It’s a classic car club meet-up, a new car showcase, with a wide variety of food trucks, all surrounded by a race car track in Denmark’s capital city. Velkomst to the Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix!
The Copenhagen Historic GP is staged annually at Bellahøj Park, about 6 km from the city center. The streets around the park are transformed into a temporary track, a city circuit that’s more like Marina Bay than Monaco. With concrete barriers lining the walls, the racing is both tight and dicey.
The format of the Copenhagen Historic GP is unique. You see all kinds of cars mixed and mingled among the seven classes. Where else would you see a 1965 Lotus Elan racing a replica of Richard Petty’s ‘65 Plymouth Belvedere, along with a 1965 Ford GT40…all in the same class?
Granted, Petty’s Plymouth is not entirely authentic. The most original item on the car is King Richard’s actual signature on the dash of the Belvedere.
The GT40 and the Lotus had a close encounter of the worst kind on the cooldown lap of their practice session. The Lotus cut inside the GT40 on a 90-degree lefthander, resulting in some broken bits on the Ford. Like all historic autos, these cars are worth big bucks…or Kroner, in this case. The Lotus is valued at 1 million Danish Kroner, while the GT40 is worth 3.5 million Kroner…equal to about 150,000 US Dollars, and 520,000 USD, respectively. So you’d think the two drivers would be pretty peeved by this crash. Well, think again. The drivers are friends, and both chalk up their crash to “it’s just racing.” How very Danish.
There are no native car companies in Denmark, and Danes seem to have a fascination with American-made cars, especially the Ford Mustang. My aunt and uncle proudly owned a Mustang in Denmark in the 1960s. There were a handful of classic Mustangs entered in the seven classes of cars at Copenhagen.
As every vintage racer knows, more laps on the track mean more hours in the pits…from both above and below.
The best racing was in the Formula Junior class. 13 cars, all built between 1959 and 1962, with mostly equal motors and setups.
All kinds of roadsters, coupes, and sedans were scattered among the various classes, but many of them had one thing in common: They all managed to get partially airborne on the irregular racing surface.
The infield of the rectangular race course was a mix of car clubs from across Europe, with a few classic American makes and models.
There were new car displays too, including a few cars that we haven’t seen in the USA. This MG “Cyberster” is an all-electric car built for the UK market.
And only in Copenhagen would you see a Kubota diesel tractor displayed next to a vintage Jaguar E-Type.
There was a stable of 12 vintage Bugattis at Copenhagen. These cars weren’t in competition…they were just there for admiration.
Even the simple act of parking a Bugatti would draw a crowd. This modified 1927 model 37A was a joy to both see and hear.
Danish food is similar, but different, from what you’d see in America. The food truck for “flæskestegs eller bøfsandwich”…roast pork or steak sandwich…was right next to the “Ismobilen” in the Copenhagen infield.
The future of the Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix is uncertain. In environmentally-aware Denmark burning all this fossil fuel, both on and off the track, has raised the ire of local city leaders. But there is a royal ace in the hole. Prince Joachim of Denmark, the younger brother of King Frederik X, is a petrolhead and a past participant.
Copenhagen Historic GP Gallery
