The eight contenders for the prestigious Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award have been formally announced. Announced rather than revealed because, as ever, the shortlist is made up of the winners of eight of the world’s leading concours d’elegance the previous year, so anyone who follows the concours scene will already know what is in the running.
The award was launched in 2015 by The Hon. Sir Michael Kadoorie, William E. (Chip) Connor, Bruce Meyer and Christian Philippsen and is judged by a squadron of notables that includes Prince Michael of Kent, Octane’s Jay Leno, Ralph Lauren, Ferrari’s Flavio Manzoni, Gorden Wagener from Mercedes-Benz and Chris Bangle.
For the first time the awards ceremony will take place in the recently opened Peninsula Hotel in London, just a stone’s throw away from No1 London and Park Lane.
The finalists are…
The 1935 Duesenberg Model J Speedster that won the coveted 2023 Best of Show award at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. Fewer than 500 Model Js were built, of which only 38 were supercharged and this was the only one bodied by Gurney Nutting.
From the same year comes the Voisin C25 Aerodyne that was best of show at The Amelia way back in March 2023. One of four survivors, it was first displayed in 1935 at the Lyon Fair and at the Concours d’Elegance at the Place Bellecour. This car was also Best of Show at Pebble Beach in 2011.
There are three cars from 1937, including the 2023 Goodwood Cartier Style et Luxe Concours of Elegance winning Bentley 4.25-litre ‘Rothschild’ Sedanca Coupé. Commissioned in 1936 by La Comtesse Yvonne Lydia Cahen d’Anvers, Madame de Rothschild, it was designed by Gurney Nutting’s newly appointed designer, 23-year-old John Blatchley who would go on to style many of the company’s greats.
Best of Show at the 2023 Salon Privé was a Bugatti 57S Roadster with Corsica coachwork with a fascinating history. When it was restored in the late 1960s, it was noticed that its chassis was the same spec as the Grand Prix cars suggesting it could be the missing ‘Tank’ chassis from the 1936 team.
The third 1937 car is the 2023 Pebble Beach-winning Mercedes-Benz 540K Spezial Roadster. Ordered new by King Mohammad Zahir Shah of Afghanistan, it was stored at the Afghan embassy in Paris from when war broke out until 1948.
It is not just vintage cars, however. Oldest classic in the running is the 1953 Ferrari 250 MM Berlinetta, that took top honours at last year’s Cavallino Classic. With Mille Miglia, Pescara and Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti history it was later modified for road use before being returned to original.
Two years younger is the Concours of Elegance-winning Maserati A6GCS/53 Spyder, which also featured in Octane 249. It is one of only three Maserati A6GCS/53 Spyders coachbuilt by Pietro Frua.
The final contender is the 1956 one-off Pinin Farina-bodied Ferrari 410 Superamerica Superfast Coupé that took Best of Show at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering. It features a bespoke 4.9-litre twin-plug V12 developed by Aurelio Lampredi for the long-distance Ferrari racing 410 Sport.
