(Newport, RI) A 1937 Bugatti Type 57C owned by Malcolm Pray, Jr. of Greenwich, CT was named Best in Show at the inaugural William K. Vanderbilt, Jr. Concours d’Elegance, hosted by The Preservation Society of Newport County, July 27-29, 2007. Pray’s Bugatti also took 1st place honors in the European Classic Pre-War Class.
More than 140 classic and antique automobiles and race cars were displayed on the grounds of Chateau-sur-Mer and The Breakers, two National Historic Landmarks owned by the Preservation Society, a non-profit organization that preserves and protects a collection of historic houses from the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries.
Judges awarded prizes in 22 categories of automobiles, as well as several additional major awards. The Chairman’s Award went to Gene Epstein’s 1950 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith Roadster. The Trustees Award went to a 1949 Jaguar XK 120 Alloy owned by Paul & Jan-Gee McCollam. A 1967 Bizzarini owned by Van & John Horneff won the People’s Choice Award, and the Children’s Choice Award went to Juliette McLennan’s 1951 Crosley Super Hot Shot.
The Concours featured the historic reunion of racing greats Sir Stirling Moss and Dan Gurney with the Birdcage Maserati #2461 that they raced to victory together as teammates in 1960 at Nurburgring. The car, now owned by Carl Moore of Malibu, CA, was the centerpiece of one of the largest collections of Gurney owned or driven race cars ever displayed on the East Coast, and was the winner of the Concours’ Founder’s Award. After admiring the car, posing for photographs and reminiscing about the race, at Moore’s request Moss and Gurney each autographed the car.
Moss and Gurney received the 1st annual William K. Vanderbilt, Jr. Lifetime Achievement Awards at a special dinner during the weekend attended by some 300 people, among them an illustrious selection of their racing colleagues, including Richard Atwood, Skip Barber, Bob Bondurant, Geoff Boss, Luigi Chinetti, Jr., Nick Craw, Janet Guthrie, David Hobbs, David Piper, Johnny Rutherford, Peter Windsor, and George Wintersteen.