The October started with style this year. On the first day of the month, in the located close to Warsaw Palace Rozalin, the next edition of Konkurs Elegancji took place. The opportunity to see some unique classics was only an excuse to meet with the fantastic community gathered around this idea.
Konkurs Elegancji is polish for Concours of Elegance or Concorso d’Eleganza. The name alone makes it clear what to expect from the event. Interesting cars, picturesque garden and passionate people – all of those factors checked.
For the third time the venue was the Palace Rozalin. The owner of the place, car collector and competition driver himself, understands well the needs of the organizers. A stable base allows the event to grow steadily year after year.
One unique feature of the Konkurs Elegancji is that the cars of the audience are also taking part in the event and are recognized with a prize in their own category. This is a great way to build a bond within the community. The prize was awarded to one car not because of it’s looks or condition but because of its history. The Osca was bought in Italy and drove to Poland in 1968 – the year of the Prague Spring uprising and the shameful Warsaw Pact invasion of the Czechoslovakia. Fortunately, the car was equipped with the Italian registration numbers which allowed its passengers to pretend to be Italian and avoid problems while driving through the troubled country.
But let’s now focus on the cars taking part in the main part of the event. Their positioning alone was suggesting who is the main contender for the grand prize – the Fiat 8V Supersonic. Only 8 examples of this model were built by Ghia. This very car is winner of a class on the 2017 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. There was therefore no surprise that it also won the highest award on Konkurs Elegancji.
Many classic car owners think that a vintage vehicle shall never leave a safe garage. Thankfully Adam, the owner of the red Alfa Romeo 1750 GT Veloce, thinks differently. This year he has covered a few thousand kilometres through Denmark, Sweden and Poland. I was lucky to accompany him on a short journey through the Oresund Bridge and a little longer one utilizing the ferry from Stockholm to Gdańsk. All those kilometres made no impact on the pristine looks of the car. The prize in the Open category was well deserved.
I see the steady growth of the event since it’s very beginnings. Thanks to the passionate approach of the organizers and good support from the owners of the venue, the event has a bright future before it. But I haven’t come here to see the cars only – I came to have the opportunity to chat with my good friends.
