It was time again to get the SVR ready for the 2021 Vail Concours d'Elegance. By now you know the drill. Two weeks of intensive detailing every inch of the SVR. I finished Friday with my drive up to Vail scheduled for Saturday afternoon to check into my hotel.

Let the "drama" begin! Once I was packed Saturday, I checked my emails to print a copy of my registration confirmation. I checked my emails with no luck. I then checked my credit card statements as well as my check register with nothing there either! Hmmmm. It was beginning to look like I had completely forgotten to send in my registration!!!!

I frantically texted and emailed Mark the organizer of the event to plead my case. Fortunately I had been in contact with Mark last year after I won to get a copy of the article in the Vail Magazine. So, there I sat with fingers crossed, Saturday morning contemplating my royal screw up! When I finally heard back from him, Mark said he received one last minute cancellation and he would let me take their spot. Since it was literally the last minute, Mark said I could pick up my registration stuff at the entrance.

So, hearing the good news, I gleefully packed up the car and drove up to Vail Saturday afternoon. When I arrived, I checked out the Concours venue before checking into my hotel room. The room was perfect! I had a "murphy bed" that folded out from the wall, a full kitchen, fireplace, deck and a 55" TV. The bonus was that I also got a private garage for the SVR - which turned out to be a stroke of good luck because it poured down raining overnight.

The next morning I figured that I had better get there early since I still needed to pick up my paperwork. So, with that in mind, I set my alarm for 5:30 am. The staging started at 7:00 but I got there at 6:30 just because of my situation. Nobody was on site! As the volunteers began to show up I was relieved when they gave me my window sticker. I was the first in line for the judged vehicles. The gates opened at 7:00 and we were guided to the grassy area where 49 cars were staged for judging. There were another 48 cars staged in another area that were just for display.

It was another clear crispy gorgeous Vail morning in the 50's with a deep blue sky and white puffy clouds. Once we were staged, we were all busy dusting off our cars and getting to know each other. Once I had finished dusting and wiping down the SVR (several times) the gates were open to the public at 8:00.

As people began to flood into the show, the SVR got plenty of attention. Several people had never seen an F-Type before (it was the only F-Type at the show). Others remembered seeing the car last year as well as when it was at the ACC Concours d'Elegance the previous weekend. Win, lose or draw, the best part of attending these shows is always meeting the people.

I wanted to look around, but I was tethered to my chair until the SVR was judged. While I waited for my turn to be judged, I did get a chance to look at some of the other judged cars that were nearby. As expected, there were plenty of very well cared for cars of every make, model and year that were being judged in several different classifications. When I looked at my placard, I noticed that mine had the "classification" area left blank. So, I had no clue in what group I was being judged. I didn't give it a second thought as I was just grateful that I was just able to get in.

The hours ticked by and around noon the judges came by. While I was waiting, a video crew stopped by and wanted to film a segment about the story of the paint job on the SVR (which he said was recommended by the judges). When the judges arrived, they apologized, as they had somehow forgotten to judge my car. It was probably due to the fiasco with the paperwork that I'm sure I created. So I had nothing to complain about. That was on me! I recognized most of the judges from last year and they recognized the car. The 5 judges went about their work doing their micro inspections of the exterior, interior and engine compartment. I forgot to ask them what classification I was in.

So, fast forward to 2:30 when the results were being announced. There were multiple classifications that had first, second and third place awards in each. So we all gathered around the stage eagerly awaiting the results. It was really hard to hear the announcer since he only had a toy sized megaphone that he didn't speak directly into. About halfway through there were a few cars that I recognized and thought were legitimate contenders.

As the awards ceremony came to an end, the announcer went through the last group. I didn't hear what group it was, since I had stopped listening. I did hear that the white/red XKE roadster that I had been admiring had won as did a TR6 that had a complete frame off restoration with modifications. It was awesome. Earlier I told the owner that his red TR6 would be my first pick. Turns out that I was close. He picked up second in whatever class he was in. The last award of the day in this class was first place. This went to a 2018 Jaguar F-Type SVR! SAY WHAT!!! I couldn't believe my ears! The SVR took first place (in some category) for the second year in a row!!! WOW!!!

The judges all stopped by afterwards and said how much they admired the paint as well as the rarity and overall condition of the car. So, there you have it! I really was not expecting a repeat, but I'm not complaining! To all of my sisters and brothers out there who also own F-Types of all variants, know that you own a very unique automobile that has won two consecutive Vail Concours d'Elegance shows...

Cheers!
Steve

 

Congrats and do you have any photos to share?

 

Waiting for the videos to come out. I will share them when they do...

 

That's awesome, congratulations! Can't wait to see the videos.

 

Love my 2nd SVR, really can’t imagine judges picking, your paint and detailing must be amazing!

 

Here's the first video released of the 2021 Vail Automotive Classic. It looks like out of almost 100 cars, the SVR was the only car with green paint!

 

Steve,

Well done. That sounds like serious hard work.

Graham

 

Beautiful! And congratulations.

 

Here's a few photos that were taken at the 2021 Vail Automotive Classic...

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1Q...ZUSTBFUmdJUzNR