San Marino Motor Classic 2019 – Report and Photos

The San Marino Motor Classic 2019 was held on Sunday, June 9 at Lacy Park in San Marino, California. This year’s event featured 470 cars displayed on the lawns of the beautiful 30-acre park, ranging from brass and depression-era classics to sports cars and exotics from the last century.

In its ninth year, the 2019 San Marino Motor Classic highlighted 41 classes of cars, which included examples from Bugatti, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Ferrari, Maserati, Packard, Cadillac, Jaguar, Pope, Lotus and Rolls-Royce. Entrants competed in their respective classes with judging taking place throughout the day for the awards that were given, which included several divisions and classes for the various marques and manufacturers.

The show’s highlight this year was the inclusion of the Concorso Ferrari. The Ferrari Club of America – Southwest Region, whose wonderful event almost went away this year, took part in the Motor Classic by bringing the Concorso to the center lawn of Lacy Park. After hosting their free annual event in the heart of Old Pasadena for the last 12 years, they displayed approximately 100 of the finest of the Cavallino Rampantes, to the delight of the thousands of people who attended.

Next to all the beautiful, Italian machines, were the six Ferrari supercars displayed by collector David SK Lee. His all-star lineup included some of Maranello’s finest: 1985 288 GTO, 1990 F40, 1995 F50, 2003 Enzo and the 2014 La Ferrari. Included in the display was his extensively modified Dino, the 1972 Ferrari David Lee Edition Monza 3.6 Evo sports car. This ‘Outlaw’ Ferrari was custom made for Lee to include both interior and exterior styling details, and the notable modification being the 3.6-liter V8, which started as a 2.9-liter twin-turbo sourced from a Ferrari F40 and a five-speed manual from a Ferrari 328.

Some unique and special cars displayed through the park included a 1912 Mercer Type 35-C Runabout; 1970 AMG Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 6.8 tribute car; 1938 Peugeot 402 Darl’mat Special Sport Roadster; 1962 AC Bristol Roadster; 1953 Hughes-Kircher Special; 1966 Ford GT40; 1961 Ghia L 6.4 and a collection of five Ford Ghia concept cars from the 1980s.

Special awards were given to the 1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental Three Position Drophead Coupe, owned by David Gooding which was named Most Elegant Open Pre-War Car and the 1940 Packard 120 Touring Sedan, owned by Robert and Gege Escalante which was named Most Elegant Closed American Pre-War Classic Car. Other notable winners included the 1949 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS, from the Schigiel Collection, which was awarded the Chairman’s Award, the 1910 Thomas Flyer M 6-40, owned by Joe and Janice Conzonire was named Best in Show Pre-War and the 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing, owned by R. Lee Brown was named Best in Show Post War.

The San Marino Motor Classic was established in 2011 by co-founders Aaron Weiss, Ben Reiling and Paul Colony held in Lacy Park, in San Marino, California. It is the successor of the Los Angeles Concours d’Elegance. The Motor Classic raised more than $300,000 for the Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA, USC Trojan Marching Band and the Rotary Club of San Marino. To date, the SMMC event has raised over $1.9 million for charity. It appears the San Marino Motor Classic will continue to bring all these wonderful cars on the green lawns of Lacy Park for the next three years, as the City Council approved a three-year agreement for organizers to continue using the park location to host the famed automotive event.

Similar to 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, Sports Car Digest also documented the San Marino Motor Classic 2019, with photographer Victor Varela offering the following from the Concours held in Southern California.

San Marino Motor Classic 2019 – Photo Gallery (photos: Victor Varela)

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.