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Picking the most beautiful car in the world is hard enough at just one concours. But imagine picking a winner from the winners of the eight previous year’s most prestigious concours? Such is the challenge presented to the judges of The Peninsula’s Best of the Best Award.
“The Peninsula Classics 2022 Best of the Best Award... identifies the world’s most exceptional classic car from a select group of vehicles that have won the highest awards at the previous year's major concours events,” The Peninsula said.
It’s an Honor to be Nominated
The nominees from 2022 were…
- The Duesenberg Model J Sports Torpedo that won Pebble Beach almost exactly a year ago. That car, you may recall, had a body by Josef Figoni (before he paired up with Falaschi) that was separated—you wouldn't say, “parted out” with any of these cars—and reunited by RM Sotheby’s Rob Hall, whose firm did the restoration.
- A second Model J, this one a 1934 J-531 LaGrande Convertible Coupe that won Best of Show at Amelia.
- The Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este-winning 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Cabriolet.
- A special one-off two-seater 1938 Delage Type D8-120S Cabriolet that took top honors at Hampton Court Place in the UK. “The extravagantly styled model, with its tapering sport body coachwork and riveted fenders, was first shown at the Concours de l’Auto de Printemps in 1938,” organizers noted.
- The 1938 Dubonnet Xenia Coupe that Americans Peter and Merle Mullin brought to Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille just outside Paris last year, where it won Best of Show, not the Mullin’s first win at that beautiful event, btw. “The Xenia, fitted with a Hispano Suiza H6B engine, is a one-of-one vehicle designed by André Dubonnet, an inventor, racecar driver and World War I fighter pilot. Its aerodynamic design, coupled with Dubonnet’s signature hyperflex suspension technology, give smooth handling and the sensation of flying while driving the vehicle, evocative of the pre-war fascination with machines of flight,” Judges noted.
- The first of two Ferraris eligible for the Best of the Best this year was a 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Coupé which was crowned Best of Show at Salon Privé at Blenheim Palace just outside Oxford in the UK. This car was one of just five Ferrari 250 GT long-wheelbase chassis designed by Zagato. Its lightweight bodysports Zagato’s trademark double-bubble roof.
- The second Ferrari is a 1966 365 P Berlinetta Speciale “Tre Posti,” or three-seater, pre-empting the McLaren F1 three-seater by over 20 years. It won Best of Show at the 2022 Cavallino Classic in Florida. It was one of Sergio Pininfarina’s first designs.
- And finally, rounding out this most prestigious field is a 1956 Jaguar D-Type that won top honors at The Quail (another Peninsula property, btw).
“The vehicles this year exemplify the very best in automotive excellence and design,” said William “Chip” Connor, collector and co-founder of The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award. “The accuracy of restorations are becoming more precise and exquisite each year, making it difficult to select just one.”
The Envelope, Please...
But they did it! And the winner is…
The Delage!
“This award is truly the highest honour for a car collector like myself,” said Fritz Burkard, owner of the 1938 Delage Type D8-120 S Cabriolet. “It has been such a joy bringing this car to numerous concours around the world. To be selected as the recipient of this distinguished award by such an acclaimed group of judges is truly humbling.”
“The caliber of the 2022 finalist lineup is, quite simply, astounding,” said The Hon. Sir Michael Kadoorie, Chairman of The Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels and the other co-founder of The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award back in 2015.
“Each of these vehicles represents a superlative achievement of automotive engineering and design,” Kadoorie said. “For this reason, choosing a single winner for this award becomes more challenging each year. However, I hope everyone will agree with the judges that this car is truly spectacular.”
Do you agree? Or should it have been one of the Ferraris? Let us know below.
