This past weekend at the Hampton Court Palace, London, the pinnacle of automotive design was honored at the 2022 Concours of Elegance by Bridge of Weir Leather, a renowned supplier of Fine Automotive Leather to the most respected luxury car brands in the world.
Now in its third year, the winner of the 2022 Bridge of Weir Design Award was the gorgeous Dubonnet Hispano-Suiza H6B Xenia. Selected by three expert judges for its achievements in both interior and exterior design, the 1938 model is owned by the Mullin Automotive Museum of California.
The three judges in the panel are Head of Color and Trim at Bentley Motors Maria Mulder, Chief Creative Officer at Charge Cars Mark Roberts, and highly respected automotive journalist Alistair Charlton.
A previous ‘Best in Show Winner’ from 2016, the one-off 1938 Dubonnet Hispano-Suiza Xenia brings together art deco with aeronautical design from André Dubonnet, inventor and racing driver. Powered by an 8-liter in-line six-cylinder, water-cooled, 135 bhp Hispano-Suiza engine is wrapped by bodywork designed by Jacques Saoutchik. It features unique sliding doors and a curved glass windscreen.
The other two cars that made it to the judges’ top-three shortlist for the Design Award are the 1939 Lagonda V12 Rapide DHC and the 1933 Delage D8 S Couple by Letourneur et Marchand.
Chief Creative Officer at Charge Cars Mark Roberts talked about the winner, saying, “To me, it [Dubonnet Hispano-Suiza H6B Xenia] is aeronautical design beautifully transferred to the road. The interior details are equally extraordinary, with fitted luggage, rattan carpet and bound steering wheel.”
Head of Color and Trim at Bentley Motors Maria Mulder added, “From an aerodynamic aspect, its flowing, smooth curves accentuate its ability to cut through the air. The 1930s design is reflected in trends of the day, placing the car well ahead of its time.”
Automotive journalist Alistair Charlton shared, “There’s an element of future gazing to the car. The design mechanism of the doors is both eccentric and subtle at the same time. It truly is luxury with a capital ‘L’, with nothing quite like it on display at this year’s Concours of Elegance.”
Last Saturday, the Bridge of Weir Award was presented by Nicholas Muirhead the Managing Director of Scottish Leather Group to the owner of the Mullin Automotive Museum Merle Mullin.
Over the weekend, the enclosure at Bridge of Weir once again hosted additional icons of automotive design and all had Bridge of Weir leather. Created in partnership with Superformance, Everrati’s flagship, the electrified performance model GT40 made its public debut at the event. It featured lightweight automotive leather from bridge of Weir. Accompanying the GT40 were examples of equal design brilliance like the Lotus Emira, the new Range Rover, Aston Martin Vantage Roadster, McLaren Speedtail, and Mustang from Charge Cars.
Bridge of Weir Leather Company Director James Davidson stated, “It is always an honour for us to give exceptional automotive design from across the industry the recognition it deserves. Over the decades, our Fine Automotive Leather has helped make many four-wheeled icons become the design legends they are today, and it was a pleasure to host many modern examples within our enclosure at Concours of Elegance 2022.
“The exceptionally worthy winner of the Bridge of Weir Design Award, the one-off 1938 Dubonnet Hispano-Suiza Xenia, to this day represents an outstanding automotive achievement. We are also extending our congratulations to Everrati on the public debut of its redefined and electrified GT40 model, supplied with our lightweight automotive leather.”
