An utterly fabulous Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A Cabriolet that once turned heads and garnered top prizes in the classic era, glided to victory at the 65th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance last week. The competition drew 219 cars from 16 countries and 29 states to the 18th fairway of Pebble Beach Golf Links. It also raised over $1.8 million for 100 charities through the PebbleBeach Company Foundation, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.
The winning car has an extremely long 145-inch Italian 1924 Tipo 8A chassis, acquired in the early ‘30s by Swiss Carrosserie Worblaufen as the basis for a new sport cabriolet. The finished car was displayed at the 1932 Geneva Auto Show and won the Grand-Prix d’Honneur at Cannes in 1933. After being shown, the car passed through the hands of just three owners prior to being purchased by current owner Jim Patterson of Louisville, Kentucky.
Second time’s the charm, apparently, because the Isotta Franschini’s Pebble Beach win was not Patterson’s first: his 1933 Delage D8S De Villars Roadster was named Best of Show in 2010. “I won here in 2010 with an all-white car, and now I’ve won with an all-black car. I don’t know if I’ve run out of colors or what,” he joked.
Concours Chairman Sandra Button said the win by the Isotta Fraschini wasn’t a surprise given its provenance: “From the moment that Cesare Isotta and the Fraschini brothers founded their company, they were known for building prestigious cars. And this particular car is very stylish and very powerful. Even when resting on the ramp, it seems to be in motion, and it is filled with emotion. There is a lot of passion in this car.”
Ferraris were featured in great numbers this year, along with classic era duPonts, antique Popes, British prewar sports cars and postwar Cunninghams. Special classes celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Shelby GT350 and the 75th anniversary of the Lincoln Continental, and Mercury Customs were displayed for the first time. Here’s the complete list of 2015 Concours d’Elegance winners.
Best of Show: 1924 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A F. Ramseier & Cie Worblaufen Cabriolet, Jim Patterson/The Patterson Collection, Louisville, Kentucky
Best of Show Nominees
1914 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Kellner Torpedo Phaeton, Doug Magee Jr., Wolfeboro, New Hampshire
1937 Delahaye 145 Franay Cabriolet, Sam & Emily Mann, Englewood, New Jersey (shown above)
1953 Abarth 1100 Sport Ghia Coupé, Grant Kinzel, Calgary Alberta, Canada
Most Elegant Awards
J.B. & Dorothy Nethercutt Most Elegant Closed Car: 1932 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental Figoni & Falaschi Pillarless Berline, Don Williams, Danville, California (shown at bottom)
Gwenn Graham Most Elegant Convertible: 1937 Delahaye 145 Franay Cabriolet, Sam & Emily Mann, Englewood, New Jersey
Most Elegant Open Car: 1914 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Kellner Torpedo Phaeton, Doug Magee Jr., Wolfeboro, New Hampshire
Strother MacMinn Most Elegant Sports Car: 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Touring Berlinetta, Jon Shirley, Medina, Washington (shown below)
Special Awards
Alec Ulmann Trophy: 1929 Hispano-Suiza H6B Hibbard & Darrin Cabriolet de Ville, H. Hulsbergen, Freienbach, Switzerland
Ansel Adams Award: 1923 Mercer Series b6 Sporting, Kirk M. Pumphrey, San Jose, California
Art Center College of Design Award: 1955 Maserati A6G 2000 Zagato Coupé, Jack Croul, Corona Del Mar, California
Briggs Cunningham Trophy: 1953 Cunningham C-5R Roadster, The Revs Institute for Automotive Research, Inc., Naples, Florida
Chairmans Trophy: 1926 Renault 45MC Manessius Cabriolet de Ville; George F. Wingard, Eugene, Oregon
Charles A. Chayne Trophy: 1902 Panhard et Levassor Type B1 Saloon, Merle & Peter Mullin, Oxnard, California
Classic Car Club of America Trophy: 1931 duPont Model H Merrimac Sport Phaeton, Richard Riegel, Bedford Hills, New York
Dean Batchelor Trophy: 1951 Mercury 1CM Bob Hirohata Custom Coupe, Jim and Sue McNiel, Orange, California
Elegance in Motion Trophy: 1931 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport Touring Spider, The Keller Collection at the Pyramids, Petaluma, California
Enzo Ferrari Trophy: 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Scaglietti Berlinetta Competizione, Big Fork Holdings, LLC., Menlo Park, California
FIVA Prewar Trophy: 1921 Stutz K Bearcat; Wayne Carini, Portland, Connecticut
FIVA Postwar Trophy: 1956 Jaguar D-type Roadster, Roger Hoffmann, Point Reyes Station, California
French Cup: 1939 Bugatti Type 57C Vanvooren Cabriolet, Margie & Robert E. Petersen Collection, Los Angeles, California
Gran Turismo Trophy: 1952 Cunningham C-4R Competition Roadster, The Simeone Automotive Foundation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Lincoln Trophy: 1933 Lincoln KB Dietrich Five Passenger Convertible Sedan, John P. Shibles, Sea Grit, New Jersey
Lorin Tryon Trophy: 1934 Duesenberg J Walker-LaGrande Convertible Coupe, General William Lyon, Newport Beach, California
Lucius Beebe Trophy: 1952 Rolls-Royce Phantom IV Hooper Sedanca de Ville, Ion Tiriac, Monaco
Mercedes-Benz Star of Excellence Award: 1935 Mercedes-Benz 500K Roadster, Miyabi Collection, Honolulu, Hawaii
Mille Miglia Pre-War Trophy: 1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Touring Coupé, David B. Smith, Medina, Washington
Montagu of Beaulieu Trophy: 1931 Invicta LS Carbodies Coupé, Richard & Susanne Stephens, Woodside, California
The Phil Hill Cup: 1952 Ferrari 340 Mexico Vignale Spyder, Les Wexner, New Albany, Ohio
The Revs Program at Stanford Award: 1914 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Kellner Torpedo Phaeton, Doug Magee Jr., Wolfeboro, New Hampshire
Road & Track Trophy: 1965 Ford Shelby Mustang GT350, John Atzbach, Redmond, Washington
The Tony Hulman Trophy: 1948 Talbot-Lago T26C Grand Prix Racer, Denis Bigioni, Pickering, Ontario
