Peninsula Classics has revealed the eight cars in the running for its coveted Best of the Best Award for 2023. As ever, the shortlist comprises last year’s winners of the world’s most prestigious concours d’elegance events such as Pebble Beach and Villa d’Este. The award ceremony will take place on September 3, 2024 at the recently opened Peninsula Hotel in London.
The first of the eight finalists is a 1935 Duesenberg Model J Speedster that bagged Best of Show at the 2023 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. All Model Js are rare – fewer than 500 were built and just 38 were supercharged – but this unique car was the only example bodied by Gurney Nutting.
Also built in 1935 was the Voisin C25 Aerodyne that won Best of Show in the 2023 Amelia. One of only four surviving examples, the Art Deco-styled classic also won Best of Show at Pebble Beach in 2011.
The third of the eight cars shortlisted is a 1937 Bentley 4.25 Litre Rothschild Sedanca Coupé. This particular example claimed the top prize in last year’s Cartier Style et Luxe Concours at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The one-of-a-kind Bentley was originally commissioned in 1936 by Yvonne Lydia Cahen d’Anvers, Madame de Rothschild, and was built by Gurney Nutting designer John Blatchley, who was just 23 years old at the time.
Also included is the incredibly elegant 1937 Bugatti 57S Roadster that won the 2023 edition of Salon Privé. Fitted with stunning Corsica coachwork, the car was discovered to be the same specification as the marque’s Grand Prix cars when it was first restored by William Turnbull in 1969.
The 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster that won last year’s edition of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is another strong contender. This example boasts a fascinating history; it was originally ordered for King Mohammad Zahir Shah of Afghanistan in May 1937 and was then stored in the Afghanistan Embassy in Paris at the outbreak of World War Two. It was presented at Pebble Beach following a painstaking restoration by Canadian firm RM Auto Restoration.
Two Ferraris have made the 2024 shortlist: a 1953 250MM Berlinetta and a 1956 410 Superamerica Superfast Coupé. These Prancing Horses took top honours at the 2023 editions of the Cavallino Classic and The Quail respectively. The 250MM was driven in the 1953 Mille Miglia by Count Bruno Sterzi, and the 410 Superamerica boasts one-of-a-kind finned bodywork created by Pinin Farina.
The final car in the running is the 1955 Maserati A6GCS/53 Spyder that won Best of Show at the Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court Palace. It is one of only three A6GCS/53 Spyders coachbuilt by Pietro Frua, and was previously displayed at Pebble Beach in 1964.
More information here.
