I am sure that 90% of MX5 owners think that concours is a complete waste of time and effort and money, but the humble MX5 has now reached the age where the club recognise that time has come to start running concours competitions. Firstly for the MK1 but I guess in time there will also be sections for MK2 and three and hopefully MK4's. I am sure this can of worms has just been opened!!
Firstly can I just say that the observations made here are only my opinion and could be a load of cr*p!
I have been involved in the concours scene for a number of years with MG's and seen and taken part all manor and classic car competitions. Most judging varies from show to show but generally I think the best cars do come out on top. Which I feel is what happened at Billing this year. The first prize winning car was a stunner and what looked to me to be completely standard and in fantastic condition (not for its age) but as new. It was also cleaned to perfection and definitely cleaned to a higher standard than when you take delivery of a new car, well in my case it was far superior to the new MX5 I bought a few years ago. All the prize winning cars were fantastic I have to say. I am sure most MX5 enthusiasts would love to own one of them.
Now my idea of concours is that the car should be presented as it would have left the factory, that is what is stated. This is not really correct as most cars leave the factory with import stickers plastic seat covers, wax on the bodywork and some times no badges , etc. So really what we are looking at is a car that is presented to the customer at the supplying dealer, pre delivery inspection done, wax cleaned, badges fixed, seat covers and any other protective covering removed. So as it is seen in the brochure effectively.
Now I noticed at the billing that a number of cars were not standard, some had aftermarket steering wheels and road wheels to name the obvious. Some had painted items under the bonnet that were not painted originally. From my understanding of these cars they were all body coloured in the wheel arches, not black or waxoyled as some were. Also, tyre dust caps. I understood that they were all plastic and black, some weren't.
I think the problem for the judging of concours is the weighting that is put on non original against not up to standard be that either cleanliness or wear. From what I can gather this is the first year of concours for the MX5 and is an addition to the best kept five competition. So its like a best kept five with some additional points taken off for non originality. With the weighting in points being heavier on cleanliness than originality.
If you imagine that a car has a non standard part added like a steering wheel but looses one point for this but another car has some dust on the dash board you loose a point and a smear of something on the inside glass loose another point. Now I think something as fundamental as an incorrect steering wheel should loose half its marks for the interior section not one. After all the idea of concours is to preserve the cars in an original state.
Another example is a component under the engine that is dirty would loose more points than the same component that is non standard because the non standard one is cleaner. I heard that a car that was not as clean under the engine lost points against a car that was non original. Both prize winners so I guess it doesn't matter.
Is a panel with original paint but a repaired stone chip better or worse than a fully replaced and painted panel?
Is a car that has never been painted better than one that has just been resprayed?
If someone took delivery of a brand new car and had it transported to the event, but the same car next door was cleaner, which one should win?
I know its a tricky balance and where do you stop with this sort of thing, how far do you go and where do the rules start and end?
As this is the first year of concours I think its worth discussing and finding peoples opinions on how this competition should run. My personal opinion is that if a car has an item that is non standard then they should be penalised properly as the idea of concours is to present the car as it was made and this should ensure that we can see cars at shows that do look the same as they did when new. Also this is not a best kept 5 competition, with a bit added on, it's a totally different can of worms!
Does anyone have an opinions or ideas?
Great day on Sunday, wished I could have been there on the Saturday too, pics look amazing from Silverstone. Thanks to everyone.
</v:shapetype>, plus she would not be paying for herself, as she is now, so owners can try her, and feel what she is like on the dampers etc.<o:p></o:p>
