CP INTRODUCES THE NOMINEES FOR THE 2015/2016 “PENINSULA CLASSICS BEST OF THE BEST AWARD”

Let me start by saying how delighted I am to be here tonight. For eight years, I chaired the Best of the Best Award under the Louis Vuitton umbrella, who then retired after a management change. I could honestly not have dreamt of a better host than the Peninsula Group to relaunch the Best of the Best Award. Long live the Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award!

The Award goes to a car that won Best of Show in one of the major Concours d’Elegance in the world. The six contenders for tonight’s Award are winners of events that took place in 2015.

The first ‘modern’ - so to say - motor car was born in 1886, 130 years ago. Progress was fast. By 1903, Gottlieb Daimler was selling a range of cars under the brand Mercedes, culminating with the 60 HP good for speeds up to 75mph! Our first contender is such a car, one of five surviving. You could go racing, with minimal coachwork, or bolt on a rear compartment and add headlights if you planned on go touring with family or friends. It was that simple! This 1903 Mercedes won BoS at the Concours of Elegance hosted at the Royal Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. The event first took place at Windsor and moves to a different Royal venue every year. It will return to Windsor in September for, as Prince Charles said, “We ran out of castles!”

Fast forward to 1965. Whilst 1903 was the year of the Wright Brothers first flight, we are now in the jet age. Aerodynamics had made significant advances, helped in the case of the Dino 206 P by the engine being positioned behind the driver. Its curvy shape was crafted by Piero Drogo of Carrozzeria Sports Cars in Modena. No less than World Champion John Surtees described the 206 as ‘indecently fast’ after a test drive. This is the prototype of a small series of 20 cars carrying the name of Enzo Ferrari’s deceased son. It won the 1965 European Hillclimb Championship driven by Ludovico Scarfiotti and, 50 years later, preserved in exceptionally original condition, it won Best of Show at Cavallino Classic. Cavallino Classic is a Ferrari only concours superbly organised by Alicia and John Barnes at The Breakers in Palm Beach.

If I may add a personal note, the Dino is especially close to my heart as 1965 is the year I started working for Jacques Swaters, the Belgian Ferrari importer who also ran the Ecurie Francorchamps. Of course, we had a Dino in the team!

Next, how sexy is this? The 1968 Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale is the road version of a racing car and stays very close to its racing heritage. The body is a tight wrap around all mechanical elements. The lines are by Franco Scaglione and were executed by Marazzi of Milan. The built quality was somewhat approximate, but the little imperfections made it only more desirable. This 33 Stradale, one of only 18, won BoS at the The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering. We look forward to seeing you all here on Friday for another glamorous show!

Whilst the three cars so far are what I would call ‘engineered for performance’, the next three cars are I would suggest ‘styled for elegance’.

Brooks Stevens who suffered from polio started drawing cars as a child. He studied architecture and became a prominent industrial designer residing in Milwaukee. In 1930, aged about 20, he owned a Cord L29 which he subsequently customised. He changed the headlights, modified the fenders, deleted the running boards and added a long fin in the rear. This true one-off then remained in his collection until his passing in 1995. Technically interesting with its early front wheel drive layout, it is the speedster’s proportions and details that are striking and make it a deserving Best of Show at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance organised with unrivalled enthusiasm by Bill Warner.

In 1932, Ramseier, a small Swiss coachbuilder based in Worblaufen near Bern, surprised the world with this unique exercise displayed at the Geneva Motor Show and based on a 1924 Isotta Fraschini 8A – not ‘Frashini’, please. Nothing wrong with a re-body, which was not unusual in the 1920’s and 30’s and is now perfectly admitted in concours circles if it was done in period. I can’t resist reading to you how Yves Dalmier, the French second owner – of only four to date – described the car when he discovered it :

“In fact what I was looking at was a gigantic cabriolet, appearing to fill every inch of the road it had stopped on. With extraordinary bicycle wings, enormous, connected to a curved running board sloping up to the front. Between the front and the back, a bonnet, just a bonnet, but an insane, fantastic bonnet. And in the middle of this monster, a tiny windscreen, like a fingernail stuck on the deck of a ship.”

This masterpiece won the highly coveted Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the Queen Mother of all modern concours - and I don’t know how Sandra Button manages to outdo Sandra Button year after year… I can’t wait for Sunday!

Giuseppe Figoni was born in 1894 in Italy and moved to Paris with his parents in his early years. His first name then became Joseph. He had already established his own workshop when he met Ovidio Falaschi – and not Falashi… They teamed up in 1935, Falaschi looking after the business side of things and Figoni, the ‘couturier’, now free to release his creativity. The result? This Talbot T150-C SS Coupé Aérodynamique introduced at the 1937 New York Auto Show. The ‘Goutte d’Eau’, or ‘Tear Drop’ as it was nicknamed because of its elliptical shape, became an immediate concours star and must be the all-time top collector of First Prizes. This one added another line to an already long list and won Best of Show at the Cartier Style & Luxe Concours held during the Festival of Speed at Goodwood.

These are the six contenders for tonight’s Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award. Before announcing the winner, I would like to congratulate all owners and keepers, and thank all of you for generously sharing your cars with the public.

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