Report and photos by Al Wolford
The Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance 2010 was held Sunday, November 7th at the historic Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Frigid early morning temperatures gave way to bright sunshine without a cloud in the sky warming entrants and spectators alike on the show field.
The Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance 2010 had something for everyone’s taste with a wide spectrum of vehicles from the Featured Marque of Chevrolet to this show’s first Preservation Class, and from the Brass Era up through the 1960’s and 1970’s muscle cars.
The Alfa Romeo class was probably one of the best ever assembled on the East Coast and Corrado Lopresto’s 1942 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS was rewarded with a well-deserved Best In Show. The win marked the 100th substantial win (i.e. Best of Show, Best in Class) for Mr. Lopresto according to Nigel Matthews who showed the car on Mr. Lopresto’s behalf. Lopresto of Milan, Italy, is also the owner of a 1949 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS that earned the award for Most Outstanding Car Post-1948. This pair of black jewels was at the top of a very deep Alfa Class.
Also garnering a great deal of interest in that class were a pair of black 1938 Alfa Romeos owned by Oscar Davis of Elizabeth, NJ. His 8C 2900 B Touring Spider and 6C 2300 MM Touring Coupe were immaculate crowd favorites.
The Pre-1948 Most Outstanding Car trophy went to Brian and Trish White’s 1923 Locomobile where a beautiful lady dressed in period costume including a fur coat, sat on the sunny side running board much of the morning as a highlight to the display and trying to keep warm. I know the judging is done on the cars; but she did she put this car over the top?
The prestigious People’s Choice Award winner was a 1961 Chrysler New Yorker Town and Country Station Wagon owned by John and Lynne Cote. Saturday’s top honors for the Car Club Jamboree were the “Best of Show Award” given to a 1969 Iso Grifo owned by Darren Frank and the “People’s Choice Award” given to a 2010 Porsche GT3 owned by Kevin Meany.
For those with racing in their blood, the red Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Competizione (the Alfa class again; but what can you say, it is a fantastic racer that has just completed restoration) and a 1956 Cooper Bobtail drew raves. The Alfa is owned by Herb Wolfe of Englewood, NJ and the Cooper by Marc Richelsoph of Belmont, NC.
Paint colors crossed the spectrum with some, such as Dr. Dan Westphal’s 1954 Porsche Speedster in an eye blistering white to all shades imaginable on the muscle cars. The paint on the Preservation Class 1910 Duryea X of Greensboro, Vermont’s Bill Alley was in excellent condition for being at the centennial of its construction and Bill received a special award from the event for long and dedicated service.
Refreshingly, the awards ceremony started at the advertised time, was informative and paced so that each winner got their due and it still wrapped up as intended at 4 PM.
The Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance is always a great event to attend and a last chance before winter to visit the low country or a last shot at the beach and this year was no exception. Attendance appeared to be the best we have ever seen at Hilton Head and they were rewarded with a sterling and very deep field of collectible cars.
The 2011 Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance will celebrate the event’s 10-year anniversary. The dates have been set for November 4-6, 2011 with BMW designated as the event’s Honored Marque in recognition of their involvement since the first show.
For more information, visit www.hhiconcours.com.
Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance 2010 – Photo Gallery (click thumbnails for larger picture)
Great event, as always. Perfect setting, the weather always seems to be nice and everyone is happy to discuss their pristine cars.
I agree on the Alfas at Hilton Head – what a selection!
The show on Saturday is impressive as well.
Unfortunaly I cannot get the thumbnail photos to work. Looks like a GREAT event