Not only is La Vie en Bleu now the largest meeting organised by the Bugatti Owners Club, but it has also become the largest summer event for TheMotor.net, and having been blessed with glorious spring sunshine in 2009, it is no exaggeration to say that there was much eager anticipation for 2010, not least because arrangements had been made for us to get at least one Cavalcade run up the hill ourselves. Only a few days before the Big Day, and the promise by the weather forecasters of a cloudless sunny day on Saturday and things were looking really good. Sadly, 24 hours later, the same forecasters decided that we were instead to get more of a repeat of the 2007 and 2008 weather with heavy rain predicted, and whilst their predictions of the extent of the rainfall moderated a little as the weekend drew nearer, it turned out that they were right to warn us to come prepared, and they did also intimate that Sunday would at least be dry and even quite sunny. Nevertheless, those who assembled early on the Saturday morning were still eager to experience a day of the captivating charm of everything that is a Prescott event: stunning scenery; an array of cars battling against the clock as they charge up the hill; an equally interesting selection of vehicles in the Paddocks and the car parks; and the company of many like-minded Forummer enthusiasts. We were not disappointed. Even on Saturday when the weather was decidedly wet, and the overall attendance was quite low, there was a full day of things to do, to see and to talk about, rounded off by a rather challenging quantity of food served up at the nearby Royal Oak in Gretton. (Who can forget that mountainous plate of gammon egg and chips that was put in front of Dan?!). Sunday dawned with a mixture of sun and clouds and despite some slightly menacing looking skies at times, the weather got better and better during the day, calling for sun lotion, hats and a pause in the shade. There were far more people at the event – more perhaps than I have seen there before, but far from “too many” so the event became pleasantly busy rather than impossibly crowded.With a double digit number of Forummers in attendance on both days, and more than a few cameras in action, what follows is a consolidated report of the many attractions that gave us such a good couple of days.

IN THE PADDOCK

THE MODERN BUGATTIsIn 2010, the same cars were at the event on both days: 3 x Veyron and 2 x EB110. We rushed over to have a look at these cars more or less as soon as we arrived on the Saturday morning, and made a number of repeat visits during the rest of the event to see them a few more times. On the Saturday the Veyrons made a couple of demo runs up the hill, and on the Sunday, all five of these cars made a foray. The contrast between the two models is striking almost however you think of it.

The GrandSport (right) had very different lights from the ‘standard’ car, complete with fancy new LEDs. OLDER BUGATTIsThis very lovely Type 57 was at the event again. I had always assumed that the Gangloff body is original, but in fact it is not and is a relatively recent recreation on an original Type 57 chassis, built according to the original designs.Plenty of Type 35 and 51s, the mainstay of events such as this.Look beyond the front fairing and this is an unrestored Type 51.The Brescia was a rather smaller and simpler Bugatti and several were competing up the hillBugattis just kept coming and comingOTHER COMPETITORSThese Allards competed on the Saturday, and like many of the competitors made a relatively gentle assault on the slopes. Big powerful and torquey engines and slippery surfaces are not a winning combinationAn LMBEarly PeugeotDelahayeTalbotHotchkissRenault Alpine A110s, A310s and A610sR5 TurbosSpiderHillman ImpAyrton Senna’s 1986 Lotus 98T F1 car completed a number of demo runs, but something went wrong during its Sunday lunchtime outing, and it returned with evidence of the discharge of the fire-extinguisher.OTHER PADDOCK DISPLAYSA replica of an early Renault, from the time, 100 years ago, when the marque was competing successfully in events such as the Paris – Madrid race. This one recreates a 1907 Vanderbilt Cup car, and competed in many VSCC events in the 1980s and 1990s.This 1930 Renault ZK Van once served as a Bakers van.This chain driven Bedelia could indeed be the source of the term “back seat driver” as the passenger does indeed sit in front of the person responsible for making the car move, it’s not a configuration that took off!One of many Amilcars, this one looked to be recently restored, and did not venture up the hill at allAn Alfa 6C 2300. The owner told me that she was invited to bring the car, and when she pointed out it was not French, was told it did not matter, so she did bring it, and she did take it up the hill in the Sunday lunchtime cavalcade.The Peugeot QuadriletteRosengart – a close relative of the Austin SevenWe spotted this Mercedes 300SL on the Saturday and it was there on the Sunday as well. Even from a distance, something did not look quite right, and when we heard it, it became clear that it had a modern AMG engine under the bonnet.Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead. Several of the Forummers talked to the owner, one Michael R. Oliver, and discovered a man who has about 20 cars, including a Veyron (which had been damaged when a Clio crashed into it a few days ago) and who has a Ferrari 599 GTO on order. Between leaving on the Saturday evening and arriving on the Sunday it had managed to acquire a rather expensive scratch. The Bugatti grille on the front was an attempt to make the car look more French as Mr. Oliver didn’t have another French car to bring to the event.Bonhams had a couple of cars at the event: a Delage and an Aston Martin saloon. Both lovely, and neither likely to be what you would call cheap!CLIMBING THE HILLTHE START LINE

A certain Mr. S. Cropley awaiting his run up the hillNot quite your standard 2CV…..ON THE HILL
The Ferraris that were competing on the Saturday
AERIAL DISPLAYS On both days we were treated to a very impressive display by two bi-planes, each with a Wing Walker girl perfomring some quite incredible acrobats on the upper wing for a full 15 minutes.THE FORUM CARSThanks to Piers’ organisation, we had our own reserved parking area in the Orchard once again this year, and despite a few worries about damp grass, slopes and rear wheel drive cars, everyone got in and out with no problem.

The little Abarth certainly seemed to attract the greatest attention from everyone, and whenever I came back to the parking area, there were people having a good look at it.

Not that the other cars were anything other than interesting, either.THE FRENCH MARQUESCITROEN

The Citroen Car Club always puts on a good display at this event, and 2010 was no exception. One brand new car was on show, the recently launched DS3.

 What could be more symbolically French than the H Van? There were a few at the event, of course.

There were plenty of 2CVs from the entire life of this model, from a very early car with the canvas roof that went down to the rear of the car, all the way through to some of the limited edition cars from the final years of production in the late 1980s.The Traction Avant was well represented, too, with a variety of models from the regular saloons to a very elegant convertible.The same could be said for the DS, replacement for the Traction Avant, with some splendid cars on show. Successor to the much loved DS was the equally futuristic CX, and the numerous display cars were augmented by a significant number of these cars in the car parks. Great to see that so many of these cars – mostly late models, and many automatic GTis – do indeed survive.Smaller brother to the CX was the adventurous GS, and there were three examples of this at the event, including what is believed to the sole survivor of the 1978 limited edition Basalte model, along with a GSA.Dyane and Ami were also represented.There were plenty of early model Citroens, too, many of which have not been seen at this event before.From 1921 is this 5CV prototypeMid Sunday afternoon saw the arrival of an SM, and surprisingly this was the only example of this car at the event during the entire weekend.Bringing the representation uptodate, were a Sebastien Loeb edition of the C4 and a C6.Deutsch BonnetNot a car that many would recognise, but the owner had helpfully put an information board out to enlighten those who could not identify this sporting coupe as a DB.

DB was a French automobile maker between 1938 and 1961. The firm was founded by Charles Deutsch and René Bonnet. It produced light sports cars with fiberglass bodies mainly powered by Panhard flat-twin engines.MATRAThe red Rancho has appeared at this event for the past couple of years, but this time it was joined by a bronze coloured model. Truth be told, these cars were not that good, with their Simca 1100 mechanicals, but everyone seems to have a soft spot for this SUV that came out 20 years before anyone really knew what an SUV was.

 

There were more of the pretty Murena sports car here than ever before, with a mix of the 1600 and 2200 models on show.Precursor to this car was the Bagheera and a lone example was on display on the Satruday.Earlier still was the DjetPEUGEOT
Until now, there only ever been a token presence of Peugeot at this event, so it was good to see that on the Sunday, the Peugeot car Club had formed a display with a number of cars on show. Most of them were recent models, with the oldest car being this, a 304S Coupe.These 205s – now all over 20 years – were all in remarkably good condition. The red car had been stripped out, but externally looked almost better than the day it would have left the factory.There were some 106s, too. A reminder of pretty, good handling and light small Peugeots – something it is to be hoped the marque will rediscoverThere was a lone example of the new RCZ. Opinions vary on this car, some praising it, others being more cautious in rating something that is rather too closely related to the unfortunate 308 hatchbacks.We did encounter this 203 Van in the car park on the Saturday.RENAULTThere was a comprehensive display of Renaults, as you would expect.

This late model R16 has been to previous events.

The Avantime Owners Club can always be relied on to put on a good display, and it seemed this year as if they had been trying to make sure that there was an example in every colour (except red).A lone Vel Satis was parked up next to the Avantime. A rare car made even more so by the fact that this was the 3.5 petrol engined carThere were some R5 Turbos cars in the display area as well as those that had been in the paddock, along with a lone R5 GT Turbo, the French nemesis of the 205 GTiThe Clio is 20 years old this year. Most of the display cars were the V6 models, but there were a few of the Sport cars as well Clio Williams, including the very first car made, with the dashboard plaque stating it was car number 0001, and a very low mileageEven smaller than the Clio was Renaults first go at the Twingo, which was never sold over here. The surprise with this one was that the owner had re-engineered it to take a 2 litre engine under the bonnet.The Sport SpiderPlenty of Renault Alpines, from the A110 to the GTA and A610 cars. A couple of brand new cars completed the display: a Megane Renaultsport RS250 and the Twingo RS133In the car park, I was surprised to find this immaculate R25 Turbo. Just when did you last see one of these?SIMCASomething about this Oceane convertible did not look right, even if you look beyond the 1975 registration plate. I think the grille and indicator lights could have come from a later 1300/1500, and the rest of the car looks like the restoration job will be non trivial, but nice to see a rare car such as this.

A lone example of the Mille, the 1000 Rallye in a very period hue.MVS/VENTURISeveral of these elegant coupes were at the event, all of which have been seen before.

THE CAR PARKSAn enthusiast event like this always yields a car park with a massive diversity of interesting vehicles, and these couple of days were no exception.

Alfa Romeo SZ – a car that appears at many an event across Southern England

Alfa 147 GTAAston Martin DB2Aston Martin DB4This is the much rarer DB4GT, with a shorter wheelbase.Audi Coupe quattroMore recent Audis included the RS4, RS6 and TT RSUnquestionnably the most bizarre discovery was this. The tax disk said it was an Austin, but it had a 351ci V8 Corvette engine under the bonnet. Yes, there was a bonnet, but it was in the back of the pick upA genuine Austin, an early model SevenAn early MiniAustin-HealeyBentleyBristol 400Citroen 2CV underneathDelahayeFerrari 308 GTB and 328 GTSFerrari TestarossaFerrari 360Ford CapriFord Consul ConvertibleFord Focus RSFord Model T – a car that seemed to have no instruments at all! Basic does not get close to the level of cabin appointments. At least it had seats!1937 Frazer-Nash BMW 319Frazer-NashGinetta G26HartAn AC Ace replica made only last year with a straight 6 2.8L BMW engine
Examples of the Hotchkiss from the start and near the end of the marque’s lifeJaguar E-TypeLamborghini Gallardo coupe and SpiderLancia 

Lancia Fulvia Coupe Series 2Lotus SixAnd Elans from different erasMarlinMercedes “Pagoda” SL (W113). There were a couple of these lovely and now rather valuable cars parked upthe later W107 SL MercedesMG 18/80MG TCMorgan Aeromax
Morris CowleyNissan GT-RPlymouth BarracudaPlymouth ProwlerThere were several Porsche 911, including some of the rarer model typesReliant ScimitarRiley RMRover14800 Coupe
SaabSkodaThe before and after effects of VWThere were 2 of these Subaru Forester STi carsTriumph GT6TVRVauxhall VXR8VW SciroccoThis was a VW Beetle based Bugatti replicaWolseley HornetAll in all, this has to be one of the very best Forum events we’ve yet enjoyed. We did go and say as much to Ian, the General Manager of Prescott, who responded by asking us to come back. That we will do that should be in no doubt at all! Keep you diaries free for late May 2011!2010-05-31 09:33:48