We have been visiting the Zoute Grand Prix for many years, and thanks to the recent takeover, you can feel a new wind blowing. And it is clearly blowing in the right direction. So we would like to take you on a short trip through the Zoute Grand Prix Car Week 2025.
Vintage versus new
Let us begin on the Knokke seafront. There, a number of designers had the brilliant idea of showcasing old versus new. Above, you can see the Citroën DS versus the new DS N°8. I may not be allowed to say so, but for us and many passers-by, it felt like refined versus crude.
Ford did the same exercise with their new Capri versus the original, which you can see above. We took a moment to ask passers-by what they thought of it. When I asked a group of girls barely 20 years old, they replied, “What do you think?” and pointed to the original, which was introduced back in 1969. There is still hope ☺️.
You can see that we ourselves love old versus new in one of our previous articles.
Porsche 550 Spyder
This duo, consisting of a recent Spyder with the striking number 118 on its sides and a K on its nose, made quite an impression. Next to it, however, stood a Porsche Spyder 550 with the same characteristics, and the latter has quite a story to tell. The 550 was delivered new to Al Hosking in California on 14 October 1955. He already owned several 550 Spyders, and the car with chassis #0069 was immediately entered in the Nassau Speed Week. The racing career of Spyder #0069 ended in April 1957, after which it was sold. The last buyer was Les Gunnarson, who purchased the car in 1963 and put an engine back in it. In the mid-1980s, the car was placed in a shipping container until it was purchased 36 years later in February 2021 by Mark Wegh, the owner of Porsche Centrum Gelderland. The entire history of this exceptional car can be found on the website of “Exellence Magazine”.
Service
Also on the promenade was a “mini” garage set up by Rock n Roll Classics. Minor repairs were carried out to keep our heritage vehicles running throughout the weekend.
For example, above they are busy reattaching some loose parts.
ZOUTE GRAND PRIX GALLERY by EY
The real premieres can be found in the pavilion, which also looks completely different inside than in previous editions.
The brands like to show off their achievements here. On 25 August this year, for example, the AMG GT XX shown above covered a distance of 40,075 kilometres in 7 days, 13 hours, 24 minutes and 7 seconds on the legendary high-speed test track in Nardò, southern Italy. The car thus completed a trip around the world in less than eight days, setting no fewer than 25 long-distance records. The other figures are also very impressive: a top speed of over 360 km/h, a peak power output of over 1000 kW and charging up to 850 kW. That’s 400 km of range in 5 minutes!
Now that we’ve ended up at Mercedes, we’d like to show you the AMG ONE. This car can best be compared to a Formula 1 car, but for public roads. A total of 275 will be built, making it an extremely exclusive and very expensive car that you don’t often come across.
BMW unveiled their new IX3 “Neue Klasse” to the general public for the first time this weekend. Due to the high level of interest, it was impossible to photograph the car without people in the picture.
The new BMW design language proved popular with most people we spoke to. The figures presented by BMW are among the best in their class. With a range of 805 km and a high charging speed of up to 400 kW, you don’t need to recharge very often and, if necessary, you don’t lose too much time.
At the Ferrari stand, we spotted this stunning 12 Cilindri, whose name says it all. A naturally aspirated V12 engine that delivers up to 830 hp at 9500 rpm.
We felt a shiver down our spine as we took our place behind the wheel, but unfortunately it remained a stationary session.
For me personally, one of the most beautiful cars is this Superleggera Veloce12 Barchetta. Based on a Ferrari 550 Maranello, this Superleggera has extremely beautiful lines.
The interior finish is of an unprecedented standard, with attention paid to every detail, which in our opinion makes it a delightful car to drive around in.
Scrutineering Classic Cars
All cars participating in the various organised rallies pass through Scrutineering. Here we are at the Scrutineering for Classic Cars. The cars receive their stickers and rally plates.
The BEHVA team checks the car on 16 different points. Here you can see the difference between owners who drive their cars regularly and therefore know everything about them, and occasional drivers who are allowed to borrow a car from someone for a weekend.
We saw only happy, smiling faces as they set off on a beautiful journey through our Flemish countryside.
Auctions
Bonhams’ long-standing dominance of the Zoute Grand Prix has been broken this year by Broad Arrow Auctions.
Perhaps Philip Kantor’s move from Bonhams to Broad Arrow has something to do with this. He and Gregory Tuytens made the switch together. The presence of two auction houses has created a new dynamic, with both clearly on high alert.
At Bonhams, we noticed this 1966 Porsche 906 Carrera 6 Works Factory Prototype. The car has a long history, which you can read all about on the Bonhams website. The expected sale price of €1.6 to €2.2 million shows that this is an exclusive car.
Even though Bonhams has a Maserati MC12 on offer, we had the impression that Broad Arrow had a wider range of competition cars.
Above, we see a line-up consisting of a Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Competizione Specification, a BMW 3.0 CSL and a Ferrari F355 Challenge. Together, they are expected to fetch around €1.5 million.
This German car specialist demonstrates that potential buyers take these kinds of purchases seriously. On behalf of a potential bidder for this Ferrari 275 GTB/4, this man is measuring the paint thickness, among other things.
He did his job with great dedication and precision. The expected auction price of the car is estimated between 2.7 and 3.2 million euros. According to this specialist, his client would like to restore the car to mint condition, which, according to this specialist, would quickly cost 500,000 euros.
These two Lancias also have racing blood running through their veins. This 1976 Lanica Stratos HF Group 4 Specification in particular has an impressive racing track record.
If you want to talk about rarity, this Citroën BX 4TC scores high. This car was offered by Citroën to Jean-Pierre Beltoise, a former F1 and endurance driver. The car has had only two owners since then. Only 86 were built, and this one has only 197 kilometres on the clock.
BMW ART CARS
The BMW Art Car World Tour is a historic exhibition project spanning five continents, organised by the BMW Group. It celebrates 50 years of cultural and artistic engagement by the brand around the world.
After stops at Art Basel in Hong Kong, the Shanghai Motor Show, Art Dubai and Art Fair Stockholm, it is now time for Knokke-Heist, Belgium to welcome the world tour.
A total of 9 BMW Art Cars are on display. The very first is this 1975 BMW 3.0 CSL, which was redesigned by Alexander Calder. No one imagined that this would be the start of a whole series.
Hervé Poulain approached Alexander Calder himself to give his BMW a special look for his participation in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Poulain drove the BMW 3.0 CSL with number 93 in the 24-hour race at Le Mans. Although he did not finish the race, the response to the dynamic Calder car was phenomenal. This marked the start of the BMW Art Car series, which now stands at 20.
Hockney’s BMW 850 CSi was the result of a long design process, because it’s not just about applying a bit of paint, as the pop artist explained. Instead, he took the car apart in his painting and turned it completely inside out. In this way, he revealed what he believed to be hidden beneath the car’s skin, the bodywork, namely the fascinating technology of the car.
This 2010 BMW M3 GT2 was designed by Jeff Koons. This edition marked the return of pop art and, with it, a return to the origins of the Art Car series. The car exudes speed, even when stationary. The M3 GT2 appeared at the start of the 24-hour race at Le Mans in 2010, where it was an absolute crowd favourite.
Art
We didn’t get to admire much art during this Zoute Grand Prix Car week. But the young man above still caught the attention of many passers-by. He was painting a Bugatti and did so with great precision and patience.
Conclusion
Looking back on our visit to the Zoute Grand Prix Car Week, we can only conclude that they are back to pre-corona levels. The selection is overwhelming, both in terms of new and classic cars. The two auction houses are also putting their best foot forward, and the BMW Art Car collection is the icing on the cake!
So if you can, be sure to pay a visit to this wonderful event. Tickets are still available via the website of the Zoute Grand Prix Car Week.
