Coventry Concours, part of MotoFest in partnership with E.ON Drive to host iconic hometown hero car at 2022 show
MotoFest’s Coventry Concours is to feature a special guest appearance from the iconic ECD 400 Jaguar E-Type at this year’s premium car show.
The ECD 400 Jaguar E-Type will make a triumphant return to its home city, just over 60 years since it started its life as one of the seven project cars built for the E-type launch in 1961.
It became further immortalised in Jaguar history a month after the launch, when Formula One champion and motor racing legend Graham Hill drove the car to its first race victory at Oulton Park.
The ECD 400 car also featured in last year’s Jaguar E-Type 60-year anniversary celebrations at the London Classic Car Show and a year on it will take pride of place at this year’s Coventry Concours show.
This year’s Coventry Concours will take place on September 10th and 11th, as part of the main MotoFest festival weekend. The free to attend event will once again give the opportunity for premium vintage, classic cars and motorcycles to display in the iconic Coventry Cathedral Ruins.
E.ON Drive is the lead brand partner for MotoFest Coventry in 2022. E.ON Drive is part of energy supply and solutions provider E.ON and provides an end to end electric vehicle charging service for customers.
For this year’s event there will be a Queen’s Platinum Jubilee theme, showcasing 70 years of the City’s motoring heritage. In order to mark the full 70 years of the Queen’s reign, Coventry Concours 2022 has expanded its entry criteria to include motorcycles and modern vehicles from 1952 right up to the modern day.
As with last year’s event, Coventry Cathedral Ruins will provide an atmospheric backdrop to proceedings, enabling Coventry Concours to emulate the glamour and glitz of globally renowned concours d’elegance such as Valetta and Hampton Court events.
It will also feature a celebrity judging panel, a number of whom are Sustainable Skills Networks Ambassadors representing one of the event’s co-hosts, Association of Heritage Engineers (AoHE). Those judges confirmed so far are Sarah Crabtree, from TV’s Bangers and Cash fame, Chris Haynes, Classic supercar expert and YouTube channel host Iain Tyrrell, Chris and James Elliott, Editor in Chief of Octane magazine.
Dominic Taylor-Lane, founder of AoHE said. “After such an amazing effort by the MotoFest team in 2021 and the huge success and coverage of the event, its fantastic to be involved again in organising what is fast becoming a very popular show.
“It’s staggering to have watched this year’s Coventry Concours team draw together such a stunning collection of very special vehicles, which will help to further secure the event’s place on the annual calendar of classic vehicle events.”
James Noble, MotoFest Coventry Festival Director, said: “We are excited to announce the ECD 400 Jaguar E-Type as our special guest car at Coventry Concours. It will be a wonderful spectacle to see it back in the city where the E-Type legend was born over 60 years ago.
“The Coventry Concours 2022 will align with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, as we celebrate 70 years of both our Monarch’s reign and the city’s motoring heritage.
“We have an incredible range of entries signed up for this year’s event including classic city marques such as Jaguar, Triumph, Daimler and Coventry based Envisage Group’s reimagination of the Austin Healy, through their Caton brand. The judging will be done in categories of each decade of the Queen’s reign from the 1952 through to present day.
“It’s set to be a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee with beautiful, premium heritage cars and motorcycles showcasing the best of Coventry’s car and motorcycle manufacturing expertise in an atmospheric setting.”
The inaugural Coventry Concours took place on Saturday 24th July and Sunday 25th July 2021 and followed on from a successful online ‘Coventry Concours’ event in June 2020.
It was won last year by a 1939 Daimler DB18 Dolphin, owned by Adrian Clarke and with a rich Coventry history. The blue and silver pre-war tourer was manufactured in Coventry’s Daimler factory in 1939 and despite suffering bomb damage during the Blitz, survived to make its glorious return to the city as the Coventry Concours winner over 80 years later.
As part of MotoFest in partnership with E.ON Drive 2022’s past, present and future theme, there will be the traditional classic car, modern modified car and motorcycle static displays across the city centre. There will also be a significant future technology focus, with a showcase of the latest alternatively fuelled vehicles, electric cars and advanced automotive technology.
MotoFest in partnership with E.ON Drive is a two-day free festival dedicated to the city of Coventry’s motoring heritage, taking place on Saturday 10th September and Sunday 11th September 2022. It will feature a unique blend of motorsport demonstrations, static displays, live music, culture and many other elements all with a connection to Coventry, transport and the city’s motoring heritage.
For more details about MotoFest Coventry, visit https://www.coventrymotofest.com/
