Salon Privé's garden of delights

20th anniversary party promises top cars and much more over five days

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WITH SALON PRIVÉ fast approaching, three of its star cars have been revealed and suggest that Blenheim Palace is going to host its most diverse selection of beauties ever when the event celebrates its 20th anniversary with nearly a full week of activity on 27-31 August. Prewar US leviathans, postwar German glamour and French technical ingenuity will be reflected through a Duesenberg Model SJ, Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster and an Alpine M64.

The Duesie, king of American vintage cars, was a money-no-object supercharged 320bhp luxury car that was a hit with the glitterati despite being launched into the teeth of the Great Depression. The example due at Salon Privé, one of just 36, is coming from the USA for the event and hadn't been seen in public for half a century before appearing at Pebble Beach last summer.