During one of his adventures to South America, he was “attacked by cannibals and shot several of them before abandoning the journey.”
Don't you just hate it when one of your many trips to South America gets interrupted by cannibals?
By J.A. Ackley
Jan 9, 2025
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Alfa Romeo,
Bugatti,
Delahaye,
Ferrari,
Rolls-Royce,
The Quail A Motorsports Gathering,
Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance,
Amelia Concours d'Elegance,
The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Awards
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Photo by Kristina Cilia; other photography courtesy The Peninsula
The Bugatti a woman used to win a Grand Prix … in 1928. The Delahaye that beat the Nazis. And a car named after a whale? Yes, that’s just the tip of the iceberg behind the stories of the finalists for The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award 2024.
Best of Show, 2024 Chantilly Arts et Elegance Richard Mille
Certainly, the Type 35C was one of the most successful race cars of all-time. However, this particular car was driven by a pioneering racer Jannine Jennky. With it, she won her biggest race, the 1928 Coupe de Bourgogne. It didn’t come easy, either. She beat Bugatti’s factory-backed Louis Chiron and Lucy Schell, the first woman to own a Grand Prix team.
Best of Show, 2024 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2024
Giuseppe Figoni crafted a new body for only one short chassis–and this is it. Henri d’Autichamp received the car as a present for graduating the French Naval Academy. Then World War II happened. He disassembled the Alfa Romeo and hid it from the Germans. It didn’t get rediscovered until 2014. The Alfa Romeo has since been mechanically restored while still retaining its original patina and paintwork.
Best in Show, 2024 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
This is the first Type 59 built. Legendary drivers, such as René Dreyfus, Robert Benoist, and Jean-Pierre Wimille competed with it in period. It then got converted over to a sports car, eventually being purchased by King Leopold III of Belgium. It’s the first preservation class car to win best of show at Pebble Beach.
[Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance: First Bugatti Type 59 built wins]
Best in Show, 2024 Cartier Style et Luxe
Bugatti built just 42 examples of the Type 57S. This is the last known Type 57S with Corsica coachwork that remains original. Bugatti constructed this example on the main rails of the ex-works team 1936 Bugatti Type 57G “Tank” race car. The Tank dominated the 1936 French and Marne grands prix before setting speed records.
Best of Show, 2024 Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court Palace
More than 70 years ago this car won its first significant award, the Smoothness and Silence trophy at the 1953 CCCA Devon meet. Arguably, though, it’s been wowing crowds since it was delivered new to Colonel Joseph Samuels. The Henley, as sometimes this car is referred to, had some colorful owners, too. Per its 2009 auction listing at RM Sotheby’s, Dr. Alexander Hamilton Rice bought the Rolls-Royce in 1940. During one of his adventures to South America, he was “attacked by cannibals and shot several of them before abandoning the journey,” per RM Sotheby’s. His wife, Eleanor Widener, survived the Titanic (her then-husband and oldest son didn’t). Unfortunately, Eleanor died before she could enjoy the car in 1937.
Best in Show, 2024 The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering
Is this the French car that beat the Nazis? It is believed to consist of at least parts from the car that René Dreyfus used to win the Prix du Million. That contest offered one-million francs to the driver and constructor who could set the speed record at Montlhéry circuit. After that, Dreyfus used the Million Franc Delahaye to win the 1938 Pau Grand Prix and beat the well-heeled Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrow team. The car got hidden away during World War II and then rebuilt as a sports car for a French customer.
[The Quail winner: The Delahaye that beat the Nazis?]
Best of Show, 2024 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance
How do you win a concours? Name recognition helps–although being named after a whale might not be as much as a detriment as you think. Yes, it’s got the renown Figoni et Falaschi coachwork. Yes, it was once owned by the Mecum family and famed French singer Charles Trenet. And, yes, it’s won honors at Pebble Beach and The Amelia. However, its name, “Narval” translates to narwhal. Yes, that same cetacean with the catchy tune by MrWeebl in the ’00s. The moniker clearly references that protusion at the front of the car’s hood.
Best of Show, 2024 Salon Privé Blenheim Palace Concours
Michael Mann’s 2023 film “Ferrari” used this car to create replicas–and with good reason. Driver Wolfgang von Trips finished second in the 1957 Mille Miglia, the event the film centers around. The year before, the car, then a 290 MM Spyder Scaglietti, had five-time Formula 1 champ Juan Manuel Fangio behind the wheel. Per a 2015 Boston.com article, it competed at many big races–such as Sebring and Le Mans–with many marquee drivers–such as Peter Collins, Stirling Moss.
[What’s the magic behind the racing scenes in “Ferrari?”]
Best in Show, 2024 Palm Beach Cavallino Classic
This Ferrari 250 LM competed all over the world, from Daytona to Le Mans, as well as even in Africa. As it toured the world, several notable drivers competed with it. Nine-time grand prix motorcycle champion Mike Hailwood. F1 race winner and noted journalist Innes Ireland. Sebring winner Mike Parkes. Remarkably, the car still retains its original engine and transaxle from the 1968 Le Mans race and, per when it sold at RM Sotheby’s in 2023, “never suffered a significant crash.”
Who will determine The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award 2024? An assembly of judges as incredible as the cars being judged:
During one of his adventures to South America, he was “attacked by cannibals and shot several of them before abandoning the journey.”
Don't you just hate it when one of your many trips to South America gets interrupted by cannibals?
For those who don't remember that catchy Narwhal tune, here it is. You're welcome.
In reply to J.A. Ackley :
That takes me back.
Not sure if it's back to a good time or not, but it certainly takes me back.
In reply to Colin Wood :
I bet Figoni et Falaschi never envisioned that song being mentioned in the same breath as their creation.
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