Prescott Speed Hill Climb, the home of the Bugatti Owners Club, recently hosted their La Vie en Bleu weekend, incorporating La Vita Rossa. I attended on the Saturday and after a cloudy start the British sunshine broke through creating perfect event conditions.

The weekend was a celebration of French/Italian motoring and featured a great display of vintage to modern Citroens, Alpines, Alfa Romeos and some real stars of the show turned up. The Supercar paddock included an engineering masterpiece – the Bugatti Chiron (1479bhp and capable of 261mph) – joined by its relation, a Super Sport, with its beautifully exposed carbon body and a Veyron Pur Sang.

Combining an electric motor with a conventional engine

A LaFerrari was also in the paddock (a rare beast), the second I have seen this year, the other being owned by Nick Mason, the drummer from Pink Floyd. The LaFerrari is the first ever production car equipped with the F1-derived hybrid solution, HY-KERS, which combines an electric motor with a conventional engine. Apparently, it’s pretty expensive when it comes to the battery being changed and it’s also not very practical for luggage space on a trip to blast the roads in the South of France – or so I have heard!

La Vie en Bleu is not just about the cars; there was music provided by ‘One Man Frank’, a tribute to Frank Sinatra, the incredible Oyster ‘Street’ Opera and ‘La Swing’, a five-piece band performing French Chanson, Gypsy Jazz and 1930s Swing music. The roving accordion player was also a nice surprise to come across.

A break in the afternoon’s proceedings took place as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Dakota ZA947 flew over the event three times, a real treat, as its arrival was in doubt due to low cloud.

A friend of mine, Ian Cook from Pop Bang Colour, was in the paddock creating his artwork in the most quirky of ways; he paints with radio controlled cars, actual car tyres and toy car wheels instead of a traditional paintbrush. He’s a lovely guy so if you see him at events during 2018 do have a chat – sometimes he has a little toy car for the kids to take away with them.

Perfect viewing points and a lovely woodland walk

On track action featured ten varied classes competing up the famous hill, including the Pirelli Ferrari Hill Climb Championship, MG Car Club and a Bugatti Owners Club Members Handicap, which boasted delights such as the Bugatti Type 51s from the 1920s and Type 35s from the 1930s. Prescott features perfect viewing points for the track and a lovely woodland walk all rolled into one.

If you get the chance to visit La Vie en Bleu next year, do leap at it. I took someone who had never been to a Hill Climb event before and due to the variety, both on track and off, it made for a perfect day to introduce someone new to the delights of motorsport.