The 2018 Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance

Again, in 2018 I had the honour of being invited to judge at the Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance. I was thrilled, to say the least, because this is one of only a couple of Concours shows in Canada and is said to be the best! The show takes place on the 18^th green of the Cobble Beach Golf and Country Club overlooking Georgian Bay on Lake Huron – a beautifully location to feature some of the best cars in North America.

The weekend started off Saturday with an approximate 90 km tour of the Grey Bruce area that the show cars could participate in. We left the Cobble Beach Golf Links at 9:00am and headed south with the first stop at Grey Roots Museum & Archives and Moreston Heritage Village. This was a beautiful stop where we could park and tour through the restored houses, Forge, Church, School House & Garage with interpreters dressed in period clothing to answer all our questions. From here we proceeded north through the scenic countryside for our second stop at the Wiarton Keppel Airport where we had Lunch in the airport hangar at the Flying Diner. At the Wiarton Keppel Airport all the cars were parked on the runway with a couple of planes which made for some good photo opportunities. Then from here the Tour headed back to the Cobble Beach Golf Club where we could spend the remainder of the afternoon at the 2018 Cars & Coffee at Cobble Beach and attend the seminars if we wanted to.

The Cars and Coffee at Cobble Beach Show is always another Highlight of the weekend. Cars & Coffee show has a diverse group of local cars and their owners, who participate in the Cobble Beach weekend and show their spirit & enthusiasm for the Automotive hobby. There were some beautiful cars here on display this year and so little time for us to see them all! Then after the Cars & Coffee Show and Seminars we had a short break before the kick-off banquet that night and then back to the hotel for an early night.

Sunday was an early rise for judging day. Sunday is always a busy day for car owners and the judging team alike. The car owners start moving their cars onto the 18^th green at 5:30 am and are very busy with final clean up and detailing. Judges start their day with a judging meeting at 8 am and then out to the field for 9:30 am to start judging their assigned classes. A judging team can have 3-8 cars to judge per class and only 2 hours to do it. The results must be handed in 11:30 for tabulation and ribbon placing on the cars. Then after a short lunch (which I never seem to get time for) we are off to the podium for the awards presentations. Because it is such a busy day with judging and awards presentations it is next to impossible to see all the cars in the show. Luckily this year I had the help of my own photographer, Magessa O’Reilly, who took my camera and got pictures of the cars that I was unable to get while I was busy judging.

The 3 top vehicles in the show This year were parked on the back of the club house overlooking the greens. They are a 1942 Chrysler Town & Country Barrelback Owned Vernon Smith From Newfoundland (Outstanding Pre-War), 1958 Lancia B24S Convertible by Pinin Farina owned by Robert Mirvis from Los Angeles, CA (Outstanding Postwar) and a 1938 Delahaye 135MS Coupe owned by Robert S Jepson Jr Savannah, GA (Best of Show). Below is a list of all the winners of the 2108 Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance and the pictures that speak volumes for the event.

Many thanks go out to the management, staff and volunteers that were all part of the team that successfully created an amazing weekend that highlighted one best Automotive event in Canada.

Bob R Ford – Membership NAACC

Class Winners

Class 1 Horseless Carriage – small horsepower

1911 Ford Model T – Thomas Huehn, Warkworth, ON
1912 Hupmobile Model H – Roger Hadfield, Milton, ON
1910 Cadillac Model 30 Demi-Tonneau – Garry & Annette Potter, Oro Station, ON

Class 2 Horseless Carriage – large horsepower

1913 Mercer 35J Raceabout – The Longfield Family, Brampton, ON

Class 3 American Production Pre-war

1933 Ford Cabriolet – John Irish, Smiths Falls, ON
1932 Chevrolet Two-Door Deluxe Coach – Norm Alward, Port Colborne, ON
1928 Chevrolet Station Wagon – Scott Sinclair, Caledon, ON

Class 4 American Classics Open 1920’s

1928 Stearns-Knight H-8-90 – Gallery 260 Limited, Toronto, ON
1928 Auburn 8-88 Speedster – Richard Harding, Beavercreek, OH
1924 Cadillac Roadster V63 – André De Montigny Celine Meloche, St-Hippolyte, QC

Class 5 American Classics Open 1930’s

1936 Auburn 852 SC – Larry Titchner, Toronto, ON
1931 Chrysler Imperial CG Dual Cowl Phaeton Convertible – Paul Needham, Kilworth, ON
1930 Packard 745 DeLuxe Eight Waterhouse Convertible Victoria – Mike Bigioni, Uxbridge, ON

Class 6 American Classics Closed

1942 Chrysler Windsor Town & Country “Barrelback” – Vernon Smith, Swift Current, NL
1938 Packard 1607-1136 Club Sedan – Tom Brace, Falcon Heights, MN
1934 Packard 1104 – Karol Shaw, Grafton, ON

Class 7 European Classics

1938 Delahaye 135MS Coupe – Robert S. Jepson, Jr., Savannah, GA
1938 Steyr 220 Roadster – Peter Boyle, Oil City, PA
1937 Bentley 4 1/4 Litre Open Two-Seater by Carlton – David de Muzio, Newport, RI

Class 8 European Sports Cars

1958 Lancia Aurelia B24S Convertible by Pinin Farina – Robert Mirvis, Los Angeles, CA
1950 Jaguar XK120 Alloy-Body Roadster – Gil Melo, Cambridge, ON
1960 Triumph Italia 2000 GT – Alan & Robin Anspaugh, Yardley, PA

Class 9 Corvettes

1962 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible – Bill Wallace, Toronto, ON
1963 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray Coupe – Tony McBride, Louisville, KY
1955 Chevrolet Corvette – Geoff Corlett, Mono, ON

Class 10 American Muscle Cars

1969 Dodge Charger R/T – Sandro Brocca, King City, ON
1970 Chevelle SS LS6 – Fred Cini, Wasaga Beach, ON
1962 Chevrolet Impala SS Convertible – Brent Erickson, Thamesville, ON

Class 11 Supercars

2005 Maserati MC 12 – Miles Nadal – Dare to Dream Garage, Toronto, ON
2018 Ford GT – Alan Boughton, Caledon, ON
2003 Lamborghini Murcielago – Robert Calisi, Toronto,ON

Class 12 American Production Post-War

1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible – Doug Pegg, Kettleby, ON
1956 Mercury Montclair – Elaine and Tony Lang, Chepstow, ON
1956 Ford Thunderbird Convertible – Murray McEwan, Bothwell, ON

Class 13 Hot Rods

1932 Ford DeLuxe Coupe V8 – Ted Koudys, Beamsville, ON
1927 Ford Model T Coupe – Mike Campbell, Blackstock, ON
1927 Ford T coupe – Keith MacIntyre, Binbrook, ON

Class 14 Vintage Motorcycles – German

1975 BMW R90S – John & Kate Lammers, Wainfleet, ON
1973 BMW R75/5 – John & Kate Lammers, Wainfleet, ON
1938 DKW SB200 – Dietrich Look, Kitchener, ON

Class 15 Volkswagen

1952 Volkswagen Beetle (Type 1) 11G Sedan – John Cilia, Toronto, ON
1966 Volkswagen Split-screen Microbus – Gary Turner, Toronto, ON
1964 Volkswagen 21-Window Samba Bus – Alvin Ziminsky, James Creek, PA

Class 16 Unique and Limited Production

1959 OSCA Model 118S Touring Coupe Prototype 1600 – Peter Boyle, Oil City, PA
1949 Cadillac Prototype Coupe de Ville – Steve Plunkett, London, ON
1973 Mohs Safarikar – Mark Zalutko, Forty Fort, PA

Class 17 Preservation pre-war

1940 Buick 56S Super Sport Coupe – Greig & Carlene Charlton, Campbellville, ON

Class 18 Preservation post-war

1970 Oldsmobile 442 W-30 Coupe – Jeffrey Seigel, Toronto, ON
1978 Porsche 928 – Chris Thibert, Maidstone, ON
1965 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS Convertible – Michael Chiavetta, Charlottesville, VA