Report and photos by Dennis Gray
This Marin Sonoma Concours d’Elegance 2013 was held Sunday, May 19th on the grounds of Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael, California. The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Center provided an excellent setting to the more than 200 American and European automobiles on the show field.
The fifth annual Marin Sonoma Concours featured the Corvette Sting Ray in celebration of the 50th Anniversary; Lamborghini in celebration of the 50th Anniversary; automobiles owned by Hollywood Legends; modern bespoke automobiles from local designer Steve Moal; Japanese Manufacture and vintage Italian motorcycles.
In addition, classic woodie cars and station wagons rounded out the display of historic automobiles.
Among the Hollywood Legends on display was the 1961 Cooper T56 Mark II Formula Junior formerly owned by Steve McQueen. One of only two Cooper Works cars campaigned by Team Tyrrell in 1961, McQueen purchased the car from Cooper at the end of the 1961 season. McQueen brought the car to California and began racing FJ-2-62, scoring a number of victories, including the Santa Barbara street races. McQueen’s performance in the car was reportedly so impressive that John Cooper personally invited him to come and test for a drive in Europe. McQueen, putting his motorsports career on hold due to intervention from his Hollywood bosses, later sold the car to Al “Buster” Brizzard, who went on to capture five straight wins with the Cooper, and its third championship title in five years.
Other notables entrants at the 2013 Marin Sonoma Concours d’Elegance included the 1951 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Cabriolet; 1971 Lamborghini Miura P400S; 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider Series I; 1929 Rolls-Royce 20HP Shooting Brake; 1933 Packard Convertible Coupe; 1973 Porsche 911 RS Carrera; Moal Gatto Ferrari and Zephyr and the wonderful selection of Woodies.
The Marin Sonoma Concours d’Elegance 2013 awarded Best of Show – Concours d’Elegance to the 1933 Packard Convertible Coupe owned by Aaron and Valerie Weiss, while Merle and Peter Mullin’s 1951 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Cabriolet won Best of Show – Concours de Sport. People’s Choice went to the 1934 LaSalle Convertible Coupe of Benjamin Soloman, the Spirit of Mille Miglia was awarded to the 1956 Austin-Healey 100M owned by Hudson Vitaich and the 1919 Ford Racer Speedster of Gary Lucas won Vintage Race through 1979.
The Marin Sonoma Concours d’Elegance is dedicated to advancing the interest of vintage automobile culture and promoting the education of its heritage to the community. Charitable beneficiaries for this year’s event included Hospice By The Bay and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Marin and Southern Sonoma Counties.
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Similar to 2010, 2011 and 2012, Senior Photographer Dennis Gray also documented the 2013 edition of the Marin Sonoma Concours, offering the following gallery that highlights many entrants from this year’s event. We split up Dennis’ 100 pictures into two galleries. The first gallery starting below features our favorite images, all displayed in the full-width view of our website, while the second gallery (and award winners) can be found on the last page of the article and gives a comprehensive view of all the photographs.
Marin Sonoma Concours d’Elegance 2013 – Top Photo Gallery
Marin Sonoma Concours d’Elegance 2013 – Top Photo Gallery Page Two
Marin Sonoma Concours d’Elegance 2013 – Top Photo Gallery Page Three
Marin Sonoma Concours d’Elegance 2013 – Top Photo Gallery Page Four
Marin Sonoma Concours d’Elegance 2013 – Main Photo Gallery (click image for larger picture and description)
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Marin Sonoma Concours d’Elegance 2013 – Award Winners
Best of Show Concours d’Elegance
1933 Packard Convertible Coupe, Aaron and Valerie Weiss, San Marino, CA
Best of Show Concours de Sport
1951 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Cabriolet, Merle and Peter Mullin, Oxnard, CA
AM1 – American Manufactured 1929 – 1945
1st place – 1931 Ford Model A Deluxe Roadster, Terry Wagner, Fair Oaks, CA
2nd place – 1934 LaSalle Convertible Coupe, Benjamin Solomon, Incline Village, NV
3rd place – 1941 Chevrolet Special Deluxe Cabriolet, William Rochedieu, Santa Rosa, CA
AM2 – American Manufactured 1946 – 1956
1st place – 1954 Oldsmobile Super 88 2 Door Sedan, Rick Sanguinetti, Santa Rosa, CA
2nd place – 1950 Mercury Sport Sedan, Vince O’Brien, Greenbrae, CA
3rd place – 1949 Buick Roadmaster Convertible, Stanley Sollid, Santa Rosa, CA
AM3 – American Manufactured 1957 – 1970
1st place – 1967 Chevrolet Camaro Coupe, Lane Lewis, Livermore, CA
2nd place – 1957 Ford Thunderbird Roadster, Alan Biagi, Rodeo, CA
3rd place – 1964 Lincoln Continental 4 Door Convertible, Michael Sousa, San Francisco, CA
C – 50th Anniversary Corvette Sting Ray
1st place – 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe, Phil White, Atherton, CA
2nd place – 1965 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible, Gregory Lawless, Incline Village, NV
3rd place – 1966 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible, Ed Landman, Petaluma, CA
CC – Certified Classics
1st place – 1933 Packard Convertible Coupe, Aaron & Valerie Weiss, San Marino, CA
2nd place – 1934 Cadillac 452D Convertible Limo, James Gately, Sacramento, CA
3rd place – 1929 Rolls-Royce 20 HP Shooting Brake, John B. Carey, San Jose, CA
F – 12 Cylinder Ferraris through 1985
1st place – 1967 Ferrari 330 GTC Coupe, Peter Irlenborn, Novato, CA
2nd place – 1966 Ferrari 365 California Spider Convertible, Robert Park, Sausalito, CA
3rd place – 1967 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2, Paul Schaeffer, Tiburon, CA
IM – Vintage Italian Motorcycles 1955 – 1976
1st place – 1959 Peripoli Giulietta, Stewart Ingram, San Francisco, CA
2nd place – 1955 Devil Raid 160, Stewart Ingram, San Francisco, CA
3rd place – 1957 Maserati 125 GTS, Stewart Ingram, San Francisco, CA
I1 – Imports Under $3,500 1946 – 1962
1st place – 1958 MGA Roadster, Thomas Dunham, San Martin, CA
2nd place – 1958 Porsche 356 A Speedster, Chris Roman, San Francisco, CA
3rd place – 1956 Austin-Healey 100 M Le Mans Convertible, Hudson Vitaich, Sacramento, CA
I2 – Imports Over $3,500 1946 – 1962
1st place – 1951 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Cabriolet, Merle and Peter Mullin, Oxnard, CA
2nd place – 1955 Jaguar XK140 FHC, Geoffrey Horton, Sonora, CA
3rd place – 1960 Mercedes-Benz 220 SE Cabriolet, Bob Buckter, San Francisco, CA
I3 – Imports Under $5,000 1963 – 1979
1st place – 1967 Porsche 912 Coupe, George Vaccaro, Cupertino, CA
2nd place – 1964 Austin-Healey 3000 BJ7 Convertible, Tony Theophilos, Piedmont, CA
3rd place – 1966 Austin-Healey 3000 BJ8 Convertible, Marty Benck, Sebastopol, CA
I4 – Imports Over $5,000 1963 – 1979
1st place – 1970 Mercedes-Benz 280 SL Roadster, Wally Buch, Atherton, CA
2nd place – 1965 Iso Grifo GL Prototype, Sandro and Elinor Lee, Burlingame, CA
3rd place – 1979 Porsche 930 Turbo, Mike Burns, Napa, CA
J – Japanese Manufacture through 1985
1st place – 1967 Datsun SRL 311 Sport 2000 Convertible, Edward Mason, Aztec, NM
2nd place – 1967 Datsun SRL 311 Sport 2000 Convertible, Mike Young, San Francisco, CA
3rd place – 1978 Datsun 280 Z Coupe, Linda Williams, Santa Clara, CA
L – Lamborghini 50th Anniversary through 1990
1st place – 1984 Lamborghini Countach, Bruce Canepa, Scotts Valley, CA
2nd place – 1969 Lamborghini Islero GTS, John Clark, Berkeley, CA
3rd place – none
U1 – Unrestored – 1961
1st place – 1959 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I, Robert La Mar, Half Moon Bay, CA
2nd place – 1947 Cadillac Series 62 Sedan, Domenic Bavaro, Fresno, CA
3rd place – 1960 Buick LeSabre 4 Door Sedan, William Peachee, Walnut Creek, CA
U2 – Unrestored 1962 – 1970
1st place – 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 XL, James Barron, Redwood City, CA
2nd place -1970 Mercedes-Benz 280 SE Cabriolet, Greg Hubit, Santa Rosa, CA
3rd place – 1969 BMW 2800CS 2 Door Coupe, Karra Canum, San Jose, CA
VR – Vintage Race through 1979
1st place – 1919 Ford Racer Speedster, Gary Lucas, Tiburon, CA
2nd place – 1968 Lotus 51A Formula Ford, Dann Shively, Folsom, CA
3rd place – 1966 Lotus 35 Formula 2, Michael Plitkins, Berkeley, CA
Marin Sonoma Concours d’Elegance 2013 – Special Award Winners
Chubb Collector Car Insurance – Car We’d Most Like to Insure Award:
1970 Mercedes-Benz 280 SL Roadster, Wally Buch, Atherton, CA
KCBS All News Radio – Car We’d Most Like to Drive Award:
1971 Lamborghini Miura S, Michael McGinnis, San Rafael, CA
Junior Judges:
1928 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Touring, Theo and Gordon Johnson, Alamo, CA
Spirit of Mille Miglia:
1956 Austin-Healey 100 M Le Mans Convertible, Hudson Vitaich, Sacramento, CA
Hospice By The Bay Spirit of Caring Award:
1949 Buick Roadmaster Convertible, Stanley Sollid, Santa Rosa, CA
Boys & Girls Clubs of Marin and Southern Sonoma Counties Appreciation Award:
1947 Cadillac 6207 Club Coupe, Allan McCrary, Vacaville, CA
People’s Choice Award:
1934 LaSalle Convertible Coupe, Benjamin Soloman, Incline Village, NV
Forgotten Treasure:
1964 Daimler SP250 Roadster, Steve Plath, San Anselmo, CA
Charles Goodman Award:
1960 Chrysler 300F, Richard Palmer, Richmond, CA
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[Source: Marin Sonoma Concours]
Great coverage – beautiful photos! Those Steve Moal creations are the best !!
It is a 1949 Buick Roadmaster Convertible and an early one without the Sweepspear side chrome trim to match that of the ’49 Riviera.
Your photo caption person does not know Buicks. A 49 is called a 50 and a 53 is called a 51 I stopped looking after that!!!
Well, David, if you were my son, I would tell you to get your head out of your behind and see the forest for the trees. These are wonderful pictures of cars, Buicks and everything else, and all you can say is that you are basically so offended by the wrong captions that you can’t look at them. That’s silly and childish, in my humble opinion.
I will be the first admit I do not know Buicks. I apreceate the corrections. These cars did not have an ID in the window or maybe I just screwed up and
missed the ID. I looked through Google fo a match and missed.
Thanks again for the thoughtful input.
Hi Dennis. I do appreciate all the great photographs and am glad if I was able to provide a small non-critical correction as well as some additional information. While not an expert on all these cars but I do know about 1949 Buicks because when I was groing up we had a ’49 Buick Roadmaster convertible. It was made in the last month of the model year and it had the ‘Sweepspear’ side moulding. You are right about it being the first with 4 portholes. One of them on each side actually had a vent hose into the engine compartment but was probably not of any real use. It was a great car and we drove it for 10 years – should have kept it!
Look closely at the spectators at this and other similar events. They are us. The appreciation of a time gone by is waning. My grown children don’t care, and with current special interest cars being too difficult to maintain and collect we are perhaps close to the end. Never the less I love it.
Dear Dennis,
Thank you so much for the lovely pictures of my 1956 Austin-Healey 100M. I have enjoyed you photos for several years now. Hope to see you at Palo Alto and “The Quail” this summer
Hudson Vitaich
Sacramento CA.