Kirkland Concours d'Elegance 2010 - Report and Photo Gallery

Report and photos by Jay Gillotti

The Kirkland Concours D’Elegance 2010 was held on the shores of Lake Washington for the 8th year on September 12th. This event brings together many interesting cars from the Seattle area with entries from California and beyond. While no event can match Pebble Beach for prestige and setting, Kirkland seems to be solidly in the next tier of US events.

The main event on Sunday was preceded by a 3-day driving tour around western Washington’s scenic North Cascade Mountains. On Saturday, the tour paraded through downtown Woodinville, WA on the way to visits at some of the Seattle area’s fine wineries. The winery community offered tasting sessions and classic car showings as part of the larger Concours event and in support of the event’s charities, Seattle Children’s Hospital and Evergreen Hospital Medical Center.

The Kirkland Concours d’Elegance 2010 was a real Ford Fest and tribute to Carroll Shelby. If you’re a Blue Oval fan, this was the place to be, with no less than five Ford-specific classes. There was a class for Ford GTs (modern) while another class looked all the way back to pre-War Fords. The Shelby Mustang class included three Hertz cars and the first two Shelby GT-350s produced. The racer, SFM5R002 remains as found in Mexico in the 1970s (completely unrestored). The first street car, SFM5S003, was erroneously restored in the 1970s as an R model but there is a plan to correct the restoration over the next few years.

The Shelby Cobra class included, perhaps, the most significant group of cars. Bruce Meyer showed CSX 2001, the very first Shelby Cobra (1962). Pete Brock was an Honorary Judge and spent some time with CSX 2299 owned by the Miller family of Utah. CSX 2299 is the most successful of the Cobra Daytona racers with four FIA GT class wins and two second place finishes during the 1964 and 1965 seasons. They include the GT Class win at Le Mans in 1964 with Gurney/Bondurant driving. The Kirkland Concours event was the first time since the 1964 Tour de France that CSX 2299 and CSX 2001 appeared together. CSX 2196, the 1964 427 Cobra Prototype, also appeared in the group.

The GT40 class had nine very interesting examples. This included one of only four open-cockpit GT40 spyders (GT/108) from the Cavallino Collection. Tom Malloy showed Chassis J-11, a Mark IV that is regularly raced in vintage competitions. This is a spare chassis that was built up long after the Mk IVs were no longer in use. The Peterson Museum showed Chassis M3/1105, a “street” version of the GT40 originally owned by the conductor, Herbert von Karajan. Another road car version of the GT40, Chassis P/1028, was later painted in Gulf colors and this car was shown by Gary Schroeder. Greg Whitten showed his “street” GT40, P/1057. Perhaps the most significant GT40 at the event was the Miller collection car, the Mk II (P/1015) that won Daytona in 1966 driven by Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby. Miles also drove this car at Le Mans, with Denny Hulme, and should have won that race (were it not for the staged finish). These cars were all started together at 11 AM to create a Ford V-8 symphony.

Like many other events this year, the Kirkland Concours d’Elegance 2010 honored Alfa Romeo in celebration of Alfa’s 100th birthday. Entries ranged from the “Rimoldi” 1933 8C-2300 to Bruce McCaw’s gorgeous 1964 TZ-1. Seeing the 1956 1900SS Zagato “double bubble” was a real treat (one of six built). A great ’67 Duetto Spyder appeared in the Special Display class. The Kirkland Concours also remains committed to Brass-era cars and again featured a class for them along with the traditional CCCA “early” and “late” classes. “Ultimate Packards” featured the amazing 1934 Town Car once owned by the actress Jeanette MacDonald. Kirkland has a Collector Class each year and this features a group of cars from one owner. This year the McBride family showed a great group of cars including one of my personal favorites, the Ferrari Series III 410 Super America.

A unique feature of the Kirkland Concours is its gorgeous waterfront location at Carillon Point on Lake Washington. This allows for a boat class which this year featured vintage race boats. Boating and boat racing are hugely popular in the Seattle area. Lake Washington hosts the Indy 500 of hydroplane racing each year in August and the sport has deep roots in the area. Kirkland remains a host to vintage motorcycles as well, this year featuring a class for Italian bikes.

The Kirkland event also features non-competitive displays including a large showing from the Pacific NW Region of Porsche Club of America. This year’s display of Porsches included 70+ cars ranging from a solid group of 356s to a 2011 GT3 RS and a selection of the region’s track-prepped cars. Notable cars included a superbly restored 1958 1600 Speedster, 1 of only 27 in orange (by Road Scholars). Bob McDowell showed his 1973-1/2 911T in subtle grey beige over tan with plaid inserts. It won class and division awards at this year’s Porsche Parade. Gary Dixon showed a rare 1967 911 soft-window Targa (more of those great period-look plaid seat inserts).

The local Shelby and Ferrari Club members also joined the display area. The Shelby club brought an impressive array of 20 or so Mustangs. A highlight of the Ferrari Club display was the ex-Keith McCaw 1992 512 TR, a very low mileage car in stunning silver (Argento) with black interior. Ferrari of Seattle also had a display, showing a new 458 Italia next to a 246 Dino, making for an interesting study in the evolution of Ferrari’s mid-engine cars. Concours attendees had over 100 terrific cars to look over in the display areas in addition to the 100+ cars in the competition.

Best of Show at the Kirkland Concours d’Elegance 2010 went to Peter Mullin’s 1937 Delahaye Type 135M with bodywork by Figoni & Falaschi. This “Paris Salon” car was owned by two different Maharajas in India and was discovered in disrepair in the 1980s. The original restoration has recently been updated to correctly fare-in the driving lights.

In all, the 2010 edition of the Kirkland Concours d’Elegance was another successful turn for an event that continues to grow in stature.

Kirkland Concours d’Elegance 2010 – Class Winners

Cobra Class – CSX2001 – Bruce Meyer
GT40 Class – 1966 Mk II – Miller Motorsports Museum
Ford GT Class – Jon Shirley (first production car)
Ultimate Packards – 1934 V12 Sport Sedan Dietrich – Ray Scherr
Alfa Romeo Sports – 1933 8C 2300 Rimoldi – William Connor
Brass Antiques – 1907 Peugeot 92-D – Charles Nelson
Pre-War Fords – 1929 Model A Town Car – Pete Walstrom
Collector Class – 1953 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible – Patty McBride
Vintage Race Boats – 1948 Ventnor Hydroplane – Ike Kielgass
Italian Motorcycles – 1961 Ducati Elite – Gary Lewis
Special Display – 1960 Aston Martin DB4 – Mike Eshaia
CCCA Early – 1928 Packard 443 Phaeton – Gordon Logan
CCCA Late – 1937 Delahaye Type 135M – Peter Mullen
Shelby Mustangs – 1966 GT350 – John Atzbach
FIVA Best Presentation – 1974 Ducati 750 Sport – Peter/Paul Hageman
Best Presentation – 1909 Model T Touring – Harold Hancock
Junior Judges Award – 1904 Cameron Exp J – Nethercutt Collection
SCHA – 1908 Oldsmobile United Ltd. Prototype – Bob Sullivan
EHMC – 1917 Pierce Arrow 66A-4 – Fountainhead Museum
People’s Choice – 1933 Auburn 8105 V12 – Hillary Barr Parker
Participants’ choice – 1964 Cobra 427 Prototype – Rich Mason
Most Elegant Open – 1939 Lagonda V12 Rapide – Bill Holt
Most Elegant Closed – 1934 Packard Town Car – John Mozart
City of Kirkland Award – 1938 Alfa 8C 2900 Touring – Ray Scherr
Kirkland Concours Award – 1934 Packard Dietrich – Arturo Keller
Best of Show – 1937 Delahaye Type 135M– Peter Mullin Collection