1928 Isotta Fraschini TIPO 8A55 Boattail Speedster
Hilton Head Island, SC. November 4, 2007 -–The premier winners, the coveted ‘Best of Show’ and the ‘People’s Choice’ awards, were chosen today for the prestigious Hilton Head 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 Peter Boyle of Pennsylvania for his 1928 Isotta Fraschini TIPO 8A55 Boattail Speedster, a New York Show Car winner. This is the first of two boattails ever built by LeBaron and has one of the most expensive chassis of all time. Other significant awards on Sunday included “People’s Choice” awarded to a 1936 Stout Scarab, one of only 5 still in existence, owned by Tim Lingerfelt and “People’s Choice Motorcycle” awarded to Vinnie Grasser for his 1925 Indian Scout. Saturday’s top honors for the Car Club Jamboree were the “Best of Show Award” given to a 1959 Corvette owned by Robert & Susan Doyle, “Chairman’s Award” given to Barth & Gail Satuloff for their 1955 Cadillac Eldorado, which was also exhibited in Sunday’s Concours d’Elegance, and the “People’s Choice Award” given to Barry Witbeck for his 1962 Impala. The Worldwide Group’s top sellers from Saturday’s Sports & Classic Car Auction included a 1953 Corvette that sold for $440,000 and a 1938 V-16 Cadillac that sold for $286,000.
More than 400 automobiles made their way to Hilton Head Island, SC this weekend to participate in the 6th anniversary event. Esteemed race car driver Bob Sharp was in attendance and served as the Grand Marshall for the Hilton Head/Savannah Historics vintage racing event at Roebling Road Raceway. J.W. “Bill” Marriott, Jr., Chairman & CEO of Marriott International, Inc., presided as the event’s Honorary Chairman and selected several Italian cars from Saturday’s Car Club Jamboree as his favorite picks including a 1972 Ferrari GTC 4 owned by Steve Cantera and a 1970 Maserati owned by Mario Grande.
Carolyn Vanagel, Executive Director for the Hilton Head Concours today remarked, “We are very pleased with the turnout for the event this year. We think it was a tremendous success and 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 growth of the Hilton Head/Savannah Historics managed by HSR, the return of The Worldwide Group’s auction and the increased number of event sponsors all boosted this year’s success.
Positioned as one of the last Concours in the national show circuit, the Hilton Head Concours d’Elegance & Motoring Festival has quickly climbed the ranks among national Concours events. In just six short years, Hilton Head 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, Hilton Head Marriott Beach & Golf Resort, SunTrust Bank, JCB, Memorial Health, Adventure Radio and WSAV.
The 2008 event is already generating excitement amongst its organizers. The dates have been set for October 30 – November 2, 2007, and Nicola Bulgari, a participating exhibitor at the 2007 show, has been selected as the 2008 Honorary Chairman. In addition, The Worldwide Group will return in 2008 for their 3rd Annual Hilton Head Sports & Classic Car Auction. More information for the 2008 event will follow.
For more information, please visit www.hhiconcours.com.