CP PRESENTE LES NOMINES POUR L’EDITION 2022/2023 DU « PENINSULA CLASSICS BEST OF THE BEST AWARD »

Tonight, I would first like to celebrate an anniversary. Usually, we celebrate round numbers. This year, for instance, we had the 50th anniversary of the Lancia Stratos, the 75th anniversary of Porsche, the 100th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans… But tonight, I feel, is a fitting time to celebrate a 114th anniversary. In February 1909, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti published the Manifesto of Futurism in the French newspaper Le Figaro. He wrote:

“We declare that the splendour of the world has been enriched by a new beauty: the beauty of speed. A roaring car is more beautiful than the Winged Victory of Samothrace (which, as you all know, is a masterpiece sculpture displayed at the Louvre Museum in Paris)”.

And further:

“The internal combustion engine of a car is divine. Oil is divine…”

This is the kind of machines we are honouring tonight, cars that are beautiful, cars we can listen to like music, cars we can breathe like perfume, cars we can refill in minutes, cars with a soul, cars meant to be driven, cars for real men – and some ladies!

*

Dear friends, good evening!

Before going any further, as a reminder, the BoB award goes to a car that won Best of Show in one of the leading Concours in the world. The contenders for tonight’s Award are winners of 8 events that took place in 2022 as they were just introduced by Gordon.

*

Since we started the BoB Award, cars from the Peter and Merle Mullin collection in California have been regular contenders. Their Talbot-Lago won the very first BoB and the Bugatti Atlantic they share with Rob Walton won the third BoB.

This year, their 1938 Dubonnet Xenia coupé shown by ‘Merle on the Move’, as she calls herself, won Best of Show at the Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille concours in France. Xenia, by the way, was the name of Dubonnet’s deceased wife and is an Ancient Greece concept meaning the solemn bond between host and guest. The car had already been nominated for the BoB in 2016. As I was looking for something new to say, I asked ChatGPT for a one-page presentation. What I discovered was indeed totally new! I am quoting:

“The Dubonnet Xenia was based on a modified Cadillac chassis (it has a modified Hispano Suiza chassis) and was powered by a V8 engine (it has a 6 in-line engine).”

ChatGPT goes on:

“The car featured a luxurious, Art Deco-inspired interior with a built-in bar with a cocktail shaker and glasses, and with even a range of high-tech gadgets Including a radio and a telephone” (what you see is a picture of the real interior).

ChatGPT didn’t say anything about the coachbuilder, who was Saoutchik, from Paris, whose panel beaters gave life to a design by aerodynamicist Jean Andreau featuring avant-garde curved glass, a panoramic windscreen, and sliding doors.

French coachbuilding was at its pinnacle in the 1930s as shown by our three next nominees, a Delage, a Bugatti and a Duesenberg.

The 1938 Delage D8-129S owned by Fritz Burkard from Switzerland won Best of Show at the Concours of Elegance held at the Royal Palace of Hampton Court.

Just look at these riveted fenders!

Louis Delâge built his first car in 1905 and became one of the most prestigious French car brands of the inter-war period. Sadly, it went bankrupt in 1935 and was temporarily rescued by its competitor Delahaye. The marque is currently tentatively being revived in France.

Delages were dressed by the greatest coachbuilders of the time and won numerous trophies in concours d’elegance, like this cabriolet by De Villars first shown at the Concours de l’Auto de Printemps in 1938 where it won the Grand Prix.

De Villars was launched in 1925 by Frank Jay Gould, a wealthy American who lived in France and decided to create a small carrosserie looking after the needs of his rich friends. It was named after his son in law’s surname who was also in charge of the company. Their production was limited and ceased after the Second World War.

Our third nominee -and another example of French coachbuilding talent- is this 1937 Bugatti

Type 57S low chassis cabriolet by Vanvooren, owned by Andrew Pisker from Monaco. It won Best of Show at Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.

The Type 57 was a grand touring car built from 1934 through 1940. It was an entirely new model created by Jean Bugatti, the promising son of founder Ettore - and the future of the marque would certainly have been different had Jean not tragically been killed in a road accident in 1939, aged only 30.

Vanvooren, the coachbuilder, evolved from horse drawn carriages in the 19th century to the luxury car market in the 1930s, combining high quality standards with conservative elegance, more restrained than Jean Bugatti’s spectacular designs like the Atlantic.

This very car, one of three or four sporting this design, found its way to America in the 1950s. Under the ownership of Charles Chayne, who was vice president of engineering at General Motors, it became a test chassis for a new aluminium V8 engine and an automatic gearbox, imagine! It is now again as it was when it left the factory.

Whilst France had Bugatti, Delage, Hispano Suiza, America had Duesenberg.

This 1932 Model J with French torpedo coachwork by Figoni owned by Lee Anderson from Florida won Best of Show at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

The Duesenberg brothers began building racing cars with considerable success just before World War I and then became part of the Cord empire before the Model J was introduced. Launched at the 1928 New York Auto Show, the Model J had the ambition to be nothing less than the greatest American car ever.

Joseph Figoni is perhaps the most famous French coachbuilder of the period. Born Giuseppe in 1894 in Italy, he moved to Paris with his parents in his early years. Giuseppe was then changed into Joseph. He launched his company in 1923 – 100 years ago, another round number anniversary! later partnering with Ovidio Falaschi.

This example, known as the “French Speedster”, was shipped as a bare chassis to the company’s European distributor in Paris. Once fitted with its coachwork, it was shown at the Concours d’Elegance in Cannes and was awarded the Grand Prix. It then led a turbulent life until the current owner managed to reunite the elements that had been separated over the years.

This unusual view from above Illustrates the perfect proportions of the car, with the windscreen right in the middle of the wheelbase. This is classic grandeur!

Our fifth nominee is another Duesenberg, this one with American coachwork. The 1934 Model J LaGrande Convertible Coupé by Walker owned by Harry Yeaggy from Ohio won Best of Show at The Amelia.

Most J's received unique coachwork to their clients’ orders from the very best that America and Europe had to offer. In America, that included Murphy, LeBaron, Rollston and the likes. Duesenberg, however, also developed an in-house line of bodies styled by talented individuals such as Gordon Buehrig and Al Leamy. Executed under the name LaGrande, Duesenberg's proprietary designs were built by several coachbuilders and supplied to the Duesenberg factory where they were mounted and trimmed.

This example is one of three built by Albert Walker and was first purchased by Marjorie Merriweather Post, a businesswoman, a socialite, a philanthropist, a collector of fine art - and incidentally the wealthiest woman in the world.

Now moving to Post-War candidates.

The one I would say that comes closest to the Futurists’ liking, a racing car with, using their words: “its engine bay adorned with large pipes like snakes with explosive breath...”, is this 1956

Jaguar D-Type owned by Bill Pope from Arizona and Best of Show at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, right here.

Designed specifically to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which it did in 1955, 56 and 57, the

D-Type showed an innovative monocoque construction and slippery curves drawn by in house engineer Malcolm Sayer. It integrated aviation technology and included a distinctive vertical stabilizing fin which is still a feature on most current Le Mans entries. This one spent its life in the US, eventually being the subject of an article in Road & Track, the motoring enthusiasts’ magazine and bible for many of my generation.

A Best of the Best evening would not be complete without at least one Ferrari. Tonight, we have two!

The first one is another repeat candidate – it was a nominee in 2018 – and I was for a moment tempted to go to ChatGPT again but, after the Dubonnet Xenia ‘fake news’, I did not.

So, this 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Coupé by Zagato last won Best of Show at Salon Privé in England. It is owned by David and Ginny Sydorick from Beverly Hills who, like the Mullins, are regulars and already won the BoB with their Alfa Romeo 8C 2900. This is another serious candidate from their stable.

The Ferrari and Zagato relationship formed one short but remarkable ‘marriage’ in car design, combining the already proven Ferrari chassis and engine with Zagato’s low drag body and signature ‘double bubble’ roof.

Zagato was known for using lightweight techniques which he had adopted since founding his company in 1919. This meant the bodywork on the 250 GTZ not only looked good – it was shown in period at the Concorso d’Eleganza di Cortina d’Ampezzo and the Concorso d’Eleganza di Campione d’Italia -, but it also helped winning the Italian sports car championship twice over.

Last, our eighth nominee is this 1966 Ferrari 365 P Berlinetta Speciale “Tre Posti”, with coachwork by Pininfarina, who was Ferrari’s favourite coachbuilder until the latter launched their own design office. The car is owned by Roberto Quiroz from Mexico. It won Best of Show at Cavallino Classic in Palm Beach.

Presented in October 1966 at the Paris Motor Show on the Pininfarina stand, and a sister car to a similar one built for Gianni Agnelli, it was then displayed in motor shows all around the world during 1966 and 1967.

The winning racing cars of the period had seen their engine position moved from the front to the rear-mid. It enticed automakers to produce road cars with the same configuration, which changed the requirements for design. Pininfarina relished the challenge, very much against the convictions of Mr Ferrari who famously said “Horses pull the cart, they don’t push it”. The Berlinetta Tre Posti did influence the marque's future production.

Its most unusual feature was the “Tre Posti”, the triple seating arrangement, with the driver in the centre and the other two seats slightly back, a lay out not without its perils as British cartoonist Russell Brockbank was quick to illustrate.

*

Presented in chronological order on this image, you have the eight nominees for this edition of The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award.

*

Before I go, a big thank you to the owners, the custodians and the caretakers for restoring, for looking after, for showing and for sharing such treasures, all fascinating, significant and desirable examples of the cars hailed by the Futurists!

Here is to many more celebrations of the kind and, as per our friend and fellow Founding Member Bruce Meyer’s motto: Never lift!

*

(CHRISTIAN PHILIPPSEN)

August 2023