Hilton Head Island, SC (November 2, 2008) -– The premier winners, the coveted ‘Best of Show’ and ‘People’s Choice’ awards along with the two newly established honors ‘Most Outstanding Car – Pre-WWII’ and ‘Most Outstanding Car – Post-WWII’ were chosen today for the prestigious Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance & Motoring Festival, held here at the historic Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn.
Sunday’s Concours d’Elegance top honor, “Best of Show,” was awarded to a 1928 Packard 4-43 Phaeton owned by Gordon Logan of Georgetown, TX. The Phaeton originally purchased as new by Mr. Logan’s father was sold in 1956. The car, which traveled as far as England and Scotland in its lifetime, was reacquired by Mr. Logan in 2004. Other significant awards on Sunday included “People’s Choice” awarded to a 1930 Pierce-Arrow Convertible Victoria owned by Lawrence and Miriam Waterhouse of Hilton Head Island, SC. Lawrence is the Grandson of Charles L. Waterhouse, one of the founders of the Waterhouse Custom Body Co. Most Outstanding Car – Pre-1945 went to, again, Mr. Gordon Logan’s 1928 Packard 4-43 Phaeton and Most Outstanding Car – Post 1945 went to a 1954 Cunningham C3 Continental Competition Coupe owned by Mark Hyman of St. Louis, MO.
Dr. Paul Doerring, Event Chairman for the Hilton Head Island show, said, “we really grew these awards over the past seven years out of the fact that this Concours is now able to display such outstanding cars, that selecting a single “Best Of Show” has becoming nearly impossible. Thus, these two awards recognize ‘nearly-best-of-show’ status.”
Saturday’s top honors for the Car Club Jamboree were the “Best of Show Award” given to a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB 4 CAM owned by Tuck Morse, “People’s Choice Award” given to Jack Maranto for his 1954 Austin Healy 100-4, and the “Top German Marque” as German clubs were the feature of Saturday’s show awarded to a 1971 Mercedes Benz 280 SE 3.5 owned by Mike Marsh.
Among Worldwide Auctioneers’ top sellers from Saturday’s 3rd Annual Hilton Head Sports & Classic Car Auction went to a 1942 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Sport Cabriolet for $345,400 and a 1963 Maserati 3500 GT Spyder sold for $211,200.
More than 600 automobiles made their way to Hilton Head Island, SC this weekend to participate in the 7th anniversary event. Esteemed racecar driver Bob Sharp was in attendance and served as the Grand Marshall for the Hilton Head/Savannah Historics vintage racing event at Hutchinson Island, an event that reopened the road course there after 11 years. Nicola Bulgari of the BVLGARI jewelry dynasty presided as the event’s Honorary Chairman and chose a few select American cars from Saturday’s Car Club Jamboree as his favorite picks including a 1967 Mercedes Benz 300SE Convertible owned by Robert Platz, which was awarded the Chairman’s Choice Award, and a 1931 Ford Model A owned by Jonathan MacCabe, which was awarded the Top American Marque.
Carolyn Vanagel, Executive Director for the Motoring Festival today remarked, “The cars were terrific, the crowds were fantastic and we think it was a tremendous success. There was a lot of excitement on the show field.” Vanagel stated that the combination of the Car Club Jamboree, the presence of the prestigious honored guests, the excitement behind the extension into Savannah with the inaugural event on Hutchinson Island, the Hilton Head/Savannah Historics managed by HSR, and the return of Worldwide Auctioneers and its fabulous collection as well as the increased number of sponsors all helped to boost this year’s success.
Positioned as one of the last Concours in the national annual show circuit, the Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance & Motoring Festival has quickly climbed the ranks among national Concours events. In just seven short years, Hilton Head Island is already considered by many as being among those elite USA events with the likes of Pebble Beach, Meadow Brook and Amelia Island. Key sponsors of the event included BMW Group of North America, Hargray Communications, Beaufort Memorial Hospital, JCB, Celebration Events, Adventure Radio, Monthly Media Group, Worldwide Auctioneers and HSR.
The 2009 event is already generating excitement amongst its organizers. The dates have been set for October 29 – November 1, 2009. Michael Spezia, Head Curator and President of the prestigious Gilmore Car Museum, a complex of automobile museums, located in Hickory Corners, Michigan, has been selected as the 2009 Honorary Chairman, American Personal Luxury Coupes selected from the 1940’s through the 1970’s have been chosen as the ’09 Honored Marque, and the theme of the 2009 Quest for Style & Speed, a two-day exhibit unique to Hilton Head Island, has been set as How America Slept “on-the-road” Before Motels. More information for the 2009 event will follow.