Dealerships and car brands
Presenting a vehicle in the grounds of a château
A neo-Gothic façade as the backdrop, five hectares of grounds, and nobody else on site.
The setting makes the photograph
A building your visuals will not find in a showroom
A car shown under strip lights in a showroom looks like every other car shown under strip lights. The same car on a lawn, in front of a pale stone façade built between 1858 and 1863, with its turrets and its carved dormers, produces an image your clients keep.
That is what the estate brings to a vehicle presentation: a background that already exists, costs nothing to build and changes with the light. In the morning the façade is still in shadow and the lawn lights up. By late afternoon the stone turns golden. Your photographers see it straight away.
Where to place the vehicles
The grounds, the drive and the steps
Vehicles can be presented in the grounds with the château behind them. Depending on the number of cars and the effect you want, three positions work particularly well:
- The lawn facing the façade, for a single car staged with the whole château behind it
- The drive, which gives perspective and lets you line up several models
- In front of the steps, for the arrival of guests and the moment of the reveal
Access to the grounds, ground protection and the power supply are agreed during a technical visit, depending on the season, the weight of the vehicles and the state of the ground. We would rather say so in advance than improvise on the day.
What it looks like
A presentation on the lawn, château behind
First format
Launching a model, from the reveal to the test drive
- 9.30am · ArrivalCoffee in the lounges, the vehicles already placed in the grounds, under covers if you want to keep the surprise.
- 10.30am · PresentationThe talk at the Pavillon du Parc, up to 200 people facing the stage, with a screen and video-conferencing for remote teams.
- 11.30am · The revealOut into the grounds, the car discovered in front of the façade, photography and video.
- 12.30pm · LunchMade on site, at the château or the Pavillon, up to 150 seated.
- 2.30pm · Test drivesThe roads of the Vexin are quiet and well surfaced, which suits test loops. Departure and return from the estate.
- 6pm · Reception or dinnerThe lit château takes over. For teams coming from far away, 15 people sleep on site.
Second format
A range, a lunchtime reception, and lounges to close in
The other day that works is not built around a single model but around a whole range, and it has an openly commercial objective: bring in your best clients and your serious prospects, show them the vehicles, then give them a reason to sign where they feel comfortable.
- 11.30am · ArrivalThe vehicles are lined up on the lawn and along the drive, château behind. Your guests discover the range before anyone has spoken to them.
- 12pm · Lunchtime receptionSavoury and sweet canapés served in the grounds or at the Pavillon, standing, so the conversations move.
- 1.30pm · Free viewingStatic trials, doors open, technical questions. Your advisers are out in the grounds, in the middle of the range.
- 2.30pm · Meetings in the loungesThe three château lounges take the conversations, 10 to 30 people depending on the layout, and close for a one-to-one.
- 5pm · DeparturesYour guests leave with a proposal in hand, and the memory of an afternoon that did not feel like a showroom visit.
The difference is in that last point. A client sitting in a panelled lounge, with a coffee and the grounds through the window, is not in the same frame of mind as at a counter in a showroom. The setting does part of your advisers' work.
Questions from the motor trade
Can vehicles really go into the grounds?
Yes, that is the point of the place: the cars are presented in the grounds with the château behind them, not on a car park. Positions and access are confirmed during a technical visit, depending on the season and the weight of the vehicles.
How many vehicles can you take?
For the staging, the grounds absorb a presentation fleet without difficulty. For guests, the car park has 35 spaces, and we organise additional parking on the estate according to the format of the day.
Can we run test drives?
Yes. The estate serves as the start and finish point, and the roads of the Vexin are quiet enough for short or long test loops. We help you plan the routes.
Does the venue suit a shoot or a film?
Yes: the façade, the drive, the grounds and the lounges all work as sets. For a shoot the estate is taken exclusively for the day as it would be for an event, and we agree the timings and the access together.
Up to how many guests?
300 to 500 people outdoors in the grounds, standing. Indoors, the Pavillon du Parc takes up to 200 people, and 15 can sleep on site in the 10 bedrooms of the estate.
How do we get a costing?
Tell us the date, the number of guests, the number of vehicles and what you want to do with them: we answer within 24 hours with a detailed proposal. By phone or WhatsApp on 02 21 65 24 12.
Let's talk about your presentation
Date, guest numbers, number of vehicles: we come back within 24 hours with a costing and the technical constraints identified.