behold. The 720S is another example of something that just hits you like a ton of bricks; it really is McLaren going full shock and awe on us. We’re huge fans of the 650S and when the 720S came out last year, we weren’t enthusiastic about how it looked. At all. Boy, has that changed.