Remember the famous British understatement? The nondescript gentlemen's clubs behind dark green townhouse doors, the unassuming and unpolished but eyewateringly expensive Bristol Blenheims, the tailored but purposeful worn-out and foxed shirt collars, the latest upper class gossip whispered through wafting clouds of cigar fog in Belgravia's trademark aristo-cockney, and the old money smell of mothballs and library dust? If this is how you still imagine London and United Kingdom, you haven't been there since the mid-1980s. Since the days of Margaret Thatcher and her quest for free market capitalism and individual liberty, Britain has proclaimed the age of the global billionaire — and unless you arrive in Mayfair by black helicopter or behind the wheel of an exposed-carbon Aston Martin Valkyrie, nobody will acknowldge your existence.
Meanwhile, one of the last bastions of British low-profile elitism and stealth wealth has been the mythical town of St. Moritz in the Swiss Alps, where Englishmen still slide down an ice canal wrapped in tweed at the Cresta Run before enjoying their five o'clock G'n'T in the wood-clad hall of Suvretta House. Last weekend, though, even this Old Empire time capsule in the Swiss alps received an update from the present when the British Classic Car Meeting St. Moritz held an event titled the Billionaire edition. In a nod to Thatcher-era exuberance, the event's cartoon artwork featured a Billion' Air Concorde, brick-sized cell phones, short skirts, a golden Aston Martin Lagonda, and suitcases full of dollars, not pounds, setting the tone for a weekend of unapologetical worshipping of wealth and success.
"We'll immerse ourselves in a dazzling era of Wall Street triumphs, gold lighters and watches, double-breasted suits with suspenders, and the glittering fashion of Paco Rabanne," BCCM chairman and Suvretta House director Peter Egli had announced in the invitation. And naturally, the regulars played along the UHNWI theme with the scene's trademark enthusiasm, bringing a fleet of only the boldest British automobiles to the top of the world, as St. Moritz is marketed fittingly. As the venerable Suvretta House is currently building a new spa, the BCCM switched from its traditional home to Badrutt's Palace and the Grand Hotel des Bains Kempinski, where participants arrived on Friday for a first display of more than 100 cars, followed by the mandatory cocktail and opening dinner. As a special guest, the BCCM team had invited 'Million Mile Man' Fred Finn, the most travelled Concorde passenger and former McLaren F1 ambasssador. In total, he flew 718 times on the Queen of the Skies between 1976 and 2003, spending a rough 2 million pounds and setting a Guinness world record along the way. "I would always find half a bottle of Dom Perignon stashed under my seat," Flinn remembered vividly, setting the tone for the weekend to come.
Matching the megalomania of this bold era, the BCCM team had managed to attract not one, but two Aston Martin Lagondas. Created by the visionary William Townes, the iconic four-door saloon had merged 1970s wedge design with ultra luxury and boosted Aston Martin's cash reserves in times of financial turmoil. The Lagonda brought to St. Moritz by strategist and eclectic car collector Stephan Sigrist from Zurich was particularly special, as it had been customised for the Sultan of Oman by the British specialist Tickford and later equipped with a custom old-school synthesisers by its current owner. Newport-Pagnell's 1980s excess was also represented by a broad-shouldered 1987 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante.
Wealthy British guests have come to Switzerland since the beginning of Alpine tourism in the 19th century, and of course they have always chosen an adequate, preferrably English-made ride. The Hotel Schweizerhof in Interlaken took this idea of hospitality to the extreme when they commissioned the Swiss coachbuilders Beutler to turn a 1930s Rolls-Royce into an estate bus well worthy of the BCCM's billionaire theme. Meanwhile, a fleet of Bentleys and Rolls-Royces from the 1950s to the 2000s reminded us of the golden era of hand-built luxury saloons tailor-made in Great Britain. If walnut wood and Connolly leather were your cup of tea, the regal flagships rolling across the Engadin would have certainly caused your heart to beat faster! We were particularly fond of a blue Rolls-Royce Camargue driven to the Swiss Alps from Hungary and a line-up of Bentley's V8 grand tourers, from a 1954 R-Type Continental to a Continental Mulliner RW/B and a Brooklands, both from the dawn of the new millennium.
On Saturday morning, the glamour gave way to sportsmanship, as the participants gathered with roaring engines at Badrutt's Palace before embarking on the BCCM's trademark rallye. 50 Jaguars alone, from early post-war cars to modern roadsters, assembled in the center of St. Moritz, celebrating the once-proud British maque with a truly fantastic display of XK 120s, XK 150s and E-types. We could have picked dozens of favourites, but the cats that excited us the most were a 1958 XK 150 Old Mill Special by brand guru Georg B. Dönni and a 1970s XJS in the beautiful period colour of Sand Green. Speaking of colours, another exceptional grand tourer — and an all-time Classic Driver favourite — was the 1969 Aston Martin DB6 Mk2 in Bahama Yellow, one of only three cars painted in this iconic shade.
But not all cars on the road were verified icons, as the BCCM team always manages to surprise its participants. This year, the most surprising car was a bright red Wells Vertige, a mid-engine sportscar in the spirit of TVR's lightweight wonders created by Robin Wells a mere decade ago. Apparently, the car had made its public debut at the 2021 Goodwood Festival of Speed, and the initial production run of 25 had quickly sold out.
This year, the road book led the teams across the Albulapass towards Lenzerheide, Davos, Klosters and back into the Engadin via the Flüelapass and Zernez before arriving in St. Moritz. The sight and sound of these classy grand tourers, roadsters, sportscars and saloons roaming Switzerland's most beautiful mountain roads was nothing less than cinematic and the good old fun and cameraderie is still the main reason why most participants return to the BCCM year after year. In the end, the rally was not won by a Billionaire cruiser, but a modest, lightweight and agile MG TB expertly driven by Ferruccio and Tamara Nessi. Well done!
On Sunday, the automobiles assembled in the heart of St. Moritz for the concours. Evaluated by the jury lead by Marco Makaus, moderated by Classic Driver's very own J.P. Rathgen and supported by a quintessentially Scottish bagpipe band, the owners were eagerly awaiting the award ceremonies for their cars. In the end, the "Best of Show" trophy was rightfully awarded to Thomas Henne for his Beautiful R-Type Continental. The award for the cars best matching the Billionaire theme was, of course, handed to the owners of the two Aston Martin Lagondas. And the newly created Ian Cameron Trophy designed by Carl Gustav Magnusson and Andreas Thurner to commemorate the late, great automotive designer of the same name went to Peter Kappeler and his Aston Martin DB2.
Interestingly, the automobile that excited us most during this extravagant BCCM weekend wasn't a billionaire's classic first choice, but a true marmite car. Richard Gauntlett, the man behind the Meyers Manx Cafe, had brought the ultimate British sleeper in form of a Frazer-Tickford Metro - a hot hatch version of MG's modest 1980s city car created by Aston Martin costomizers Tickford, boosting the four cylinder's power by 12 hp to an impressive 80 hp. Technically the grandpa of the Aston Martin Cygnet, the Frazer-Tickford Metro would have been the perfect car to catch a billionaire trying to keep a low profile in the Swiss Alps while showing off his connoisseurship to his well-heeled peers. Maybe British understatement isn't just dead yet.
Photos: Davide De Martis / Rosario Liberti / Pietro Martelletti
