The Greenwich Concours d’Elegance held in Greenwich, Connecticut, and founded by Bruce and Genia Wennerstrom, celebrated its 20 anniversary in 2015. The 2-day annual event attracted collectors and enthusiasts to scenic Roger Sherman Baldwin Park overlooking Long Island Sound, for the opportunity to see exceptional, rare, and one-of-a-kind classic motorcars as well as newly launched luxury motorcars from sponsors.
The Greenwich Concours d’Elegance "A Festival of Speed and Style" consisted of the Greenwich Concours America held on Saturday, May 30, 2015, and the Greenwich Concours International held on Sunday, May 31, 2015. (Watch a video clip of Debra C. Argen talking about the Greenwich Concours d’Elegance: www.Facebook.com/LuxuryExperience)
American motorcars were well-represented for the Greenwich Concours America with several makes and models from the manufacturers Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Duesenberg, Ford, Oldsmobile, Packard, Plymouth, Pontiac, and Studebaker to name but a few, and while they were beautiful to admire, what we especially liked was speaking to the proud owners and learning the interesting stories behind their purchases.
In addition to the display by exhibitors, Sponsors Aston Martin, Bentley, BMW, Cadillac, Ferrari, Maserati, McLaren Greenwich, Mercedes-Benz, Miller Motorcars, Rolls Royce, Sunseeker, and Volvo brought some of their latest "toys" for visitors to admire, and in some cases, take out for a test drive.
BMW- 650 Grand Coupe 8 Cylinder
Ladies and Gentlemen, start your engines! Vrrrmmm, the purring motors of the luxury motorcars was enough to set many a heart beating faster. Sponsor BMW brought a series of its latest offerings to the event for visitors to take out and experience via a test drive. We took the BMW 650 Grand Coupe 8 Cylinder (around $100,000) out for a test ride and it drove like a sleek champion.
Pagani Huayra
Love sportscars? Get ready to start drooling over the Italian beauty, the Pagani Huayra from Pagani Automobili S.p.A, brought to the Greenwich Concours d’Elegance by Sponsor Miller Motorcars. We can only imagine how much fun that would be to take out on a racecourse and open it up to experience its power and handling.
Edward Nesta with the Pagani Huayra
A Few of the Greenwich Concours America 2015 Highlights – May 30, 2015
As usual, there was a remarkable collection of over 125 motorcars and motorcycles on display each day, and while space does not allow us to present all of them, we wanted to provide readers with a cross-section of some of the show highlights.
1896 Earliest Entry
1896 Roberts Electric Buggy
The earliest entry was the 1896 Roberts Electric Buggy owned by John W. Middendorf, which had a plaque certifying that it is the oldest surviving electric car, with the owner listed as Admiral Middendorf, and that it was serviced at Red Star Auto by Sean Braydon. We loved the details of the lantern-like headlight as well as the matching smaller lanterns on the sides, the narrow tires, and the red spoke wheel rims.
1929 – 1941 Packards
We have always been attracted to the early Packards with their stunning lines and classic grace, and we selected three Packards from the 20s, 30s, and 40s at the show to highlight their sumptuous styling.
1929 Packard Standard Eight Sedan
Samuel L. Guillory and Debra Argen
We had the pleasure of speaking with Samuel L. Guillory who told us about purchasing his 1929 Packard Standard Eight Sedan in 1968, and then restoring it to its immaculate condition from 1988 – 1992. This pristine beauty was restored to classic 1920 colors with Highland Green on the upper portion, Sage Brush Green Light on the body, and Gold Leaf pin striping, and although it has received high marks on the club circuit, he enjoys to drive his baby rather than to only show it.
Although the Packard came with a non-descript mascot (also called a radiator cap or hood ornament), owners could opt to purchase a special Adonis mascot created by the famous American sculptor Edward Francis McCartan (August 16, 1879 – September 20, 1947), well known for his bronzes, who created the Adonis or Speed mascot, the name given by the artist, for only a few years for the Packard Company. Samuel explained that in 1929, you could purchase the Adonis mascot for around $5, and that it was available in two sizes.
It is interesting to note that Mr. McCartan also created the ornamental clock and sculptures on the Helmsley Building in New York City, as well as the sculptures Diana with Hound, Diana and Doe, Nymph and Frog, Nymph and Satyr, and the large-scale Dream Lady, which is located in Eugene Field Memorial at Lincoln Park Zoo, to name but a few of his important works.
(Watch a video clip of Samuel L. Guillory talking about his 1929 Packard as well as showing the original and Adonis mascots: www.Facebook.com/LuxuryExperience)
Another Packard beauty was a 1934 Packard Model 756 Club Sedan owned by Douglas "Doug" Fernandez, who purchased the motorcar 10 years ago, retired, and then went to work full-time on the restoration which took him 4 years, 9 months, and 9 days to complete. This stunning chocolate Packard features a Lalique "Eagle’s Head" mascot.
1934 Packard Model 756 Club Sedan and Douglas Fermandez
Like Samuel, Doug is also a believer in driving his Packard, and in 2013, he and his wife, Judy, drove their 1934 Packard from Hartford, Connecticut on May 3, 2013 to San Francisco via the Lincoln Highway with the Classic Car Club of America. They traveled south along Coastal Highway 1 to Los Angeles, and returned via Route 66 through Chicago to Connecticut. They drove 8,000 miles, crossed 23 state lines over 38 days, used 1000 gallons of gas, with 1 oil change, 1 head gasket, 1 knocking piston, and 1 nervous wife. Why? It was on his bucket list.
1934 Packard Model 756 Club Sedan – Mascot
Another gorgeous Packard entry was a 1941 Packard Convertible owned by Edward Falkenberg, which gave visitors the opportunity to compare three decades of Packards. The company manufactured luxury automobiles in Detroit, Michigan from 1899 until it closed its doors in 1958, however its legacy, and collectors’ love of these exceptional automobiles continues.
1941 Packard Convertible
1960 – 1978 Chevrolet Corvettes
The Chevrolet Corvette has long been, and continues to be, a fan favorite among collectors and we selected to 2 from the 1960s and 1 from the 1970s to show the beauty of these cars.
Marion Moss – 1960 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible
Owners Marlo D. and Joyce Moss purchased their attractive Ermine White 1960 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible in 1995, which has the distinction of its original owner listed on the title as filmmaker Martin Scorsese.
Lucia and Glen Spielberg – 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe
Chevrolet Corvettes are well known on the racing circuit, and for owners Glen and Lucia Spielberg, their 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe has an impressive racing pedigree as it was driven by Dave Morgan and Don Yenko in the 1967 and 1968 12 Hours of Sebring races, and it was the 1968 winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona race, and they are fortunate to have the trophies as part of their collection.
Owned by Glen and Lucia for the past 11 years, it took him and his team 2 years gathering historical research and then completing the restoration work to restore it to mint condition.
(Watch a video clip of Glen and Lucia Spielberg talking about the vehicle’s history: www.Facebook.com/LuxuryExperience)
Richard Barone Sr,. Richard Barone Jr., Debra Argen –
1978 Chevrolet Corvette Indianapolis 500 Pace Car T-Top
For Richard Barone, Sr. his longtime dream was to someday own a Corvette, however for a married man with a wife and seven children, it was hardly a practical choice, yet he always hoped that some day he would own one. For his 80th birthday, his son, Richard Barone, Jr., a car collector, realized his dream by purchasing the 1978 Chevrolet Corvette Indianapolis 500 Pace Car T-Top which he found in Las Vegas in October 2014, as a gift for him.
1978 Chevrolet Corvette Indianapolis 500 Pace Car T-Top
This special Corvette was the "Official Pace Car of the May 29, 1978 Indy 500 Mile Race," was driven by pace car driver Jim Rathmann (winner of the 1960 Indianapolis 500 race) and the visor is signed by 1978 Indy Winner Al Unser. Richard Barone, Sr. pointed out that the Corvette has a CB radio in addition to an AM/FM radio. As he likes to drive his "toy" from April until November, he joked that he would prefer an 8-track as he has lots of old tapes instead of a CB. Are there any circa 1970 8-track players out there?
Other Highlights
We also loved the stunning 1934 Duesenberg SJ-514 Sedan with its classic styling and great sweeping lines owned by Sonny and Joan Abagnale, which was another highlight of the show.
1934 Duesenberg SJ-514 Sedan
As race fans, we also loved the 1967 Ferrari 330 P3/4 Spyder, which has the distinction of being the only one ever built, and is owned by car collector, racer, and builder, James M. Glickenhaus, Greenwich Concours d’Elegance 2015 Grand Marshall. James formed the Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus (SCG) race team and will race this year at Nurburgring. This exceptional Ferrari won the 1967 24 Hours of Daytona and also raced at that year’s Targa Florio and Le Mans.
1967 Ferrari 330 P3/4 Sypder
Also of interest to racing enthusiasts was the 1969 Chevrolet Camaro RS/SS Pace Car Convertible owned by Thomas M. Forbes, driven by pace car driver Jim Rathmann (winner of the 1960 Indianapolis 500 race) for the 53rd Annual Indy 500 Race on May 30, 1969. The Indy 500 winning race car driver that year was Mario Andrettti.
1969 Chevrolet Camaro RS/SS Pace Car Convertible
2015 – Latest Entry
The latest Greenwich Concours entry was a sleek and sexy 2015 Ferrari 458 Speciale Coupe, which is Ferrari’s highest performance V8 owned by Jono Reilly.
2015 Ferrari 458 Speciale Coupe
Early Motorcycles
1914 Flying Merkel Board Track Racer Motocycle
There were several motorcycle entries including an impressive collection by Dave Fusiak who entered a few of the "toys" which included a 1914 Flying Merkel Board Track Racer Motorcycle, 1914 Harley-Davidson Model K Motorcycle, 1917 Harley-Davidson Model J Police Bike Motorcycle, and a 1924 Harley-Davidson 8 Valve Racer Motorcycle to list but a few on display.
1914 Harley-Davidson Model K Motorcycle
Bonhams Collectors’ Motor Cars Auction
For those who wanted to do more than just admire the motorcars and motorcycles on display and wanted to own a piece of history, Bonhams Collectors’ Motor Cars Auction had a preview of remarkable motor cars and related memorabilia on display as a preview for the auction to be held the next day.
Bonhams Collector’s Auction –
Debra Argen checking out the cars
We enjoyed strolling through the auction tent and selecting a few favorites to watch for during the actual auction on Sunday, May 31, 2015.
Bonhams Collector’s Auction – Edward Nesta
Read about the Day 2 – the Greenwich Concours International 2015 in the Arts & Antiques section. (Watch a video clip of Edward F. Nesta talking about the Greenwich Concours d’Elegance International: www.Facebook.com/LuxuryExperience)
Bonhams Collector’s Auction – Scooter for Sale – Debra Argen
For more information about attending or entering your motorcar or motorcycle in 2016, please visit the Greenwich Concours d’Elegance website: www.GreenwichConcours.com.
Greenwich Concours d’Elegance
Contact: Bruce Wennerstrom, Founder/Chairman
30 Sumner Road
Greenwich, Connecticut 06831
United States
Telephone: +1-203-742-9953
Email: info@greenwichconcours.com
Website: www.GreenwichConcours.com
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/Greenwich-Concours
Follow Greenwich Concours d’Elegance on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/Greenwich-Concours.
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