A 1936 Delahaye 135, that won Best of Show at Quail Lodge last year also took the accolade at this year’s Palos Verdes Concours d’Elegance.
The Figoni et Falaschi-bodied French beauty beat off stiff competition from the 200-plus entrants at the 19th annual running of the prestigious California show on 18 September.
This year’s event focused on celebrating the works of local car customising legend Howard ‘Dutch’ Darrin and the popular California-inspired Woodies, with dedicated displays among the event’s 22-strong class turnout.
The Delahaye – which won the 1948 Grand Prix des Frontières in Belgium – was the star in the European Classics Open (1925-1949) class, just ahead of a 1938 Mercedes-Benz 230 S Spezial Roadster.
Other pre-war rarities included Frederick Lax’s1930 Cadillac 452A Fleetwood Roadster – which picked up the award from the Most Elegant Car – while James Orsburn’s 1954 Kaiser (below) led the Darrin Coachwork line-up, just ahead of a 1937 Ford Darrin 78 Cabriolet.
Standouts included the Tarmutzer-Carini family’s 1948 Devis and Glenn Roberts’ 1967 Mazda Cosmo (below), which took the Japanese Sports Cars (to 1972) class, while Jeff Gleason’s 1961 Fiat 1500 Osca won the European Sports Cars Under 3-Litres category.
In the Hot Rod Legends class, Ernie and Elaine Nagamatsu’s 1925 Chevrolet Roadster was a highlight, along with Rick Lorenzen’s 1940 Willys Woodie Stationwagon (below), which was voted best of the Woodies on offer.
Also getting attention was the group dedicated to America’s most famous sports car with, the Shelby Cobra (1962-1967), with Anaheim-based Cobra enthusiast Fred Heitman’s 1963 example taking top slot.
Other attractions included a VW Beetle that was on display to allow visitors’ children to have a go at automotive art by painting the car by hand while the Anaheim Future Hotrodders group practised disassembling and reassembling a Chevy engine in fewer than 30 minutes, in preparation for a national competition in November.
See Palos Verdes Concours d’Elegance for more.
All photos courtesy of Palos Verdes Concours d’Elegance.
