Thursday 6 October 2022, the official start of the 13th edition of the Zoute Grand Prix. For four days, the seafront of Knokke-Heist and its surroundings was the Valhalla for both classic car enthusiasts and GT fans.

Scrutineering

During much of Thursday, scrutineering of the many classics cars took place. In other words, the cars were all subjected to a technical inspection. For a number of drivers, it was sometimes searching for what all those buttons and levers were for. Often, participants come to the start with a ‘borrowed’ car.

It does not take away from the fact that sometimes really beautiful cars come to the start. And there are also some real enthusiasts who come here not just to be seen but to actually drive. Sometimes the large number of stickers from previous rallies often from all over the world testifies to this.

There was even an ex-participant of the Beijing-Paris rally present about which you can find more in an earlier report.

Bonhams ‘The Zoute Sale’

Thursday had also seemed like the perfect day to take a look at Bonhams. Expectations were high as this might be their biggest sale within Europe.

Bonhams had its very own marquee off Albert Square.

The selection is therefore not minus, feel free to think of numerous Aston Martins, Rolls-Royce’s, Maserati’s, Porsche ‘s but also a Bugatti and a rather special Jaguar XK150 3.8-Litre Coupé.

One of the two absolute showpieces is the BMW 507 shown above. This is a series 1 of which only 34 were built. In total, only 254 BMW 507 were built which makes the car extremely rare. The car is exceptionally well documented and the expected proceeds are therefore between 2 and 2.5 million euros.

On the slogan ‘it can always be more’, we come to the next showpiece. A 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO. With only 272 built, one of the first Ferrari ‘s built with a limited edition. Later, the F40 would follow. The expected return for this 288GTO was between 3,700,000 and 4,100,000 million euros. There was an offer of 3,400,000 million euros but this proved insufficient for the seller so the sale was withheld.

All in all, it remains fascinating to see how interested parties outbid each other until eventually one bid remains. So we saw cars sold way above estimate but there were also some real bargains among them. Especially when they were sold without reserve.

On the stretch of dike between Albertplein and De Wielingen, you could see several small stages with one car on each. We have seen that better in previous editions.

Prado Zoute by Kindy Capital

On the beach at De Wielingen stands the Prado Zoute by Kindy capital. This impressive pavilion houses no less than 21 impressive car brands and distributors. These are exclusively new cars and in the absence of car salons, the brands like to unpack here in Knokke.

On the Lotus stand, we spotted some new models including the Emira. Yes, even at the purest brands of the past, electrification has struck. Many will regret it while others will no doubt applaud it but this Emira will be the last Lotus with a classic internal combustion engine.

At BMW, you could take a seat in the generously sized I7 and the all-new XM. The former would still mean something to me, the XM on the other hand is not really my cup of tea. But to each his or her own taste for sure. The also all-new M3 series Touring is the first Touring in the M3 range and was also on display.

At a luxury event like the Zoute Grand Prix, Rolls-Royce and Bentley should not be missing. Impressive cars for those who want to travel in absolute luxury and style.

Prefer a Hypercar? No problem because with the Rimac Nevera, you get almost 2000hp under your right foot. Still need sand?

Apart from the numerous car brands present, there is also an extensive bar and numerous booths selling gin, cigars, stationery, etc. Probably to give the whole thing a lifestyle atmosphere.

Zoute Rally by Stow

Of course, the 2-day rally is still the highlight of the event. We discussed the technical inspection earlier in the report. Now it’s time for the ride itself, which continues mainly in West Flanders and a bit in the Netherlands.

There are two types of rides, ‘Regularity’ on the one hand and ‘Touring’ on the other.

The main differences are that in the regularity, you are presented with a number of tests. So there is the chronometric regularity rally with average speed and regularity tests (RTs). Per day, participants cover about 250 km along a specially designed course. The flying quarter mile, a speed test, provides extra excitement here. But agility tests are also provided.

In the touring edition, things take a more leisurely pace. Completing the route at your own pace and, above all, enjoying the beautiful roads and surroundings are the main points here.

Since it is not easy to be in several places at the same time, I have left the Zoute GT Tour this year. Our focus is more on the classic car event anyway hence this choice.

Zoute Concours D’Elegance by EY

The Zoute Concours D’Elegance by EY then, of course, we couldn’t pass up. Every year, they manage to get some pretty special cars together.

As Ferrari celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, we also got to see a nice collection of some 20 special Ferraris here on the fairways.

Of course, it is not just Ferrari that steals the show here. So we also saw a number of Pre-war cars and plenty of other surely exceptional cars.

This ‘royal’ Ferrari once owned by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands was one of the cars that did attract some extra attention.

You could book a guided tour with a guide who would tell you all the ‘know-it-alls’ during the walk in an often appetising way. I walked along myself for a while and either it was ready knowledge or they had read up well. In any case, it was a fun way to be shown around among all these beauties.

Conclusion is that year after year, they manage to bring many car enthusiasts to their feet. Whether it is to steal the show or just to enjoy all this beauty does not matter. Everyone amuses themselves in their own way. See you next year!