Kuwait Concours d’Elegance 2012 – Report and Photos

The Kuwait Concours d’Elegance 2012 was held February 15th to 18th at Marina World in Kuwait City.

In only three years, the Kuwait Concours has jumped to one of the top-tier automotive events worldwide, an envious position for such a young event. Much credit is due to its organizers Paul Goldsmith and the team of Ahmad Al-Anzi and Zakaria Dhashti of the host Historical, Vintage and Classic Cars Museum.

“The event asserted itself over the last few years as a global exhibition of beautiful cars,” said Ahmad Al-Anzi. “The fact that Kuwait hosts the Concours d’Elegance for the third year running shows the position of the host and the organizer on the global scale. The event gains additional significance from its timing which coincides with the celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of Kuwait’s constitution,” he said, adding that the festive atmospheres helped attract a large of number of local and foreign visitors to the museum.

The Kuwait Concours d’Elegance is judged in the Italian tradition, with hand-made classic cars from the early stage of the automotive industry through the bespoke cars of the mid-1970s as the focal point of the show. Notable entrants included the 1938 Talbot-Lago T150C SS Figoni and Falaschi Teardrop Coupe; 1951 Maserati A6G 2000 Vignale; 1953 Ferrari 375MM Spyder; 1963 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato; 1955 Maserati 250F; 1935 Bugatti 57S Atalante; 1953 Jaguar C-Type; among many other special automobiles.

The guest judges assembled were nearly as impressive as the cars being evaluated, headed by Chief Judge Leonardo Fioravanti, designer of the Ferrari Daytona, 288 GTO, 308 GTB and F40, among others. Other notable judges included Shiro Nakamura, Chief Creative Officer of Nissan; Marek Reichman, Director of Design for Aston Martin; Dr. Ulrich Bez, CEO of Aston Martin; Horst Bruning, president of FIVA; Sandra Button, Executive Director of Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance; and Andrea Zagato, current head of Coachwork Zagato. Another high-profile guest of honor was the His Highness Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, who was toured through the facilities and prized automobiles by Fioravanti.

Top prizes awarded at the 2012 Kuwait Concours d’Elegance included Best of Show going to the 1938 Talbot-Lago T150C SS Figoni and Falaschi Teardrop Coupe of Chip Connor, Most Elegant Racing Car awarded to the 1953 Jaguar C-Type of Margaret Jackson and Neil Hadfield, while the 1937 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 B Pescara Berlinetta of Pietro Navone took home Best Restored Car honors.

Similar to the 2011 Kuwait Concours, Sports Car Digest was fortunate to again have Senior Photographer Tim Scott document the event. Tim offers the following images that give an superb overview of the Kuwait Concours d’Elegance 2012. To see more from Tim, visit fluidimages.co.uk.

Kuwait Concours d’Elegance 2012 – Photo Gallery (click image for larger picture and description)

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Kuwait Concours d’Elegance 2012 – Results

Best of Show
1938 Talbot-Lago T150C SS Figoni et Falaschi Teardrop Coupe, Chip Connor, Hong Kong

Concours Cars

Class A: 1910 – 1930
1. 1924 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, Abdulkarim Chhapra, Pakistan
2. 1929 Cord L29 Cabriolet, Rene Verbiest, Belgium
3. 1929 Hupmobile, Abdulkarim Chhapra, Pakistan

Class B: 1931 – 1945
1. 1938 Talbot-Lago T150C SS Figoni and Falaschi Teardrop Coupe, Chip Connor, Hong Kong
2. 1937 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 B Pescara Berlinetta, Pietro Navone, Spain
3. 1932 Invicta S-Type Low Chassis, Alan Chandler, UK

Class C: 1946 – 1960
1. 1951 Maserati A6G 2000 Vignale Body, Shigeru Hoshino, Japan
2. 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 Mark I, Ali Mustafa Makhseed, Kuwait
3. 1948 Delahaye 135 MS Convertible by Saoutchik, Jean Claude Marmier, France

Class D: 1961 – 1975
1. 1966 Aston Martin DB6 Volante Short Chassis, Mohammed Rezam AlRoumi, Kuwait
2. 1966 Lamborghini 350GT, Albert and Rita Spiess, Switzerland
3. 1963 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato, William Loughran, UK

Muscle Cars
1. 1972 Oldsmobile 442 Convertible, Stanley Kryla, USA
2. 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500, Abdulla AlQadibi, Kuwait
3. 1970 Plymouth Cuda 340, Historical, Vintage and Classic Car Museum, Kuwait

Racing Cars
1. 1953 Ferrari 375MM Spyder, Helmut Ebrlein (Representing Owner), Germany
2. 1955 Maserati 250F, Bill Pope, USA
3. 1927 Salmson Type GSC San Sebastian, Camille Bourges, France

Most Elegant Open Car
1955 Siata 208S, Jim Utaski, USA

Most Elegant Closed Car
1935 Bugatti 57S Atalante, Chip Connor, Hong Kong

Most Elegant Racing Car
1953 Jaguar C-Type, Margaret Jackson and Neil Hadfield, UK

Best European Car
1963 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato, William Loughran, UK

Best American Car
1954 Plymouth Explorer 195 Coupe by Ghia, Petersen Museum, USA

Best Preserved Car
1966 Lamborghini 350GT, Albert and Rita Spiess, Switzerland

Best Restored Car
1937 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 B Pescara Berlinetta, Pietro Navone, Spain

Most Innovative Italian Car – Trophy Awarded by ACI – Automobile Club of Italy (Selected by Kuwait Concours Judges)
1971 Lamborghini Miura SV, Khalid Abdulrahem, Bahrain

Best Rolls-Royce
1964 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III Continantal Mulliner Park Ward, Sheikh Ahmad Bin Ali Al-Khalifa, Bahrain

[Source: Kuwait Concours; photo credit: Tim Scott / Fluid Images]