The Cars are the Stars at the 10th annual Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance, as they take to the stage and to the green, at Cobble Beach Golf Resort Community. A long-held tradition stemming from the 17th century when cars would parade through the parks of Paris, France, evolving into what we now know as a competition of elegance (Concours d’Elegance) displaying not only antique but classic automobiles as well, for both competition and celebration.
With 18 classes in total for judging purposes, a panel of 48 judges will take to the 18th fairway to begin scoring each of the 4 or 8 hand-selected vehicles in each class, to choose the best in class. Vehicles are chosen by a committee of automotive experts, who study each vehicle closely, paying attention to the finer details, right down to the correct bolts used for that car’s time period. First, second and third place is awarded within each class, and each class winner is eligible for one of either the Best of Show, the Most Outstanding Pre War or Post War awards.
Two classes every year hold some of the world’s most luxurious, rare and prestigious automobiles, the AACA Pre-War American Full Classics and the AACA Pre-War European Full Classics, featuring some of the era’s most jaw-dropping automobiles: a 1928 Auburn 8-88 Speedster and a 1937 Cord 812 Sportsman Convertible. Among the rarest of the American Full Classics, a 1920 Packard 3-35 Twin Six Transformable Town Car and three great examples of the 1929 model year, a Stutz Model M by LeBaron, a Lincoln Model L Tonneau-Cowl Sport Phaeton by Locke and a Cadillac Dual Cowl Sport Phaeton. From across the Atlantic, you can expect some classic French masterpieces like the stunning 1924 Delage GL Skiff Torpedo by Labourdette, with a beautiful mahogany body and a one-off French-bodied 1947 Bentley MKVI coupe with coachwork from the masterful Figoni et Falaschi. The United Kingdom also brings a stunning example of a 1935 Swallow SS1 Coupe, an early model before the manufacturer was renamed Jaguar, and a stunning 1923 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Pall Mall Tourer by Merrimac.
Europe also brings some fantastic sports cars with racing history from the 1950s to Cobble Beach. We have two stunning Italian cars, a 1957 Maserati 300S Long Nose Barchetta and a 1957 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta which raced in the 1957 Tour de France and placed second. From Britain, we also have a rare 1955 Allard JR, 1 of 7 produced, with great racing history in Ontario in the fifties and early sixties.
This year’s Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance also offers a rare opportunity to see the most futuristic trio of concepts of the 1950s from GM’s Motorama, the 1954 GM Firebird I, the 1956 GM Firebird II and the 1958 GM Firebird III concept. These stunning concepts are all powered by turbine powertrains and will be the first time together in Canada.