On Friday 1st September, the Royal Automobile Club awarded its Club Trophy at the Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court Palace, to the glorious 1912 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, also known as Nellie. The owner, Katie Forrest, was awarded the Club Trophy by Royal Automobile Club President, HRH Prince Michael of Kent, beating off strong competition from the best of the best of the UK car clubs who were invited to send entries.
Katie said:
I’m absolutely thrilled to have been awarded this honour. Nellie has been in our family for more than 25 years and I have so many wonderful memories to share. I named her Nellie because, when she first arrived with us, she was painted in a grey colour and, being large, reminded me of Nellie the Elephant!
As part of the spoils, Nellie will be making an appearance in the Royal Automobile Club’s Pall Mall clubhouse before the end of the year and, having won the Club Trophy, is automatically entered into the main Concours display in 2018.
With such a high quality of entries, it was a challenging morning for the judges of the Royal Automobile Club’s Club Trophy, awarded every year to the vehicle that catches the eyes and imaginations of those holding the clipboards, who, between them, sought out one worthy winner.
Chairman of the Judges for the Club Trophy was Royal Automobile Club Chairman, Tom Purves, who led the judging team, which included HRH Prince Michael of Kent, Peter Read (Chairman of the Royal Automobile Club’s Motoring Committee), Justine Picardie (Editor of Harper’s Bazaar), Lord Astor, Nicki Shields (TV Presenter), Marino Franchitti (sports car racing driver), Peter Horbury (Volvo Cars Head of Design) and Glen Waddington (Octane Magazine).
Tom Purves said: ‘It’s always a challenge to choose a winner out of such a vast selection of splendid vehicles but, somehow, we always do.’
Two ‘Highly Commended’ vehicles were recognized by the judges in the Club Trophy, a 1955 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint and a 1972 Ferrari 246 GTS Dino.
Note: Press release courtesy of Royal Automobile Club.
